At Career Tech High, we believe that the solution to Guam’s skilled labor shortage is to equip, engage, and empower our young people. Our vision is that each graduate enters the local workforce with the knowledge and experience of a certified technician, rooted in our cultural values, with a commitment to revitalize our communities.

Our Mission

The mission of Career Tech High Academy Charter School (CTech) is threefold:
(1) to foster community-centered, culturally-rooted identity; (2) to equip the island’s next skilled workforce; and (3) to build a forum for upcoming leaders of Guam and the region. CTech is a quality institution that provides rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge, while empowering our students to invest in the future of our island communities here in the Marianas and beyond. We believe in cultivating skilled leaders whose career dreams are rooted in a commitment to see Micronesia thrive.

We enrich student learning in basic content areas with a special emphasis in Career & Technical Education (CTE) so that they can enter our local industry with employable skills. Students will also have opportunities to earn college levels credits that matriculate to local and off-island post-secondary schools.

Where applicable, CTech seeks to provide students with the opportunity to achieve nationally recognized certifications in their respective, chosen technical fields.

EQUIPPED
with nationally recognized trade certification programs

Upon graduation, CTech students will be prepared for employment or advanced training in a chosen career cluster. They will demonstrate proficiency in a technical skill by successfully utilizing the following:

• competency-based applied learning that contributes to their academic knowledge;
• higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills;
• work attitudes;
• general employability skills;
• technical and occupation-specific skills; and
• knowledge of all aspects of their chosen trade.

Students will pursue apprenticeship opportunities within the local work industry, as well as opportunities to attain nationally recognized certifications in their chosen field where applicable.

ENGAGED
with academic content that is practical and regionally relevant

CTech students will engage a core curriculum that prioritizes career readiness and practical, applied academics aligned with the goals and objectives of both the US Association for Career Technical Education (ACTE) and Common Career Technical Core (CCTC) education so that they will be ready for successful graduation. Our team of faculty and administrators is dedicated to enriching student learning with academic content that is not only rigorous and relevant to their chosen field but, rooted in the perspectives of our indigenous cultures and community values.

EMPOWERED
to become competent, confident, and compassionate leaders

CTech students will thrive in an atmosphere of excellence through student civic, cultural, and character development and leadership that are aligned with the values and goals of ACTE and Skills USA. They will enter the local workforce with the makings of a responsible and respectable member of the community.

Students will find upstanding role models in their instructors, and be encouraged to develop the following qualities:

• a strong and honest work ethic;
• knowledge of our indigenous Micronesian cultures;
• commitment to the work of revitalizing our communities and island region;
• positive, non-violent conflict resolution;
• environmental awareness and responsibility; and
• so much more.

"This [labor] crisis remains a priority, especially given the denial of nearly all (H-2B) petitions over the last few years." ~ Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, on federal restrictions on H-2B workers

Our Motivation

• 2,978 of the 10,017 students in Guam’s public high schools enrolled in Career Technical Education (CTE) programs in SY 2016-2017. Of this number, only 315 students completed their course of study, and only 185 achieved mastery.
• Approximately 2,530 students graduate from Guam’s public and private high schools every year. In SY 2016-2017, 571 graduates enrolled at UOG, and 523 enrolled at GCC. Another 500 went to college off-island or simply moved away from Guam. The remaining 936 graduates enter Guam’s job market with little to no technical skills or are unemployed.

• High school students involved in CTE have a 93% graduation rate, compared to the average national freshman graduation rate of 80% (source).
• The more students participate in CTE organizations, the higher their academic motivation, academic engagement, grades, career self-efficacy, college aspirations, and employability skills (source).
• The approximate cost of bringing 15 workers from the Philippines is anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000, according to Guam Department of Labor administrator Greg Massey (source).