Enrollment Up at TCTC; Programs Expand

WARREN, Ohio – Enrollment increases and additional interest in career technical education are leading to infrastructure investments and expanded programming at the Trumbull Career & Technical Center in Warren.

Now with four grade levels attending TCTC, enrollment was up 7.2% in the fall of 2023 compared to the previous school year, according to Morgan Tondo Cretella, community engagement coordinator.

Limitations in enrollment capacity, however, led to the inability to place about 95 qualified sophomores in TCTC programs, she says.

Trumbull Career & Technical Center is housed in a 45-year-old building. As such, the school continues to invest in necessary facility improvements to provide students with hands-on learning experiences, Cretella says.

The newly remodeled Culinary Arts Academy kitchen, with a collaborative teaching lab and additional space, opened this year. Upgrades to the Equestrian Studies barn are projected for an October completion, she says.

TCTC is accepting applications for 26 workforce development programs and a job training coordination program, including three new programs that will launch at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

Working with the Trumbull Educational Service Center, which received a federal grant, TCTC will launch an aviation and drone technology program.

A new digital marketing and management program will complement the TCTC’s business-related career paths. And the school is seeking partial funding from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to launch an industrial technology program, often requested by area businesses.

TCTC continues to partner with local organizations, expanding opportunities for work-based learning. This school year, students are participating in a week-on, week-off program, gaining on-the-job experience every other week away from the school.

In 2023, 29.2% of TCTC students obtained more than 250 hours of work-based learning in their career fields, up from 21.1% in 2022.

Through a $200,000 language and literacy grant from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, TCTC is implementing strategies to build literacy skills. These include implementing literacy vocabulary training with all staff; use of the Language Live! program in eight English classes; pinpointing specific needs and progress of students with assessments; and purchasing additional resources.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.