Career and Technical Education introduces newest Hospitality Management pathway

Administrators, trustees, staff and students' eyes were glued to the screen at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, as Director of Career and Technical Education Brian Simmons gave a presentation on the CTE Program and the newest pathway students can take, Hospitality Management.  

Before diving into the latest pathway, Mr. Simmons highlighted the importance of CTE, the progress of the program, goals for the year, community industry partners, and the impact it has had on students’ education. He went over the core of CTE and the accomplishments students have achieved during their time in the program, such as all the Certified Nursing Assistant students passing their Prometric exam in the 2023 - 2024 school year. 

During his presentation, Mr. Simmons announced that the New York State Education Department CTE Technical Assistance Center has chosen Mount Vernon High School as the official site of the Framing Tomorrow program, a regional support and sharing network for all CTE educators across New York State.  

Towards the end of the presentation, Mr. Simmons announced the newest program, and how it will coincide with the most popular CTE program at MVHS, culinary arts. He explained that what was previously Culinary Arts 1, the first class on the pathway of culinary arts, will now be Introduction to Hospitality and Culinary. 

Students will now have the opportunity to choose which pathway they would like to take after completing this course, which will teach different skills that can transfer into a variety of careers. In the coming years, new hospitality courses will be introduced as students advance through the program. In these advanced classes, both programs will collaborate through hands-on learning projects such as pop-up dining labs. 

“A new hospitality management pathway, to pioneer something that has not been done,” said Mr. Simmons. “Mount Vernon students will now have access to hands-on career training in the hospitality sector with state-of-the-art industry practices for immersion in high-paying careers and post-secondary options.”  

In addition to these new courses, there is also a hospitality suite that contains various elements and equipment for students to get hands-on experience. In the old Sundown classroom at MVHS, is now a new cold kitchen complete with equipment that was donated or found in other schools. 

Students who are currently enrolled in the hospitality program came up to the podium after the presentation to share their experiences, gratitude and excitement for what’s to come.  

“At our hospitality program at Mount Vernon High School, we learn and practice hospitality management, culinary arts, hotel management and tourism,” said Amirah Arroya, a sophomore at MVHS. “I want to thank you all for giving us this time to talk about our lovely program. I also want to thank Chef Kat (Katherine Rodriguez, hospitality teacher at MVHS) for helping us go through the entire program and giving us all a great space.”  

Chef Kat Rodriguez is the new and experienced hospitality teacher at MVHS, and the previous director of culinary programs at the Food Education Fund.  

To close out the presentation, Mr. Simmons shared a big announcement about an exciting partnership with the biggest distributor of Latin American foods in the Western Hemisphere, Goya, who will provide resources and sponsorship for the program.  

Click here to check out the presentation on the newest CTE course!