Adams County School District 14 Changing Lives, One Student at a Time

COMMERCE CITY, Colo., Aug. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Adams County School District 14 (Adams 14) is working to change the trajectory of their students' lives and potential career paths with their fully integrated Careers in Technical Education (CTE) programs. One such CTE program, the hospitality and tourism track in the culinary arts, enabled a 2020 Adams City High School graduate, Manuel Rivera, to achieve national recognition in culinary arts, gain acceptance to Colorado State University in Fort Collins and become a substitute culinary arts teacher at Adams 14.

Although the 2020-2021 school year ended in June, Adams 14 continues to offer workforce development skill training with this year's no-cost, two-week summer camp that ran four days a week from June 21 – July 1, 2021. Forty students in sixth – twelfth grades participated in this workforce development summer program where students could select from auto mechanics, construction, culinary arts and manufacturing. This camp served as an extension of the CTE programs Adams 14 is currently offering during the school year to enable students to gain workforce skills while attending core curriculum classes.

"We realize the world of work is changing and skill development must be incorporated into our school curriculums," commented Porter Cutrell, Ed.D., Adams 14's Director of Career Technical Education. "Our core message to our students is 'You can't change your life if you don't acquire any workforce skills'."

One such student that completed the culinary arts pathway is Manuel Rivera. After graduating from Adams City H.S. in 2020, Rivera accepted a position at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center and was then contacted by Adams 14 to serve as a substitute teacher at Adams City H.S. from April 2021 – June 2021. Rivera then agreed to be an instructor for the culinary arts track of this most recent workforce development summer camp. He taught four classes during the summer camp with sixth, seventh, eighth and upperclassmen high school students.

In 2019, the Adams City H.S. team won the statewide ProStart competition in both the Culinary Arts and Management divisions of the competition, where Rivera led the Culinary Arts team as Executive Chef. As part of the winning team, Rivera received $29,000 in scholarship money to attend Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where he began his freshman year online in September 2020. In September 2021, Manny will move to Fort Collins to start his sophomore year with a major in Restaurant/Hospitality Management and a minor in business management.

ABOUT Adams County School District 14:
Nestled in the historic community of Commerce City, Adams County School District 14 (Adams 14) is proud to serve its 6,000 students from 13 schools across the district. The 900 employees at Adams 14 work each day to provide an inclusive learning environment for all students and are committed to inspiring, educating, and empowering Adams 14 students to succeed. Click here to learn more. 

Contact:
Julie Wanzer
303-349-0179
[email protected]  

SOURCE Adams County School District 14