Techniques Feb 2013 - 30

At-risk Students

photos courtesy of Karla Peaches

A Ganado High School student
works on a drafting assignment.

the confident-and-comfortable-withthemselves student welcoming committee; look at the wall art and absence of
graffiti; watch the smiling students hustle
through passing periods; see them chat
with teachers, school managers and board
members; and listen to the principal and
CTE director speak with passion and
pride about Ganado, it’s easy to conclude
that you’re in a high school that operates
out of mutual respect, forward thinking
and common goals.
Normally, when I visit a high school,
the principal’s student leaders are presented in the principal’s office. Typically,
I get to meet the class valedictorian—the
student/s on their way to Yale and Princeton—and possibly the engineering and
robotics national scholarship winner. At
Ganado, I was welcomed in the principal’s
office by all of the above, but added to
the group were the SkillsUSA leaders and
champions. When I saw those “red coats”
I knew that I was in a school that understood how academics and CTE pathways
work together to produce the real thing—
college- and career-ready students.

30
Techniques

February 2013

A welding student working on a
project at Ganado High School.

Integrating Career Pathways
At Ganado, 85 percent of students select a
career pathway that leads to Arizona state
certification, government/industry certification or both. The curriculum covers
agriculture, drafting, business, culinary
arts, multimedia design, construction
technology, allied health, nursing and
welding. There are community college
dual-enrollment agreements in place, and
many more are being negotiated. Ganado
CTE students earn as many as 12 college
credits by the time they graduate.
In keeping with the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)
movement and focus, Ganado proactively
advances ongoing professional development through the mandatory classes—
Math-in-CTE and Maximizing Math in
Culinary Arts.
Academic and CTE teachers meet regularly to discuss student progress, as well
as integrate content and projects. Many
of the CTE teachers were Ganado students themselves. The current principal,
Robin Pete, began her teaching career at
Ganado. But the all-time strategic “power

behind the power” is Allen Blacksheep,
the president of the board of education,
and a former CTE teacher.
Ganado students participate and
compete in state and national Skills
NATIVE, as well as in competitions with
the traditional CTSOs: Future Farmers of
America (FFA), Future Business Leaders
of America (FBLA), Family, Career
and Community Leaders of America
(FCCLA), Health Occupations Students
of America (HOSA) and SkillsUSA. It is
no surprise about the number of medals,
including gold, that they bring back to
Ganado each year.
At the end of each year, outstanding Ganado CTE students, as well as all
concentrators (students enrolled in CTE
pathway programs who have not yet
completed the program), are presented to
their community at the Ganado end-ofyear CTE banquet attended by students,
parents, district and CTE administrators, governing board and CTE advisory
council members.
Ganado High School CTE Director
Doris Nelson, a member of the Navajo
Nation, is one of the principal’s leadership team. She has been with Ganado for
more than 30 years, and her stamp, style
and passion seem actually palpable and
omnipresent.
Although recognizing ongoing challenges and barriers, Nelson continues to
optimistically embrace leveraged and
distributed leadership (a term associated
with the Gates criteria for characteristics
of small learning communities) as a Ganado High driving force. When she speaks
about Ganado’s CTE program, it is with
optimism. For her, the program is a “collaborative effort by the CTE teachers,
staff, CTE Advisory Council members
and students.”

A Look at Monument
Valley High School
Monument Valley High School (MVHS)
is located in Kayenta in northeastern
Arizona on the Navajo reservation. The
www.acteonline.org

Techniques Feb 2013

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