Casie Hollenbeck (center) stands with a bouquet during a CTE Month recognition visit alongside Jacquelyn Leyva, Steven Kahn, Dr. Jacqueline Cardenas, Chris Alfieri and Machele Kilgore. 
Casie Hollenbeck is recognized in front of her students during a CTE Month classroom visit at an OCDE ACCESS site. 
From left, Colleen Mangali, Steven Kahn, Monica Aguiar, Lauren Hartshorne, Dr. Jacqueline Cardenas and Erik Bagger gather during a CTE Month classroom recognition at an OCDE ACCESS site. 
Michael Poirier poses with former students now employed by Spyder Lab, along with Dr. Kenneth Ko, Steven Kahn, Dr. Jacqueline Cardenas, Lauren Hartshorne, Jacquelyn Leyva and teachers from the ACCESS Century Day School site.
Quick look: During CTE Month, OCDE’s Career Education and Workforce Development team recognized approximately 1,200 career education teachers across Orange County, including instructors serving ACCESS students through a partnership with North Orange County ROP.
Career technical education classrooms across Orange County received a show of appreciation the month as representatives from the Orange County Department of Education’s Career Education and Workforce Development team delivered thank-you gifts to educators during CTE Month.
On Feb. 11, team members visited three classrooms serving students in OCDE’s ACCESS alternative education program, recognizing teachers who provide hands-on, career-connected learning experiences through a partnership with North Orange County ROP. The visits were part of a broader CTE Month recognition effort honoring approximately 1,200 educators across Orange County’s 28 school districts and charter schools.
The three classroom stops included Michael Poirier, who teaches culinary arts in the Food Service and Hospitality pathway at Harbor Learning Center South; Casie Hollenbeck, who teaches in the Child Development pathway; and Monica Aguiar, who teaches digital media arts at the ACCESS Placentia site in the Design, Visual and Media Arts pathway.
Building futures through hands-on learning
Dr. Jacqueline Cardenas, executive director of Achievement, Innovation and Continuous Improvement for OCDE’s ACCESS program, said the visits offered an opportunity to recognize the educators working directly with students every day.
“Today was an amazing day,” Cardenas said. “Our staff members work so hard to engage our students, to provide the best educational services to them, and to really support students to see themselves into their future.”
Cardenas noted that ACCESS students have opportunities to earn portable micro-badges — credentials they can carry forward as they pursue careers or further education.
“There is definitely a lot of momentum in the classrooms,” she said. “You see students focused on their learning and inspired to create and bring a product to fruition that maybe they hadn’t even dreamed of before.”
Lauren Hartshorne, coordinator of CTE programs for ACCESS, said she regularly sees students thrive in CTE classrooms.
“Our CTE teachers create safe, engaging spaces where students feel seen, valued and capable while building real-world skills,” Hartshorne said.
A partnership model
The ACCESS CTE instructors are employed through a partnership with North Orange County ROP, which contracts with OCDE to provide credentialed career technical education teachers with industry experience. The model allows students to learn from professionals who bring real-world expertise into the classroom while working closely with OCDE site leaders and coordinators.
For Casie Hollenbeck, who teaches in the Child Development pathway and brings experience from operating two preschool daycare centers outside of OCDE, CTE resonates with students because it feels relevant.
“It’s real-life skills,” Hollenbeck said. “They see how they can use it in their real lives, and it gets them more motivated to learn.”
She said the classroom recognition during CTE Month reinforces that the work in ACCESS settings matters.
“With ACCESS students, they can get lost a little bit sometimes,” she said. “It’s important that we support them and see that they’re important, too.”
Monica Aguiar, in her second year teaching digital media arts after years in embroidery and printing, said she intentionally sought out an ACCESS classroom.
“I love the kids,” Aguiar said. “Seeing the difference from day one to now — their confidence — that’s everything.”
She added that CTE offers students options.
“College isn’t the path for everyone,” she said. “Being able to give them another opportunity, another view of life, matters.”
Michael Poirier, who runs a barbecue catering business alongside his work as a culinary arts instructor at Harbor Learning Center South, brings entrepreneurial experience into the classroom.
“I love what I do,” Poirier said. “Being able to work with these students and help them build skills they can actually use — that’s what it’s all about.”
For more information about OCDE’s Career Education and Workforce Development programs, visit ocde.us/EducationalServices.