Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School Adds HP Certification to Enhance IT Sequence
Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School is a secondary school located in Jamaica, New York. Edison has an enrollment of 2,250 students who take required courses during their freshman year, then choose a Career and Technical Education (CTE) track to pursue in grades 10 to 12.
Challenge
Edison has offered industry-recognized certification to enhance their CTE programs for several years. In particular, the three-year Networking IT sequence starts with the Certiport Internet and Core Computing Certification (IC³) in grade 10. In grades 11 and 12, students take the Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT) and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exams.
Moses A. Ojeda, Edison Assistant Principal of Career & Technical Education, has found a gap in their overall education as the networking industry continues to evolve. "The networking industry is no longer just about maintaining a network environment or programming routers and switches."
Over the years, Ojeda has given students the most current skill sets needed to enter the workforce so that they will have an advantage when seeking a career. He recognizes the need to expand the skills he’s providing. "Networking now encompasses servers, storage, and cloud computing, and we need to prepare our students for these up and coming IT fields that need technicians."
Solution
While attending the ACTE conference, Certiport invited Ojeda to enter the HP Institute pilot program, which included the complete certification pathway of curriculum, practice tests and certification exams.
"I could see that HP Institute addresses these new networking areas the industry will need from new hires, so I launched the certification and never looked back," says Ojeda.
Edison instructors were excited to facilitate the new curriculum, and they have utilized the lesson plans and presentations the HP Institute program includes.
Results
Ojeda quickly realized how well HP Institute fills the gaps he sees in the networking IT sequence.
"CTE schools face a challenge in preparing students for higher education and the workforce in the rapidly changing field of technology," says Ojeda. "Instructors rely on curricula that are updated in a timely manner and easy to adopt or transition. Certiport and the HP Institute address these important concerns."
After a successful pilot program, Edison adopted the HP Institute program and purchased a full site license. They now offer a slate of HP Institute courses.
"Certiport has been a great partner to our school and continues to support and provide us with the right tools needed to help our students to be career and college ready," says Ojeda. "I believe Certiport is a key factor in helping schools to develop productive citizens that will become the future workforce of America."
Back to Case Studies...