ACE Center Greenhouse Management and Landscaping students competed at the Virginia State Fair with their “Blue Jeans and Country Dreams” display. Awesome job! 

ACE Center Pharmacy students came in 2nd and 3rd place at HOSA Day at the Virginia State Fair.

The applications for 8th grade and 10th/11th grade students for the 31 ACE Center programs are now live. Click here to review the 31, ACE Center, programs in our Career Guide then click here to access the appropriate application. Please review the application time for class visitation and other important dates leading up to being accepted in the program of your choice.

Henrico CTE Now was able to talk with the Director of Public Relations for Henrico County, Ben Sheppard. We discussed what his team does and how students can get involved in media as a career and how CTE can support those students. Have a listen to this podcast by following this link.  

Join us on October 18th at 6pm to 8pm at Hermitage High School. Students from 6th – 12th grades and their parents are welcome.

The Life Ready Expo is the first event of our yearly “CTE Trinity” from Henrico Public Schools Workforce & Career Development. The Life Ready Expo allows parents and students to speak with businesses about how they should best prepare to be ready to start their careers after high school or after college! Do not miss this important opportunity to speak with businesses, one-on-one, about what you want to know about career paths, internships, apprenticeships, college requirements, and more. Here is a link for more info.

Our hard-working ACE Center students, with the Department of Workforce and Career Development, have been working on a new project since last spring and the news is out across the county. Our ACE Center trades students, carpentry, electricity, masonry, and HVAC, who are usually starting to build their next house are working at Regency Square Mall. What are they doing at the mall? Well, they are hanging out with their friends and demolishing and building out about 8+ former store fronts in the section of the mall in front of where JC Pennies used to be. Follow this link to the NBC12 news story.

The mall has been going through many major changes in the past few years since it first opened in 1975. In recent years, the mall has lost all its “anchor” stores, but new owners see a great future for the mall. The old Macy’s is now a NOVA Swimming center. There are apartments going up on the Quioccain/Starling Dr. corner of the mall, and there are many new shops along the perimeter of the mall parking area. A large grocery store is moving into one of the anchor store locations. Surge Adventure Park, Panara Bread, salons, and restaurants have opened with more coming!

The space that our students are renovating will convert 12 storefronts into over 35 classrooms and office space.  Our CAD or Computer Aided Drafting students worked with architects to design possible space layouts.  Our trades students have the rare chance to work on a commercial work site while learning hands on with their instructors, and many private contractors who are excited to participate in their education. 

Mac Beaton, Director of Workforce and Career Development (CTE), has a “vision” to develop this new space into a powerful “learning opportunity.” The building will function not only as a school where adult education instruction will take place; it will also be an “advertisement” for Workforce and Career Development opportunities:
• Each existing “store front” will remain to promote various careers and opportunities.
• Our goal will be to encourage adult students to become life-long learners and provide opportunities for continual growth through education.
• This space will include a Pearson’s Testing Lab that will be accessible to the community offering GED testing, industry certification testing, and other tests that will provide adults with a path forward in their career.
• The space can serve as a “source of information” for the community with rooms available for meetings and extended learning opportunities.

HCPS is partnering with Henrico County Federal Credit Union to provide “financial literacy” opportunities:
• Henrico FCU will provide ongoing training opportunities for the community in a designated space design specifically for this purpose.

Who will be served by the Adult Education Center at Regency???
• Over 6000+ adult students from around the region are expected to enroll in courses taught at the site.
• The adult students will come primarily from:
o Henrico
o Chesterfield
o Hanover
o Goochland
o Charles City
o Richmond
o New Kent
o Powhatan

How can area businesses become a partner of “The Vision???”
• Sponsor a “store front” to provide information and career opportunities
• Promote your industry to an audience that is eager to enter the workforce or be retrained.
• Offer unique instructional opportunities that will help retool adults.
• Help by working side-by side with students entering various trades as they complete their training.
• Be the first to “hire” your next employee through your involvement with the project.

For more information you can contact Mac Beaton at mrbeaton@henrico.k12.va.us

See the artist’s rendering of the new school below.

Are you going to the Life Ready Expo on October 18th? He is! Parents and students will have the opportunity to talk with over 100 businesses about career paths and what education and skills young people need to be ready to start their careers after high school or college. Be there. Click here for more info.

The Director of Henrico County Schools Department of Workforce & Career Development (CTE), Mac Beaton, has dedicated 36 years of service to educating young people. He received the Distinguished Community Service Medal from the Board of Supervisors last night, Henrico County’s highest honor. Congratulations Mac!

This year’s LifeReady Expo is right around the corner! Students and families’ grades 6th through 12th will be able to meet with employers from all 17 career clusters and discuss those careers while exploring multiple career pathways. This year we will be at Hermitage High School on October the 18th from 6pm to 8pm.

The Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) awarded Henrico County Public Schools Workforce and Career Development the 2022 VSBA Excellence in Workforce Readiness Award!

The award is given to recognize Virginia School Divisions who have achieved excellence in Workforce Readiness through an innovative program/project within a school community with emphasis on: communication and collaboration with the business community; student engagement with the business community; or student entrepreneurial activities. 

The Department of Workforce & Career Development began a partnership with Henrico County government to develop the County Manager’s Summer Academy for Workforce and Career Development, a summer internship program that placed students in various county workplace environments to develop and practice career-related knowledge based on student interest, developing skillset, and goals.