Berwick Area School District staff on Monday outlined plans to rebrand and expand the districtareer-technical education program known as the "3-3-9" pathway, and announced an $85,000 grant to buy a full-body medical simulator for hands-on instruction.

Ted Fuller, the presenter, told the board the district wants CTE classrooms to "look like a lab, not a classroom" so students gain realistic, career-focused experience. Fuller said the district currently houses seven programs and is proposing consolidation to six programs while lengthening most tracks from two years to three so students can begin in 10th grade and complete a senior-year cooperative education placement.

The changes Fuller outlined include renaming "sports medicine" to "medical science" to broaden student interest to nursing and lab careers; rebranding multimedia as "digital media and production"; consolidating accounting and information management into an "administrative leadership and entrepreneurship" track; and adjusting criminal justice and education programs so they better align with co-op availability. Fuller said the district
ims for about 20 program completers per pathway but acknowledged current "completer" counts are much lower; he described many students as "concentrators" who take individual courses but do not finish a full sequence.

On equipment, Fuller said the district received an $85,000 grant "for a simulator" and described it as a full-body computer-connected manikin that emulates conditions such as breathing failure or organ issues; Fuller said it would expand hands-on learning in the proposed medical science pathway. Fuller also described marketing plans, including parent town halls, program emblems, brochures and short videos to boost enrollment and public awareness.

Fuller and district staff provided enrollment snapshots showing small numbers of completers in several pathways (for example, four in rehabilitation aid/medical science and nine in criminal justice) but larger course enrollment overall; staff said they will continue to develop the pathway structure and return with further data. Board members did not take formal action on the proposal at the meeting; Fuller asked for further questions and said he would return with additional detail if requested.