Good evening everyone. We're going to get started here in just a minute. Just give everyone a little bit of time to um to get into the webinar from our from our waiting room. >> I saw a nice bunch of people in the
waiting room like a good number. >> Yes. >> Very exciting. Good evening everyone. We're just going to give people a few minutes to get in here and then we'll get underway. A couple people
coming in. Yeah. All right. Well, we're going to get ourselves started here. I know we still might have some people joining us. So, um, welcome to our information session tonight for West Windsor Plainsboro
parents and families. Um, we I'm joined tonight by Michael Orf. Um, and he is from Mercer County Technical Schools. Going to be talking a lot tonight both about our academy full-time programs, but also our um, sharetime programs for
students already in high school. So, just a few logistical things about tonight's presentation. First, we are recording this uh session. It's webinar style, which means that um it's partially interactive, but mostly this will be um sort of chaptered and then be
able to be posted on our school district's YouTube page. So, if you're not if you don't already have that page bookmarked, you can do that by going to um YouTube and then just type West Windsor Regional School District into the search bar. It will come up. Um, we
anticipate this this video will be posted within 48 hours to our YouTube channel. And um, any questions that you have for tonight, the chat feature or the interactive chat is turned off for the webinar. However, we do have the Q&A
open um, so that you can submit a question. Um, both Mr. Orph and I will see the question. I'll respond to things as we can and then we'll do some Q&A at the end for as much as time allows for. Um, Mr. Orf will also have access to
your email addresses because you registered for tonight's webinar. So, um, if there are things that we can't get to, we can either point you towards where you can find that information on the website. You can also speak to your child's current school counselor, so those of you who are eighth grade
parents, be able to talk um, with your middle school school counselor. Um, so that is Miss Kapadia over at um at Grover and Mr. Walton at community. And you also can speak to the case manager
if your child has an IEP and has a case manager. So without further ado, I'm going to let Mr. Orf go ahead and take over here and I will go off camera, but I'm going to be watching the Q&A. >> Dr. Dr. Smidley, uh, first I just want to say thank you. Thanks for setting all
this up and thanks for having me. Um, I hope I don't seem crazy, but when we were in the waiting room, there was like 143 people, participants, and now there are 10. And I'm worried that either folks don't know that they have to jump
on or, >> you know, I I saw that happen and I don't know why it happened. Although, I am seeing people coming in as phonein listeners. So, I I'm actually a little bit wondering if we have a technical
glitch, >> but we are we are recording. I mean, I see people like more and more people are coming in on the phone. I just don't and all I see are phone and listeners. So, I'm not sure exactly what that means. H
as as you and I both know, you're much more techsavvy than myself. >> Uh >> well, I'm going to go off video and do a little Googling, >> but if you want to, you could get started with things and then I might as well get started and start. >> Yeah. And if we have to, we could always um we could always launch this maybe
like at a as a daytime. We actually just last Friday, one of our other groups did a um did a a a lunch and learn um webinar. So could always launch that or host that. But I would say let's let's get started. We can always push something out to everybody with the
recording afterwards too. >> Okay. In in that case, I will I will use the use the videos and the slides as well. Um so so welcome everyone and and thanks for thanks for being here tonight. Um my name is Michael Orf O RF. I'm the director of pupil services for
Mercer County Technical Schools. Uh a big thanks to Dr. Smmedley for putting all of this together. Um whenever I uh whenever I do one of these presentations, I do like to start with uh uh something that old people say and uh I'm sure it drives uh I'm sure it
drives my kids crazy and probably uh parents it drives your own kids crazy um if you say things like this. But um uh I like to say uh what is uh when I was your age, that's something I always say to my own kids. When I was your age, um
you know, a candy bar costs 5 cents and uh uh those kind of corny things that old folks say. Um but I do tell my children when I was their age uh and the kids in my school because I'm an old person, I'm allowed to say this. Um, when I was in high school and when I was when I was the age that your kids are
now, um, students had to choose between going to college uh and going to a to a technical program, a vocational technical school, um, like Mercer County Technical Schools. And, um, the the great thing is students really don't
have to make that choice anymore. And that's the big the big takeaway I want everyone to have uh, tonight is that um, students don't need to choose. Uh in fact uh 78% of the students who come to my programs uh go on to college after they graduate high school. Um and those
who don't those who want to enter the workforce uh upon graduation rather than taking an entry- level job uh they're actually stepping into a career where they're making meaningful money um you know earning benefits. They've got certifications uh that get them ready to
go into the workforce. And um that's that's the beauty of these programs is you you don't ever really have to choose. It's much more about keeping your options open. Uh so if you're not sure what you want to do, these programs are great for you. If you're interested in going to college, well, most of the
programs I'm going to talk to you about tonight not only offer students college credit, uh you can earn college credit while you're in high school. Um so so you're in great shape there. It also looks pretty good on a high school uh transcript and resume uh when you are applying to college. And then and then
last but certainly not least, if you are ent interested in entering the workforce, um it's a it's a great great start to your career. So um just like to always get that out of the way, the the the beauty of not having to choose. Um so there's two different programs we're
going to talk about tonight. The shared time programs, which are geared towards our 10th grade parents, um and and students. I hope there's some students out there too. Uh th those students uh should apply when they are in 10th grade and then attend in 11th and 12th. Uh the
reason I'm showing the shared time uh presentation first is because all of my eighth graders uh that are here tonight and eighth grade parents, I want you to know about these programs now so that if you end up not choosing the academy programs, if you end up staying at at West Windsor South or North, um I want
you to know about these programs because you'll get another opportunity to apply to them instead. If you apply and don't get accepted or if you apply and get accepted and then decide not to come, um these could be a different option for you. Uh okay. So, so the shared time programs uh have been around for over 50
years and uh uh I mentioned those students that uh were given that choice. The students who chose to come to the tech school that are my age uh became carpenters and electricians and cosmetologists and diesel mechanics um and landscape designers and they are all
retired now because they entered into careers. Uh they also didn't take on any debt. So that's a wonderful option for students. Um but again the the kiddos in these programs now are going to make meaningful money um and uh still have uh
very much the option to go to college. Um, this is just a funny little video and since since we are recording this, I'm going to hope that uh uh everybody gets to take a look at this. It's just one minute long. Uh, it's a spoof of a movie trailer for a superhero film. So, take a look at this and I hope it makes
you smile. In a world where futures are forged by hand and by mind, two heroes rise from the halls of Mercer County Technical Schools. They are skilled. They are certified.
They are career ready [Music] this fall. The future isn't waiting, it's being built. [Music]
Coming soon to a CTE school near you. Since this is a webinar, I can't hear anyone's reaction to that, but hopefully uh it got a chuckle out of you. uh and you're in your in your homes uh smiling now. Uh we made that with our superintendent uh to kind of kick off the school year. Uh and it was a lot of
fun. Um couple of uh West Windsor students in there I believe. Um so so yes, the the programs, the shared time programs um we've already talked about uh that that they're careerdriven. Um career technical education is just what it sounds like. you're you're you're
learning uh but you're learning hands-on instead of sitting down in a classroom the whole time. Um there's certainly a certain a certain amount of uh uh book learning or uh classroom learning that happens, but predominantly you're out in that shop after you after you figure out
what you're doing that day um doing hands-on learning. And it's a great great way to learn projectbased learning. Uh and and it's also very practical. Uh the these are also uh skills that you're going to use for the rest of your life. If you ended up being in the autoc collision program and then
decided, you know, halfway through your junior year, you didn't want to be uh an autoc collision worker, you didn't want to like cars anymore, um you're still going to have a skill that you can take with you forever. Um if you finish the program and a great way to make money,
uh we also have bunch of business partners that we work with that uh help our students find work. Um, we call them shared time programs because your uh your day, your school day is shared during junior and senior year um with your homeschool. So whether your child
goes to West Windsor North or South, I'm speaking to the 10th grade parents now. Um once they apply junior year, they'll come to us first thing in the morning and West Windsor uh provides the transportation. Um they'll come to us from 8 to 10:30 and then they'll be
busted back to their high school in time for lunch. Um after lunch their counselor will schedule their academic classes in the afternoon. Um anything they need to graduate, English, math, gym, things like that. Um the second year it flip-flops so that they're at
their home school at West Windsor North or South in the morning uh having those academic classes and after lunch they come to us. They're with us from 11:45 to 2:30 and then they are bust back to the regular high school in time to participate in sports or clubs or after
school activities and they can still do that. A lot of students do it. Um the reason we do it that way is so that the seniors uh the kids who are doing really well in the class do have an opportunity to go out um on what's called uh CIE or co-op or work-based learning. So, for
example, a student in the graphic arts program, graphic design program, who's doing very well, uh when they're seniors, rather than have them come to class five days a week, uh we find them work with a a print shop or a social media artist or a web designer, um uh so
that they can actually go work in that industry. They get paid. They still get the 20 credits on their high school transcript. They're still earning the potential college credit, but they're getting a lot of valuable work experience. Um, and arguably they're they're learning a lot more uh working
out in the field. I mentioned the college thing before. You'll see this list several times tonight. Uh, that's just a list of colleges that our students have been accepted to. Um, and there's a list of those shared time programs with the exception of the HVAC program and the cosmetology program,
both of which have state certifications. The cosmetology students get their state board cosmetology license. The HBAC program actually gets a national certification, the universal EPA cert. Um, besides those two programs, every one of
these other programs offers college credit in addition to uh at least one, most of them two industry valued credentials which enable those students to go into the workforce and actually um uh make make great money uh when they're
seniors in high school or or after high school. Um the application process is really really simple. Um the counselors, all the counselors at both South and North know these programs and they know our students and they know me. Um so they can they can very much guide your
student. However, I would like to point out they don't they don't need to go through the counselor to apply. Um the application process is very very easy. You go to our website mcts.edu. You find that little dropown that says apply online. You simply create an
account and then apply. Once your student does that, we're going to get in touch with the counselor to get their grades and their transcripts and the other thing that we need to give to the admissions committee um so they can uh get accepted or go on the wait list. Um
another thing I'd like to point out for the shared time programs, um we really really really would love for your kiddo to visit us. uh after they have an application on file, students may visit uh the program that they've applied to. They can visit more than one program if
they're if they're curious about a couple different programs. That visit is uh is scheduled through the counselor. So, that's where the counselor really comes into play. After your child applies, have them go in and talk to their counselor and say, "Uh, hey, you
know, Miss Rooney, I just applied to the uh uh to the auto tech program and I want to go check it out." and then she will work with us to set up that visit um and and schedule the transportation etc etc. Uh that's all been happening for for years and uh they're very very
good at it. Um please take a look at this video. Uh again it's it's quick. Um it will go over a little bit of what I've just said and also have a a deeper dive. Um another thing that I always uh uh forget to point out is uh these programs are
good time. The kids who come here really really have a good experience. um they they really come alive, not not just because it's a a non-traditional way to learn. Um but because they're meeting kids from all over Mercer County, um they enjoy the environment. We have a
very very nice climate. Uh because all the kids who come here choose to be here, they want to attend these programs. They want to attend these classes. Um so please take a look at this video and then uh then we'll get into the academy programs. Welcome to Mercer County Technical
Schools. Magic happens here at Mercer County Technical Schools. We believe in career technical education. We prepare students for life. Start them on a career pathway and help them discover their passion and unlock their future. Our shared time programs offer specific
certifications and college credit, state-of-the-art technology, and instructors who are professionals in their field. We give students the tools to succeed. These programs are a terrific option for students who are collegebound, students who want to enter the workforce with a career in a
certification, or students who want to enter an apprenticeship. Our students have been accepted to some of the best colleges in the world, including Oxford, Penn State, Cornell, Colombia, Princeton, Duke, John's Hopkins, tons of great New Jersey schools, and of course,
Mercer County Community College. 78% of students enrolled in CTE classes go on to college or postsecary education. CTE students have a 93% graduation rate compared to the national average of 80%. In New Jersey, the graduation rate is
99% versus the state average of 91%. In New Jerseys technical high schools, over 15,000 students were enrolled in classes offering college credit. A CTE student will make double the amount of money over the course of their lifetime compared to a student with a high school
diploma. Through our relationships with hundreds of business partners throughout Mercer County, we help students with job placement. Many students can take advantage of work-based learning where they're working in their chosen field, getting paid, and earning high school credits and often college credits
simultaneously. Let's take a look at these CTE programs. Carpentry Computer game programming, diesel technology, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration technology,
electrician, [Music] welding technology, auto body collision technology, automotive mechanics technology, [Music] Cosmetology,
[Music] culinary arts, [Music] environmental sustainability, graphic design, horiculture and turf care management. For information about specific programs,
certifications, dual credits, locations, and much more, visit the program of studies on our website, www.mcts.edu. Here's how it works. Students are busted to Mercer County Technical Schools for half the day in our shared time
programs. The AM session runs from 8 to 10:30 at MCTS with lunch and academics back at your home school. The PM session runs from 11:45 to 2:30 after you've had your academics and lunch at your home school in the morning. Either way, you
can still participate in clubs, sports, and all your homeschool activities. Here's how to apply. Talk to your counselor, then visit the admissions page on our website. Create an account, and then complete the application. We will get in touch with your counselor to
obtain your transcripts and attendance information. We encourage all students to attend a guest day visit. The guest day visit can be arranged through your counselor as well. Here are a couple more things to remember. Programs fill up fast, so apply now. Speak to your
counselor about us and about all of your options. They will work with us to make your schedule fit. Check out all of our social media platforms, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and LinkedIn. You can visit our YouTube channel to watch and listen to podcasts and fun videos made
by staff and students. We hope to see you soon at Mercer County Technical Schools. Meet new people, gain new skills, discover your passion, and unlock your future. Mercer County Technical Schools. Magic happens here.
>> Can I just jump in for a second while we're kind of in a transition? So um it looks like so I've been doing some technical work on the back end. One I what I can see is our numbers are climbing again. It looks like the the glitch is with video participants perhaps. So a lot more people have
joined by phone. So, those of you who can hear us but maybe not see us. Um, and if you're communicating and back channeling with anyone um about uh about it, um I one sent everyone this the
video link or the Zoom link again as a blind carbon copy through my own email. Um there were we actually had 500 people registered. So, I know we were at around a hundred people before, but those of you who are only able to hear us, just know we are and may have missed the beginning. We are recording tonight's
session. Um, we do have everyone's email address who registered and I will send you a link right from our Google Drive um as soon as Zoom is done processing the recording for tonight, which is usually about an hour to an hour and a half after after we conclude. Once the
recording is done, I can then push that out again with a Google Drive link that there's nothing that you need to download. We will follow that up with through school messenger tomorrow. So, apologies. I have no idea. I've never seen anything happen. And Mr. Orf as my witness, we were sitting here and we
were fine. And as soon as I hit start webinar, we lost people. So, I'm not I am still not sure what happened. >> Um Okay. Yes. Well, on on that note, I'll just I'll just continue with the uh with the uh uh the idea that that everyone will see this at some point on
video or uh or maybe we'll do it again or something. But, um yes, thanks for everybody who's hanging in there and who who did figure it out or who's uh listening on their phone. If you're listening on your phone, I just want to say that video was awesome and I'm sorry you missed it. Um just kidding. Just joking around. So, uh one other thing I
always like to say uh and I this is a good time to say it in between the two presentations. Um, please uh uh it's also very cool when old people talk about social media. Uh please follow us on Instagram, MCTSNJ or if you have uh grandparents who are
on Facebook. Please encourage them to follow us on Facebook or any of those platforms. We have uh we have all of them. We have our own YouTube channel. We have four different podcasts. Uh some led by students, some led by staff. Um, so check out all that stuff uh on our
there's a social media page on our website that'll take you to everything. Um, and now let's get into those academy programs. So, so what we learned running those shared time programs so successfully for over 50 years was that when students uh like what they're
learning about and when they're interested in what they're learning about um and when they're having a good time at school, they tend to come to school more. their attendance improves, their grades in other areas improve, and uh so so with that in mind, we started
three full-time uh academy programs um specializing in STEM, uh culinary arts, and um uh uh health science. Um we are very proud of these programs. I'm going to skip a few of these slides here. Uh
there they are. Now, the Health Science Academy uh has been around since 2010. the STEM Academy since 15 and the Academy of Culinary Arts since 2016. So, to be clear, these are newmies, right? These these have not been around very
long. Um, a lot of New Jerseys county tech schools have these academy programs. They are a great option. Um, uh, one of the one of the great benefits of a program like this is that, um, they're around other like-minded students. They're around students who
are interested in something similar. Um they are uh the the school itself is small. The academy programs are small. We only take 40 students per grade per academy. Um best of all the students are are interested in what they're learning about. So if you have a child who's uh
interested in a career in healthcare in some some way or another um that could be a great option or a career in engineering or of course a career in culinary arts. Um the final benefit and and uh it it may be the it may be the
biggest one is um uh the college credit that students can earn. Um students uh that that come to these programs and just do the course sequence the way we've got it laid out can earn between 30 and 40 college credits uh over the
course of high school. Each year we also have a number of students who um take classes in the summer and take classes on their own. Uh we have several students every year that are able to finish with an associates degree uh which is 60 credits of course um which
is saving them and and and their parents saving you parents uh you know a tremendous amount of money um because they've got two years of college out of the way. Um the health science academy uh obviously it's the all these programs folks are just like regular high school.
You're going to have English and math and gym class and history. Uh but your electives are in those specialized areas. So in the health science academy, they might have electives in uh anatomy and physiology or medical terminology um etc. uh you know classes related uh
to healthcare. Um obviously that's a very short list of potential careers. Um we are also very very pleased to announce that we've got a couple of new pathways within these threemies. Um we we will always have the traditional uh
uh health science pathway. Um but in addition to that we've opened up a veterinary and animal health pathway. Um again uh still going to have all your regular academic classes. You will also have four regular health science academy
classes. But in addition to that, there will be four uh four classes related to animal health and veterinary science. Um which is a wonderful option. But they're still probably going to have classes like anatomy and physiology and those those basic healthc care classes which are a great foundation for any type of
learning. Um the STEM academy, uh engineering classes of course, um again just like regular high school but electives related to engineering. um lots of business partnerships across all threemies. Um and and student uh CTE
organizations for the uh for the health science academy um those students participate in something called HOSA, Health Occupations Students of America. Uh they compete against other high schools in that area. In the STEM Academy, it's Skills USA. Um many many
different competitions related to engineering or computer AED drawing or video game design or robotics. um we compete against other county tech schools in the state. Um and uh if and when we win, we go on to we go on to nationals. Last year, uh we had we had
eight uh state gold medalists in lots of different areas, not just not just within STEM. Um, but one of our one of our winning teams, uh, uh, two young men who were juniors in the STEM Academy, they won their, uh, they won their category, which was in fact video game design, and then went on to nationals
and won a silver medal against all the other tech schools in the nation. So, we're very proud of them. Um, one other thing I'll mention is all threemies have lots of fun activities such as uh, debate team, robotics club, math league. Um we have movie nights, we have bowling
nights, we have our own prom. Um but in addition to that, uh all three of thesemies are eligible to participate in sports and clubs and afterchool activities at their home high school. Um and once again, just like the shared time programs, the transportation is
provided uh by the sending district, which which of course would be West Windsor Plainsboro. Additionally, we have two new pathways within the STEM Academy. One is the JOTC pathway. Um, to be clear, this is not a a military
recruitment effort or anything like that. Students will not be uh talked into that or or or even offered that opportunity. Um, it is more about leadership uh classes. They're still going to have four engineering electives. They're still going to have all the same academic classes and lots
of opportunities to earn college credit. Um but in but four of the electives are engineering electives and you can see those along the bottom. The other four electives are leadership electives uh taught by the JOTC instructor. Um and in place of gym class these students get uh
marching and drilling great deal. And then the third pathway within STEM is the AI and robotics pathway. Our school was just issued a grant um by the department of education. We're one of only two schools in the state uh us and Middle Sex County uh technical school uh
received this grant to study AI. Um and we're incorporating curriculum that does this. Um and it's it's really been going great. We have our first class of the AI and robotics academy is with us now. Um and we we expect to build on that. Again, they will still have engineering
classes but additionally AI robotics uh electives as well. And last, but certainly not least, uh my favorite. You You can't see it because uh I'm sitting down now, but uh I do like to eat. I've got a nice uh dad belly there. Um and I
I like my food. Uh I'm sure you do, too. The Academy of Culinary Arts is uh is is wonderful. Um there's a pathway, there's actually two different uh uh associates degree pathways the students can take. One towards hospitality if they want to go that track, one towards culinary arts
if they prefer to go that track. Um the list of careers related to culinary arts is endless. Um and it's a great great opportunity. Um again, uh plenty of college credits available. Um lots of fun events that the students plan and put together themselves and do all the
cooking for. Um business partnerships and opportunities to go to work if that's what they want to do. Um and uh uh Surf Safe certification. Um they earn two different levels of that while they're in high school. Um, additionally, uh, uh, in addition to
Skills USA, the students in the C culinary arts academy also participate in something called ProStart, which is sponsored by the National Restaurant Association. Um, that too is a state and then national competition. Um, to stress, uh, once again, this is a free
public school option. The shared time programs I mentioned before are also a free public school option. Any resident of Mercer County uh, is welcome to apply. Um, we've got a very very nice track record, a nice list of colleges that these kiddos have gotten into. Um,
it works in a similar fashion to the to the uh shared time programs. Students are busted to us by West Windsor Plainsboro School District. Um, that transportation is provided, but instead of going back to their home district at lunchtime, um, they they stay with us during the day and they and they have
lunch in our cafeteria and they uh it's it's just high school. We're just a a regular high school. um they are al of course also allowed to participate in those sports and clubs. For the admissions process, the application piece is exactly the same. You find that little drop down on our website that
says apply online. Um create an account first and then fill out the application. We will get in touch with uh with uh the the middle school to get their uh to get their grades and attendance information and NJSLA scores. Um I would like to uh
mark one difference between the visit process. We definitely want the kiddos to visit. Um in this case for the academy programs that visit is is uh uh is done by the parent. That visit is requested through the parent. Shared
time parents uh go ahead and let that counselor schedule the visit. But for the academy programs uh we want the parents to be requesting that visit. So, after your child applies, um, on that same page on the admissions tab, uh, there's a there's a drop down that says guest day visits. And that's how you do
it. It's just a Google form that you fill out. Uh, it goes it goes very very quickly. Um, I mentioned some of the things that we look at like standardized test scores, like the students grades uh, from seventh grade and first mark period of eighth grade. Um, we look at their attendance from those same time
periods as well. um if you know we look at behavior and discipline uh records and things of that nature. And in February, all of the applicants are invited to uh one or the other of our campuses to take a reading and math test. It is grade level material. It's
eighth grade material. It's nothing too challenging. Um and once all that is done, uh the students get a score. The admissions committee looks at all those things, all those data points I mentioned before, um including the tests they took in February. And then the students just get ranked. We take the
first 40 kids for each of the threemies and then everybody else goes onto a wait list. Students do come off the wait list all the time. Um we do ask if you get accepted uh to please if you decide not to come that's okay. We have a long wait
list. We get between 150 and 180 students who apply to each of thesemies. Um so it's okay if you apply and decide not to come but you have to tell us. It's very very important that you tell us because you're going to be taken a spot from somebody who wants to come if you don't want to. And then obviously we
hope you would you would choose to come. Um because we want you here and uh and the kiddos from West Windsor are are are great kids. Um let's take a look at this video now and then we should have time for questions. Welcome to Mercer County Technical
Schools. Magic happens here. Attention Mercer County 8th graders. Mercer County Technical Schools would like to invite you to apply to one of our free full-time 4-year academy high school programs in culinary arts,
health science, or STEM. Each academy offers college credit, hands-on project-based learning, career training, and certifications in your field of interest and all the academics of a traditional high school. For over
50 years, MCTS has helped students thrive by doing what they love. You'll still take core classes like math, English, and gym, but your electives focus entirely on your academy specialty. In culinary arts, electives happen in the kitchen. Learn from professional chefs. Earn Surf Save and
ProStart credentials and explore everything from knife skills and menu planning to hospitality and food service. In health science, you'll study real medical topics like anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, and dynamics of healthcare. Get certified in
CPR, bloodborne pathogens, and more. All while preparing for careers from nursing to physician to research. In STEM, choose from three exciting pathways. Engineering electives include digital electronics and engineering design. AI
and robotics, computer science, robotics, and programming. JOTC offers leadership classes as well as marching and drilling in place of PE. All three STEM pathways will have some engineering electives, many using Project Lead the
Way curriculum. For a specific listing of course sequences, curriculum, industry credentials, and which classes offer dual credit, please visit our website and check out the program of studies under the academics tab. The culinary and STEMmies are based at our
Cypex Center in Pennington. The Health Science Academy is at the Asenp Center right across from Mercer County Community College. MCTS students can earn 30 to 40 college credits before graduation through partnerships with Mercer County Community College, TCJ,
Fairley Dickinson University, Thomas Edison State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and more. These aren't necessarily associate degree programs. They're an amazing chance to get a head start on college or your career doing what you love. Our students
have been accepted to some of the best colleges in the world, including Oxford, Penn State, Cornell, Colombia, Princeton, Duke, John's Hopkins, the Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales, tons of great New Jersey
schools, and of course, Mercer County Community College. Others launch straight into careers, apprenticeships, or certifications. All threemies offer clubs like debate, national honor society, yearbook, student council, and competitive groups like Robotics, Math
League, and our awardwinning gaming team, the Wizards. You can also join schoolwide organizations like Skills USA, ProStart, and HOSA, Health Occupation Students of America. Still want to play sports or do the school play or color guard at your home high
school? You can. Students attend MCTS during the day and return to their home school in time for sports and clubs. All MCTS students are eligible to participate in after school activities. By the way, the home districts also provide transportation to and from MCTS
every day. We work with them to make sure your child has a great high school experience. Here's how to apply. Talk to your counselor and your parents. Visit www.mcts.edu and find the admissions tab. Click apply
online, create an account, and submit your application. Book a guest day visit through our site. We want to meet you. In February, all applicants take a math and reading test. Combined with your grades, attendance, and NJSLA scores. This helps our admissions team make
selections. Accepted students are notified in the spring. Others may be weight listed, and yes, students do get called from the wait list. These programs fill up fast, so apply now. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, LinkedIn, and check out our
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[Music] Okay. Um, Dr. Spedmeley, did you happen to see any questions in the in the chat or in the Q&A or are most of our folks uh audio only? >> So, it looks like we're audio only. What I'm hearing from Mr. James, our IT
director, is that he thinks there's actually a problem with like that Zoom. It could be um like an update or we have something with the app not working. So know I've gotten a lot of um emails and looking back and forth. I this feels
like a real glitch and I'm one to definitely own when I have technological difficulties. I know sometimes we say, "Oh, we'll just call it a technical glitch." Um but this one um I we do have everyone looking at Yeah. Like we and we know we have phone participants, but it seems like even when Mr. James went into
our Zoom on the back end. It's still something is missing in the loading where everyone just kept getting the message that the webinar was um waited, you know, we're waiting to start the webinar. So, um we will we will continue. So, I don't know that when you're phone only that you have access
to Q&A, but I thought maybe what we could do for a few minutes um is just talk you and me about some of the I think you've mentioned all of the things that people typically ask questions, but trying to remember from prior webinars like what are our top Q&As's? I I
remember one uh uh students from or parents from West Windsor always ask we live in Middle Sex County but we we go to West Windsor Plainsboro North or South. Uh are we still eligible to apply for these programs? The answer is the answer is yes. Yes, you are. As long as
you would go to High School South or High School North, you're good. >> Yes. And I would just add to that that we prefer because our school district is in Mercer County, we prefer and it's much easier to stay involved in activities if you want to still have the
tie um to our school district. Um we would prefer that you stay in Mercer County. Also, your bus ride is a lot shorter. So sometimes people ask about a Middle Sex County Technical School. And while yes, that is also an option. Um when you take a look at the logistics
around that um we have great programming right here in Mercer County and you could be talking about really a 90 to2hour difference in your day when we add in transportation that um we want students we we don't like for our students to be on a bus that long um if
they don't need to be and we have such great offerings with our partners here in Mercer County with one campus right across the street from Mercer County Community College. So, practically in our backyard, it's not quite what you know, like right there, but um you know,
less than 10 minutes from from the high schools. Um and over at the um at the Cyp Center, right? Cyp was just there and I forgot the but
still close enough that um they can come back in time. they they are home after school. Even if they part even full-time students participate in the afterchool and extracurricular offerings at Mercer County Technical Schools, if they want
to come back and see a football game or um any other athletic event on our campuses, it's an easy enough thing to get back in the neighborhood and be able to still feel a part of West Windsor Plansboro schools as well. So, we encourage that. Another thing I I always
like to mention is um uh it please don't think of it I I I hope that parents aren't thinking of it this way, but it is definitely not a a competition between the school two school districts. We really think of it as as a partnership and and we just want we just want the students to have the best high
school experience whether that's as a shared time student or a full-time student. >> Absolutely. Um so I'm thinking of other questions. you mentioned transportation, but um and I heard you I heard you say several times it's free, but we just
want to underline that part is that it really is an excellent opportunity to feel like you're taking your elective courses. Um and just speaking from um on the shared shared time view um and speaking on behalf of our high school
counselors for those of you who are looking at applying for shared time programs. Um we will work with the the technical schools have school counselors on staff. Obviously, your home counselor stays your counselor as a as a shared
time student, and we will work in whatever way we need to to make sure that um we're definitely going to guarantee that you're meeting all graduation requirements. Um as a shared time student, the West Windsor Plainsboro counselor, the either the North or South counselor will still work
on post-secary planning and they work lockep um with the counselor. If your child has a case manager, um, we pull them into discussions as well. So, um, you really get the team of people and we always have an a look on making sure
there are multiple people making sure that the schedule because our schedule is a little bit different and our timing is a little bit different than the technical schools. But we'll do whatever we can do to be as flexible as we can so that any student who wishes to participate in the shared time program
is able to do that and maximize their the offerings at both our school and at Mercer County Technical Schools. >> Um I'll mention uh I'll mention a couple differences with the with the college credits either for the sharetime programs or the or the or the academy
programs. We we have these articulation agreements with most of the credits are coming from Mercer County Community College. Um we have we have smaller agreements with a lot of other different schools. But for the Sharedtime programs, and I'll use the auto tech program as an example, if
you're a Sharetime student, you complete that program and you're interested in getting your associates degree in auto tech. Um you can earn 12 credits from from their auto tech program by completing our program. So, you skip four classes, uh, you know, or or 12
credits of the 60 you'll need to get that degree from Mercer's auto tech program. The the thing is you need to enroll at Mercer after you graduate and then they communicate to us that you've enrolled um and and we show them your transcripts and get you your get get
those credits for you so you can skip the four classes. Um, that's how a lot of the sharetime programs that bear credit work. For the academy programs, you're actually starting high school with a college transcript. So, uh, the English that you take junior year,
English three, is, uh, articulated with English 101 from Mercer County Community College, for example. There's there's lots of different classes. Senior year, the students are taking classes actually on the campus of Mercer, and um, uh, they're they're earning those credits
that way. Um, I another question I get is will those credits transfer if I go somewhere, you know, go go to school somewhere else? Um, because not everybody wants to go to Mercer. They might they might choose to go to a different school. If you stay in a New Jersey school, the credits will very
likely transfer pretty easily, especially if you stay in that career area. Um, if you go out of state, you you really need to check with a school on a case-byase basis. I I assume a lot of times the academic classes uh like an English 101 or a history class or a math
class. Those will probably go pretty easily. >> Great. Got to think of other I unfortunately I can't access last year's Q&A at my fingertips with um being in the webinar. >> You know what we can do instead? Uh Dr. Dr. Smithley is just I I'll give
everybody a great email address to email me with specific questions that we didn't >> if something came up that we didn't answer. It's admissions.edu. The MCTS of course stands for Mercer County Technical Schools. Easy to remember. Admissions atm.edu.
>> Perfect. And um like I said, we will we will be pushing the Google Drive link out. But we'll also get this posted as soon as possible on our YouTube channel and um happy to also take um take
questions if you have but like like Mr. Orf said go ahead and just email them directly. That will save time if you email the questions there. You can certainly ask questions and follow up with um your WWP counselor. Um and we
look forward to do you want to just for before we close just give us our I know it's apply now right like so as soon as possible get those apps in are there specific deadlines that we want to say >> for for the shared time programs it is it is highly recommended that you apply
just literally today as soon as possible. If you wait until after December 1st uh your application will get looked at in a second wave of applicants. Um, so you're you're hurting your chances very much. If you wait until the springtime for the shared time
programs, it will be too late. The programs will fill up. All of these programs fill up. For the academy programs, um, again, please apply as soon as possible just to get that visit in. Um, if you if you need to think of it as having a deadline, uh, you must
apply before the holiday break so that we can invite you in January to come take the test. Um, >> takeaways are apply as soon as possible. Um, visit uh either through your counselor if it's a shared time program or through your parent if it's a uh if
it's an academy program. And uh email me with questions admissions@m.edu. And if you get accepted, we will notify you via email uh in the springtime. But
uh just let us know if you can't come. >> Okay, great. Well, and you know what we'll do too? I'm thinking like in addition to the whole recording of what we did tonight over the approximately last 50 minutes, maybe we could also, if it's okay with you, even send it as a
PDF, but we could send the if you send me the um the slide deck, I'd be happy to send that because then people could watch the videos and kind of go through it at their leisure and not necessarily have to go through that. >> I'll send you the the two different slide presentations. Um,
>> perfect. >> And then Yeah. And if you if you if you do share this video with the with the folks who signed up uh to attend a webinar, that that would be great, too, because >> it's not different. It's just my big pumpkin head uh talking the whole time. So, >> you get a little bit and a little bit of
our nerves of of like fig trying to figure it out at the beginning, right? So, if you're not interested in watching us fumble our way through through the technical glitches, you could shortcut it with the uh with the slide deck on your own. So, but again, um thank you,
Mr. or for joining us tonight. Um families, I apologize for our technical glitches. Here we are five years almost six years later and you still never quite know if you we tested our sound, we tested our video, all those things and yet sometimes the the world does not
cooperate with us and we just embrace it and find an alternative. That's what we're about being flexible. That's what counselors do, right? That's what school psychologists do. So here we are. So thank you everyone for joining us. Mr. or thank you for having a special presentation just for us. We appreciate
it and wish everyone a good night. >> Thanks everybody. Have a good night. >> Okay. Thanks. Bye. Bye.