A lottery-funded Career and Technical Education (CTE) wing opens the doors to future opportunities for the students of Bertie High School in Windsor.
“We cut the ribbon on possibility, we cut the ribbon on opportunity, we cut the ribbon on the future,” shared Bertie County Schools CTE Director Wanda Cofield at the grand opening ceremony in August.
The addition was made possible through a $15 million construction grant from lottery funds. This shows how your play makes a difference: helping expand Bertie’s existing CTE program with more resources to gain practical skills in trades such as welding, cosmetology, automotive, HVAC, agriculture and carpentry.
“They need the hands-on experience, those certifications that they can go right to work when they leave high school and hopefully work in region so they can be contributors to our economy,” shared Superintendent Dr. Otis Smallwood.
Before the new addition was added, students had to be bused to outdated facilities for their classes. A year after the project broke ground, the new wing is ready — not only alleviating the loss of instructional time but also enhancing classrooms with modern and state-of-the-art equipment.
An investment in the future workforce, these major improvements came at no additional cost to Bertie County taxpayers.
“Without the lottery, it would not have happened,” reiterated Dr. Smallwood, a graduate of Bertie High School. “It is hard to put into words what this means, not only for our school, but the entire community.”
This is one of 10 new school buildings in the state to open this year using lottery-funded grants. Over the last 20 years, the lottery has raised over $36 million to support education in Bertie County.
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