Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides hands-on applied learning experiences that build academic knowledge, problem solving skills, general employment skills and specific career skills that lead to applicable industry credentialing. CTE includes traditional vocational technical education provided at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, The English High School and Boston Arts Academy as well as career pathways provided within eight of Boston’s comprehensive high schools.Upon graduation, Career and Technical Education students enter employment, apprenticeship programs, and, two and four year colleges. There are two types of CTE Programs in Boston;  The English High SchoolBusiness TechnologyComputer Programming & Web DevelopmentGraphic Design & Visual CommunicationHealth Assisting & WellnessProtective Services*Boston Arts AcademyFashion TechnologyBoston International High SchoolMedical Office AssistantComputer Programming Brighton High (617) 635-6729 x 41426Supported Training to Reach Independence through Vocational ExperiencesThe Mission of STRIVE is to explore and provide pre-vocational

, vocational, and transitional services to students with disabilities. STRIVE team members collaborate with student’s support team to provide pre-vocational and vocational activities. The support team includes the student, family members, classroom teachers, and school personnel. These activities may include:In-school Pre-vocational TrainingCareer ProfilesWork-readiness Skills SessionsCommunity Access TrainingIndividual Job DevelopmentPractice Job InterviewsInternships & Job ShadowingResume BuildingJob CoachingCollege & Career Field TripsPost-secondary PreparationAssist with the 688 Referral ProcessTransition ServicesSTRIVE staff work closely with each high school’s Special Education office to assist in developing appropriate transition plans, in accordance with Massachusetts Chapter 688 Transitional Planning Program. It is the goal of STRIVE that an appropriate adult rehabilitative service provider be in place prior to the student exiting school.Busting stereotypes is nothing new for Allison Oropallo.

She grew up playing hockey on boys’ teams until she was 14, and the boys grew a lot bigger than she was. But Oropallo didn’t stop playing hockey, and she didn’t stop trying to break stereotypes.“I am definitely not the norm,’’ Oropallo said. “I’ve never met another woman who does what I do. And I think it’s important because I think women would be great [in nontraditional roles]. They look at things differently.’’ Oropallo, who lives in Stoneham, is a technology engineering teacher at Ottoson Middle School in Arlington, where she is also the Legos robotics coach. She recently finished as the runner-up on HGTV’s “All-American Handyman,’’ one of 20 contestants and the only woman in the final four. “It was a great experience,’’ she said. “It was certainly hard work, really long hours, but it was the most satisfying thing I’ve done. It was hard and the fact that I made it all the way through felt really good.’’ Thank you for signing up!

Sign up for more newsletters here Oropallo happened to be browsing online the day auditions in Philadelphia were announced. “I called my mother and I’m like, ‘Let’s go on a road trip,’ ’’ she said. “So we went and I did it, and then I got a call like three days before [filming began].’’business for sale aviemoreConveniently, shooting the show in Brooklyn coincided with the April school vacation, so Oropallo only had to take a few extra days off. business for sale alcoa tnBut they were long days.business for sale saundersfoot “A lot of times we had 22-hour workdays,’’ she said. “business for sale hotchkiss co

It’s high, high stress. You’ve got cameras on you at all times. You’re going against all these other really talented people. You’ve got Mike Holmes and Scott McGillivray, who are judging your projects. People watch every day.’’ Oropallo, 28, was well prepared for the challenge. handyman services suffolkThe jobs included building a shed and constructing a kitchen in the finale after finishing a living room, an obstacle course with standard handy-person tasks, and several other trials. business for sale bangalowThe contestants were judged on their overall knowledge, the quality of their work, how well they managed a crew, and their ability to get the job done quickly and efficiently.Jared Polston of Pottsville, Pa., won the grand prize, a $10,000 Sears shopping spree and an HGTV talent development deal, but Oropallo was voted the viewers’ fan favorite and received a $1,500 gift certificate to Sears.Known as “Score’’ to her friends, Oropallo, a native of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., studied civil engineering and played hockey at the University of Connecticut.

She also studied applied technology at the College of Saint Rose in Albany and has a master’s degree in education from SUNY-Plattsburgh. She taught architecture, engineering, wood shop, and construction at a high school in the San Francisco area before coming to Arlington. In addition to teaching, she has a side business doing handywoman jobs. Many of her clients are women, who appreciate that Oropallo will take the time to show them how a project is done, enabling them to do it themselves in the future.Oropallo is the first woman in the show’s first two seasons to make it to the finals.“I think she had a different perspective and a different approach,’’ said Margherite Ottaviano, the show’s spokeswoman. “I’m not surprised that a woman made it that far. I think having a woman in the mix made for a more healthy competition, a more interesting competition. It doesn’t surprise me that she was able to keep up and had an advantage sometimes. She’s a smart gal.’’And if Oropallo had won, would they have changed the name of the show?“

Ah, that’s a producer question,’’ Ottaviano said. Oropallo hopes she can be an example to her own students at the Ottoson in Arlington.“My students and their parents will say, ‘We can’t believe the things we see you doing on TV,’ ’’ she said. “I know my female students love the fact that they have a woman as a teacher in this particular trade. I think that I’m kind of just trying to show that anyone can do anything, no matter how big you are or what sex you are, and everybody should respect that.’’She’s already helping to accomplish that at the Ottoson.“We had hired Allison primarily because she was extremely qualified,’’ said Timothy Ruggere, the school’s principal. “We have a male tech teacher and I wanted somebody that would be a role model for girls, for women in engineering, because that’s a really big push that I personally wanted to make, for girls to know that they can be engineers, that they can be good at technology and math. . . . So we hired Allison because she was vivacious, she’s very bright, and the program really took off when she got here.