It’s Career and Technical Education Month – Bristol’s Mt. Hope High School

Photo: Bristol Warren Regional School District

Superintendent Ana C. Riley and Principal Michelle King wish to highlight Mt. Hope High School’s Architecture and Construction pathway as part of Career and Technical Education Month.

A total of 96 students are currently enrolled in the program. The pathway is designed to prepare students for the real world and to provide skills that can be used whether they choose to go to college or straight into the workforce upon graduation. Construction skills learned in class are applied to real projects through internships and community projects. 

Thea Wilner, a junior in the pathway, is currently serving as manager on a construction project that will be displayed at the Rhode Island Home and Garden Show in March. Wilner and her peers are constructing a real-life hobbit hole, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s book “The Hobbit.”

Wilner started the project by creating a collage of her idea and drafting a drawing of the design, as she learned in her Construction 1 class. She is now in Construction 3/4. After she created the initial design, she ordered the materials and began building it with her peers. 

Wilner notes that she is excited to attend the show to show off the hobbit hole and to network with companies and professionals in attendance. 

“This really is a cumulative project. Everything that I have learned so far in this pathway has led to this project,” Wilner said. “This pathway gives me so much freedom. I am not just sitting in a classroom all day. I am participating in hands-on projects that I am passionate about and that support my mental and emotional health.”

In addition to learning construction skills, Wilner expressed that she has learned other skills through this pathway like teamwork,problem solving, organization and critical thinking. 

Wilner says she wants to go to college, and although she does not know exactly what she wants to pursue as a career path, she knows construction will be involved in some way. She is considering pursuing engineering, animal science and other related fields.

“If you are joining this program as an eighth grader, immerse yourself in it because if you show up and do the work, you will learn so much,” Wilner said. “Everyone should learn the trades.”

To learn more about the pathways offered at the high school, click here. Prospective students and families are invited to a CTE Open House on March 1 from 6-8 p.m.

About CTE Month

CTE Month is an annual campaign by the Association for Career and Technical Education that seeks to bring national awareness to the value of career and technical education and the benefit it brings young people looking to gain knowledge, experience and skills in various industries. 

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