GACTC employee honored with Educator of the Year Award
Nicole Zernick, Career & Technical Education Coordinator at the Greater Altoona Career & Technology Center (GACTC), has been named as the 2021 recipient of the Judith A. Rossi Educator of the Year Award by the Blair County Chamber of Commerce. This award, according to the Blair Chamber, “was created to honor an individual who has had an impact on students, schools or educational systems that also benefit the local business community.” This award recognizes those [...]
GACTC receives $50,000 state grant to upgrade equipment
The GACTC has received a $50,000 Pennsylvania Department of Education grant to purchase new equipment aligned to training students for jobs in high demand. The GACTC received the maximum grant available through the competitive Career & Technical Education Equipment Grant Program, which recently awarded nearly $1.5 million to 39 CTCs and three school districts across the commonwealth. “The GACTC is always working to provide real-world training that reflects industry standards,” said Nicole Zernick, CTE Coordinator. [...]
GACTC students excel in Carnegie Science Center competition
Secondary students at the Greater Altoona Career & Technology Center (GACTC) recently placed in the top eight teams at the National Engineers Week Chain Reaction Contraption Contest at the Carnegie Science Center of Pittsburgh. The annual contest is designed to foster an interest in engineering by challenging students to create a machine that will accomplish a specific task in at least 20 steps. In 2021, the task was “turn the page.” Each team submits preliminary [...]
December 2021 Newsletter
December has been busy at the GACTC. We held an Open House, the Cares Committee purchased gifts for nine GACTC families, the sending school Superintendents met at the GACTC for their monthly Professional Advisory Council meeting, and so much more. Read all about it in our December newsletter. Use the sign-up form at that bottom of this page to get our newsletter emailed directly to you so you never miss an update.
GACTC Cares
The GACTC cares — about our students and their families. Each year the GACTC Cares Committee works with faculty to find areas where a little extra help might go a long way for the families of our students. Throughout the school year, funds are raised through faculty “dress down” days, anonymous donations and other creative events. The most recognizable part of this program happens around the holidays, when a tree filled with ornaments recognizing select [...]
Social Media concerns for December 17, 2021
The Greater Altoona Career & Technology Center has received the following correspondence from the Pennsylvania Department Education. “The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) are aware of numerous messages circulating on social media, primarily TikTok, regarding school shootings and bomb threats to schools across the nation for tomorrow, December 17. These social media posts warn of threats but are not specific to Pennsylvania and do not contain specific threats, schools, [...]
