HOULTON, Maine — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, met with several representatives from career and technical education centers, including Houlton’s Region Two School of Applied Technology, in a Zoom meeting held Monday, March 1.
Collins voiced her support for CTE, which helps high school students gain skill sets needed to enter various workforces, including for jobs that do not require a bachelor’s degree. At Region Two, such career paths include culinary arts, automotive technology and law enforcement.
Dave Keaton, the director of Houlton’s Region Two, said he thanked Collins for her continued support for CTE, including her support for the Carl Perkins Act, the legislation which provides the federal funding for CTE schools across the country.
“It’s been a good source of secondary revenue,” Keaton said. “It provides money for programs, equipment, and other needs outside of what we get from the state.”
Keaton said the school has been able to hold in-person classes, with regulations in place for COVID-19, since August. Most of the classes require hands-on instruction, making in-person learning far more beneficial to the students who are taking the classes.
“It’s been going strong even with the COVID restrictions,” he said. “We’ve only had to close down once due to COVID cases, so it’s been good for students.”
In a press release statement following the meeting, Collins reaffirmed her support for hands-on instruction for CTE students, as well as the overall benefits CTE schools bring to their community.
“Job training programs are proven, successful tools that help people gain the skills they need to prepare for rewarding careers,” Collins said. “Hands-on learning is an indispensable component of CTE, and these educators have done a commendable job maintaining in-person learning while keeping students and faculty safe during the pandemic.”
In addition to Keaton, others that joined Sen. Collins on the Zoom call included Kathy Sargent, director of the Sanford Regional Technical Center, and Sarah Hanson, student services coordinator at Dexter Regional CTE.
