FAQs

From left are Hayley Werkheiser, Kylie Cloonan, Fantasia Rodriguez, Desiree Nester, Autumn Madea and Mason Creswell, the Fall 2015 inductees into the National Technical Honor Society at LCTI.

What is career and technical education, or CTE?

Who can attend LCTI?

How much does it cost to attend LCTI?

How do I apply to LCTI?

What if I’m not sure which LCTI program is right for me?

Do I have to be an incoming freshman to attend LCTI?

What are my scheduling options at LCTI?

Do LCTI students take academic courses?

How do students get to and from LCTI?

Can LCTI students participate in extracurricular activities at their sending high schools?

Does LCTI offer extracurricular activities?

Do students graduate from LCTI?

Can LCTI students go to college?

How do LCTI students earn college credit?

What kind of college scholarships are available for LCTI students?

How do LCTI students gain real-world experience?

Can I visit LCTI before enrolling?

 

What is career and technical education, or CTE?

Career and technical education, or CTE, provides opportunities for students to develop valuable workforce skills while mastering core academics. CTE links what students learn in the classroom with what they need to achieve real-world success.

 

Who can attend LCTI?

Ninth- through 12th-grade students who live in the Allentown, Catasauqua Area, East Penn, Northern Lehigh, Northwestern Lehigh, Parkland, Salisbury Township, Southern Lehigh and Whitehall-Coplay school districts are welcome to attend LCTI.

LCTI also offers training courses for adults. Learn more about LCTI’s Adult Workforce Education programs.

 

How much does it cost to attend LCTI?

Zero, zip, zilch. As with all public high schools, students attend LCTI at no cost. It’s supported by Lehigh County’s nine school districts. Some LCTI programs may require students to purchase safety equipment, specialized clothing or other supplies.

 

How do I apply to LCTI?

Enrolling at LCTI is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

First, contact your school guidance counselor and tell them you’d like to attend LCTI. Your counselor can supply an application. Applications are available online, too. Next, identify and rank six career and technical education programs that interest you. Finally, complete the application, including a parent or guardian’s signature, and give it to your counselor.

That’s it. You’re ready to attend LCTI.

 

What if I’m not sure which LCTI program is right for me?

LCTI is a great place to start for students who aren’t sure what career path to pursue. It’s home to dozens of career and technical education programs…and nearly as many ways to make choosing the right one less daunting.

  • Guidance counselors: Guidance counselors know LCTI inside and out, so they’re well equipped to help students figure out which programs align with their interests, strengths and goals.
  • Career Cruising: Career Cruising, a fun, easy to use computer program available at LCTI, helps people answer the question, “What should I do with the rest of my life?” It’s a great resource for high schoolers who are investigating occupations and making plans for the future.
  • Job shadows: Students shadow a professional on a typical work day, learning about different aspects of a given job. LCTI’s school-to-career coordinators work with Lehigh Valley businesses to set up shadowing opportunities for students.

 

Do I have to be an incoming freshman to enroll at LCTI?

No, students may enroll at LCTI as freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors. However, students are strongly encouraged to begin a career and technical education program in ninth grade.

Spending four years at LCTI maximizes students’ opportunities to earn industry credentials and college credit, win skills competitions and scholarships and qualify for internships or co-ops that could lead to fulfilling careers.

 

What are my scheduling options at LCTI?

LCTI offers three scheduling options for students: Half day, full day and flex.

  • Half day: Half day is the only scheduling option available to freshmen and the most common choice across all grades. Students focus on career and technical education during a morning or afternoon session at LCTI and on academics at their sending high school for the remainder of the day.
  • Full day: Sophomores, juniors and seniors may opt to spend a full day at LCTI. Instead of going to their sending school for academics after a morning or afternoon of CTE, these students head to LCTI’s Academic Center.
  • Flex day: Time-strapped students may be eligible for flex scheduling, a customized option that varies depending on a pupil’s academic course load and sending school.

 

Do LCTI students take academic courses?

Yes, all LCTI students take academic courses — English, math, science, social studies, physical education, etc. — in addition to their career and technical education courses.

Half-day students take academic courses at their sending high schools. Full-day students take academic courses at LCTI’s Academic Center. Like the offerings at students’ sending schools, Academic Center courses are designed to prepare students for success in college and their careers.

 

How do students get to and from LCTI?

Students are bused between LCTI and their sending high schools.

 

Can LCTI students participate in extracurricular activities at their sending high schools?

Yes, LCTI students are encouraged to participate in sports, band and other extracurricular activities at their sending high schools.

 

Does LCTI offer extracurricular activities?

Yes, LCTI is home to the following career and technical student organizations: DECA, Future Business Leaders of America, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, National FFA Organization, HOSA – Future Health Professionals, National Technical Honor Society and SkillsUSA.

These organizations complement students’ CTE coursework, offering opportunities for leadership training, community service, skills competition, scholarships, professional development and more. The more students participate in CTSOs, the higher their academic motivation, academic engagement, grades, career self-efficacy, college aspirations and employability skills.* Learn more about LCTI’s student organizations.

 

Do students graduate from LCTI?

No, students receive diplomas from their sending high schools. They celebrate graduation with other members of their class at a June ceremony hosted by their sending school. LCTI celebrates its graduating students each May on Senior Recognition Night. Seniors are presented with a certificate indicating they’ve completed an LCTI career and technical education program.

 

Can LCTI students go to college?

Absolutely. LCTI students can and often do go to college. What’s more, they’re likely to perform better in college than peers who were not exposed to CTE in high school. According to studies:

  • 80 percent of of high school students who paired academic courses with rigorous CTE met college and career readiness goals, compared to 63 percent of students who focused solely on academics.**
  • 64 percent of freshmen who participated in at least two work-based learning activities as high schoolers had college GPAs above 3.0, compared to 58 percent of students in the entire cohort.***

 

How do LCTI students earn college credit?

There are multiple ways for LCTI students to save time and money by earning college credit for free or at discounted tuition rates before they graduate from high school.

  • Articulation agreements: LCTI maintains articulation agreements with 20 U.S. colleges and universities that allow students to earn credit at no cost for completing one of 30 eligible career and technical education programs.
  • SOAR: SOAR, or Students Occupationally and Academically Ready, is a Pennsylvania program that credits skills and tasks students learn at LCTI to a college degree. These free, articulated credits are accepted at colleges and universities across the commonwealth.
  • ACES: ACES, or Accelerated Career Education System, is a partnership between LCTI and Lehigh Carbon Community College that allows students to earn 30 credits at no cost by completing one of eight eligible CTE programs and passing a skills competency exam. Students may apply their credits toward an Associate of Applied Science degree from LCCC or a Bachelor of Applied Science in Technical Leadership degree from Bloomsburg University.
  • Dual enrollment: Qualified upperclassmen may opt to earn college credit by taking courses at nearby LCCC, which offers a tuition rate discount for LCTI students. Dual enrollment is part of the curriculum for LCTI’s Emerging Health Professionals program, which gives students the option of taking courses at either LCCC or Penn State Lehigh Valley.

 

What kind of college scholarships are available for LCTI students?

LCTI students are eligible for a host of scholarships funded by individuals, organizations and businesses that support career and technical education. The value of these scholarships vary from hundreds to thousands of dollars and are awarded based on a student’s merit, need, competition performance and other criteria.

The Scheller Woodman Technology Scholarships, for example, cover up to 75 percent of tuition and fees at Lehigh Carbon Community College for qualifying students who completed a CTE program at LCTI. Learn more about scholarships available to LCTI students.

 

How do LCTI students gain real-world experience?

In addition to tackling class projects that mirror on-the-job challenges, there are multiple ways for LCTI students to get a sense of what work life is like, test their skills in the real world and gain resume-building experience.

  • Job shadows: Students shadow a professional in their chosen field of study on a typical work day, learning about different aspects of a given job.
  • Internships: Based on their career and technical education program, students in grades 10 through 12 are matched with local businesses that provide them with unpaid positions.
  • Co-ops: LCTI’s co-op partners offer paid positions to 12th-grade students, pairing them with mentors who provide training in preparation for end-of-program performance evaluations.

LCTI’s school-to-career coordinators maintain relationships with the Lehigh Valley’s top employers, helping students secure internships and co-ops that lead to permanent positions after they graduate from high school or college.

 

Can I visit LCTI before enrolling?

Of course! Every year, Lehigh County’s eighth- and ninth-graders visit and tour LCTI’s career and technical education labs, as well as its Academic Center. The visitation schedule varies, depending on a student’s school.

Held over two weeks each summer, Camp LCTI is an opportunity for students in grades five through eight to visit LCTI and explore its labs. Community members of all ages are welcomed in the fall to LCTI’s open house, typically held on the Thursday before Thanksgiving.

Individual visits may be arranged, too. Please call Martha Figueroa to schedule a tour. She can be reached at 610-799-1367 or figueroam@lcti.org.

 

*Alfeld et al., Looking Inside the Black Box: The Value Added by Career and Technical Student Organizations to Students’ High School Experience, National Research Center for CTE, 2007
**Southern Regional Education Board, High Schools that Work 2012 Assessment
***Swail and Kampits, Work-Based Learning and Higher Education: A Research Perspective, Educational Policy Institute, 2004

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Schnecksville, PA
18078

Preparing all students for their personalized career pathway