Shawn Eckenrode (pictured above), the Director of Career and Technical Education at the Adams County Technical Institute (ACTI) was introduced by Mike Hanson, who told us that Shawn is a graduate of a technical training school. After Shawn served in the Navy he took night courses for about 18 years to get his MBA and get certified as a teacher. He has been the director of ACTI since 2018 and has hosted us at their facility, located on the campus of Gettysburg Area High School and served us lunch there, prepared by the Culinary Arts students. He told us that the programs that are offered are the same as when he spoke to our group last.

His presentation that he shared with us is the same one that is used for high school sophomores when he visits them to show them about ACTI and explain that they need to start making some decisions about their future profession or job. He always tells the sophomores that they need to align their education with the workforce needs. Shawn showed us the ratio of  1:2:7. This represents the relationship between each one job that requires post-graduate studies, there are 2 jobs that require a four-year degree and 7 jobs that require an associates degree or a certification.

Shawn outlined the five programs that are offered at ACTI:

Criminal Justice - this is not just law enforcement, but also a good introduction for those who may want to work as a lawyer.

Allied Health - students are sometimes able to serve internships at a health care provider.

Culinary Arts - the teaching and training in this program covers restaurant and hospitality jobs. The students get to plan a meal with a theme and work out the recipes and service of a meal.

Computer Networking - this is focused on hardware and not software.

Building Trades - students learn all types of construction trades and even get to build a complete house.

Early Learning - through and after-school daycare, senior get hands-on training in pre-school teaching.

Diesel Mechanics - students get to do repair work on trucks, heavy equipment and tractors with diesel engines.

Shawn told us that they emphasize students doing non-traditional jobs with many of them crossing typical gender roles in jobs. The teachers all have industry certifications and real-life experience so that they can teach practical lessons. Most of the programs have college connections and some of them offer college credit classes. There are opportunities for seniors to do a capstone project, which allows the seniors to work part of the day and earn money while gaining hands-on experience.

All of this is offered for free to students from the five participating school districts: Bermudian Springs, Conewago Valley, Fairfield, Gettysburg, and Littlestown. They plan to have an open house on January 14, 2021, but anticipate it being virtual. The ACTI is a separate school entity that is governed and directed by a Joint Operating Committee, which includes a member of each of the representative school boards.

Shawn answered a few questions from the Rotarians in attendance and closed by telling us that they are still offering in-person instruction.

More can be found on the website; http://www.acti-pa.org/