By: Cindy Farmer - WGHP Fox 8
RANDOLPH COUNTY, NC (WGHP) — When the sounds of power tools and machinery surround him, Eastern Randolph High School junior Justin Brown feels in his element. He admits he thought his time in high school was going to be just a typical books and paper journey.
“When I first got here, I was like, I guess I’m just going to go to school for four years and get my high school education and diploma and stuff,” said Brown. “But once I got here and I learned all the different things I could do and I started exploring my opportunities, I’ve kinda fallen in love with this.”
He is talking about the metals lab where students use state-of-the-art equipment to learn practical fabrication skills they can use in real life. It’s part of the CTE pathways program where Brown and others can literally see and practice for their futures.
“It’s more hands-on than any other class I have ever taken,” said Brown. “It’s not glue and scissors or anything like that. It’s machines. It’s technology. It’s stuff that I would like to do in my future, and that’s why I like this class so much.”
Randolph County Schools offers 25 CTE Pathways and 55 credentialing programs. Students have a variety of classes to choose from where they can learn skills from all walks of life.
Sophomore Jersey Jones loves the masonry class she is taking.
“There is a lot of opportunity. After being in this class, it showed me a lot more than I thought. Like all the jobs you can get and the skills you learn in this class are really good,” she said.
While her classmate Amanda Crabtree likes the variety of paths offered.
“Like the masonry, you are going to be building houses, building fire pits. Building foundations of houses. You can build anything with bricks and blocks,” said Crabtree. And the other CTE classes, like Animal Sciences, you are getting to be around animals; you’re getting to know animals. Health Sciences, you are getting to know your body if you want to go into the health field. And with carpentry, you are building houses and stuff too.”
Career and technical development classes in Randolph County Schools are thriving and with great reason. According to Dr. Davis Cross the director of Randolph County Schools CTE, everything they plan and do is intentional.
“We want to be the workforce pipeline for our county and our state,” he says. “So, our CTE pathways are a great example of that. And the credentials they offer are a testimony to the work being put in and what our kids are learning.”
He says a big part of the students’ success is the community support they receive.
“We have great community partners right here in our backyard. We offer internships and apprenticeships through a collaboration of our teachers and our partners, and we are able to provide those workforces and work-based learning opportunities right there as juniors and seniors in high school. We have a long history of success in that, and it just continues to grow create opportunities for kids,” he said.
Randolph County was recently recognized by the state as being a consistent leader in the number of CTE credentials students earn in class. Dr. Cross says that recognition was wonderful, but only the beginning.
“In 2024-2025, we were at 9,377 credentials. I want to be over ten thousand,” he said. “Because every credential a student gets is an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to show they have learned something. It’s a resume builder. And not all credential is going to impact workforce placement, but it is going to significantly put them ahead of other candidates. We’ve got more work to do. We are excited for the work in front of us and we are excited for the challenge. So we are just getting started.”
To watch the story, click here.