CTEC (Canyons Technical Education Center) is a program where students from any high school in Canyons District can pursue different career paths in a college classroom. It offers SLCC classes to students in the Canyons School District and gives them college credit, and in some classes, a certification for a career. CTEC has around 15 classes, all of which give you college credit. Most students know what CTEC is but aren’t sure if they should do it, especially with the big time commitment.

If you choose to do morning class at CTEC it starts at 7:30 a.m. You can either drive yourself or can come to Alta first and take the bus there and back. The class ends at 9:55 a.m taking place of your 1st and 2nd period classes including advisory. Afternoon classes start at 11:30 a.m and ends at 1:55 p.m. These take up 3rd and 4th period at Alta including lunch. Although the classes are long, they are easy to enjoy (especially if they match your interests), and feel no longer than a regular class at Alta. 

In the criminal justice course at CTEC, students learn new things Monday to Wednesday and reenact them Thursday and Friday. The teacher is very friendly and approachable to students.

However, CTEC students have many other options. One students takes business and they really enjoy it. Her teacher is Ms. Batey, a former Alta teacher. Her class is so much fun. To her, CTEC has also provided the opportunity to make more friends from other schools. 

Another student takes the EMT course. They have also made many friends from other schools. They enjoys the hands on learning aspect such as taking people’s blood pressure. In addition to this, they will be able to earn an EMT certification after taking this class since it counts and an EMT training course.  Its fun to note that different classes will sometimes even come together to run scenarios.

CTEC takes up half of the day or four classes. This can make it difficult to get the classes you want. During arena scheduling some of the classes may only have open seats when you have CTEC, so it’s a good idea to ponder on the decision carefully. 

You might be wondering, well should I take CTEC then? The answer is… it depends. CTEC classes cover a lot each day so you can’t miss much school. Some of the fees can be pretty expensive, and you have to pay for the SLCC credits you earn. And next year, you might even have to pay a fee to become a SLCC student. This year and last year, the fee was waived due to COVID. However, next year is still unknown. The classes may also have their own individual fees as well. 

My suggestion is to look at all the classes you can take and see which one best interests you. If the classes don’t interest you, don’t take it. CTEC requires a big commitment and if you aren’t sure you would enjoy it, you likely shouldn’t take it. For more information, you can access CTEC’s website and read the course descriptions under the “Programs” tab to see what interests you.