At Trico, “Career and Technical Education” isn’t a collection of electives—it’s a living ecosystem of opportunity. Across classrooms, workshops, kitchens, and labs, students are discovering what it means to think critically, work collaboratively, and prepare for meaningful lives beyond graduation.

The district’s CTE program encompasses six interconnected disciplines: industrial arts, agriculture, family and consumer sciences, business, and audio-visual production. Together, these programs give students access to both technical mastery and the soft skills that employers and communities value most—teamwork, problem-solving, and confidence.

Students in industrial arts learn construction, plumbing, and electrical fundamentals, gaining not just mechanical skills but a strong sense of workmanship and safety. In agriculture, lessons in animal science and plant systems extend far beyond the greenhouse, offering practical insight into sustainability, technology, and the evolving world of agri-business. The business program connects classroom learning to the realities of personal finance, credit, insurance, and entrepreneurship—tools every student needs to navigate adulthood.

Then there’s the family and consumer sciences curriculum, where the focus isn’t limited to cooking or nutrition, but on building life competence: managing a household budget, understanding nutrition and health, developing leadership, and working effectively in groups. “We’re helping students see how these skills apply in the real world,” said CTE Director and Family and Consumer Science teacher Anne Pierce. “They’re not just preparing for jobs—they’re learning how to live well and work well with others.”

Even the school’s thriving audio-visual production program fits neatly into this career-preparation mindset. Students there learn to light stages, run microphones, and manage live and recorded performances. They operate the technical side of the school’s fall cabaret and spring musical, taking pride in knowing that their work behind the curtain is what brings the performance to life.

That philosophy—learning by doing, through shared experience—runs through everything CTE touches at Trico. It’s visible in the fall “Cider and Donut” celebration, a long-standing tradition that now unites all the CTE organizations: FFA, FCCLA, FBLA, Industrial Arts, and Audio-Visual Production. What began years ago as a small gathering has become an annual event that draws more than thirty-five students to tug-of-war games, apple-bobbing, and hot dogs around a fire pit.

There’s laughter, teamwork, and, thanks to the district’s phone-free policy, something increasingly rare: genuine human connection. “They sat together, they laughed, they actually talked,” Pierce said. “They’re rediscovering what friendship looks like.”

But beyond the fun and fellowship lies a deeper purpose. CTE at Trico builds bridges—to employment, to leadership, to lifelong learning. It’s where students see the intersection of knowledge and application. A student may learn to balance a checkbook in business class, design a meal plan in family and consumer sciences, wire a small structure in industrial arts, or troubleshoot an audio mix for a school production—but what they’re really learning is independence.

That independence has long been a hallmark of the Trico community. Spanning five towns and three counties, the district thrives on a mix of local tradition and evolving opportunity. In a region rooted in agriculture and hard work, CTE and Family and Consumer Science programs give students a pathway to stay connected to their heritage while adapting to modern careers and technologies.

“These programs help kids see that there’s more than one way to succeed,” Pierce noted. “Some will go to college, some will go straight to work, some will start families—but all of them will need to know how to think, collaborate, and care for themselves and others.”

It’s a powerful message—one that resonates across generations of Trico graduates who learned not only how to build things, but how to build lives.

At its core, Career and Technical Education at Trico isn’t just about skills or credentials. It’s about preparing students to be resourceful, resilient, and ready to contribute—to their communities, their workplaces, and the wider world.

Because at Trico, learning isn’t confined to the classroom. It’s built, practiced, and lived—one confident student at a time.