An Inside Look at Amherst County Public Schools’ Cutting-Edge CTE Program

By: Carrie Dungan | Photos by: Amber M. Belako, Courtesy of Amherst County Public Schools

As Jackson Presnell joked with his fellow classmates while cleaning up the Amherst County High School (ACHS) welding shop, his proudest high school accomplishment—the area’s newest LOVE sign—lay just feet away.

The LOVE sign is the culmination of community partnerships throughout Amherst County, and Jackson Presnell said he had the honor of helping fit, weld, and paint the metal sculpture in collaboration with his classmates.

ACHS welding instructor Larry Johnston watched his students with a smile as he described the importance of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs like welding. He’s spent the past 23 years shaping the next generation of welders, and as he prepares to retire after the 2026-2027 school year, Johnston said little moments like working together to clean up the welding shop are more important to his students’ future careers than they may realize.

“They’re learning to make relationships and think as a team,” Johnston shared. “They turn into a family, just like they’re expected to at work.”

Since Johnston joined Amherst County Public Schools (ACPS) more than two decades ago, the county’s CTE program has evolved from a “traditional” vocational program to more of a holistic career development pipeline that encompasses kindergarten through 12th grade, according to Craig Maddox, ACPS Supervisor of CTE.

For ACPS students like Jackson Presnell, exploration of a potential future career path begins early. Elementary students participate in the Virginia Career Review Program, which exposes them to age-appropriate information about careers. The Amherst Express Mobile Career Lab provides these elementary school students with hands-on learning experiences related to high-demand career fields such as skilled trades, health science, and agriculture.

As Amherst County students transition into middle school, they move further into career exploration and begin to narrow down their areas of interest, according to Shannon Presnell, ACPS CTE Coordinator. ACPS middle schools offer a Career Investigations course that allows students to explore the breadth of careers available as well as the skills and education required for each. Shannon Presnell and Maddox work with the students and their instructional technology resource teachers to create an academic and career plan that students share with their parents for additional discussion.

“We’re not trying to get your kid to pick a career at this point,” Shannon Presnell said. “It’s just this starting point in middle school to look at what they may be interested in, and that leads to conversations of academics and why it’s important that you pass your SOLs and pass your classes. It’s important that you ask for help, and it’s important that you talk to your parents and you talk to us.”

At ACHS, students can choose a career pathway based on what they’ve learned about the opportunities during their elementary and middle school years. ACPS programs include skilled trades such as welding or Building Trades, health sciences, culinary arts, business, information technology, agriculture, and dental assisting. Through their courses at ACHS and the CTE Academy at CVCC, students like Jackson can earn industry credentials, complete dual enrollment coursework, and participate in work-based learning.

Shannon Presnell said Jackson Presnell will have 18 welding certifications from his time in the CTE program when he enters the prestigious The Apprentice School in Newport News this fall. He plans to use his welding certifications to work in naval shipyards while attending school and will likely eventually earn more than six figures annually by the time he finishes his four years of training.

“Our Goal Is That We Want Our Kids To Be Life Ready,” Said Maddox. “When They Graduate, We Want Them To Have The Skills And We Want Them To Have The Confidence That They Can Go Out And Either Get A Job Or Further Their Education, Or Both.”

Helping students identify their pathway and watching those young men and women, many of whom they’ve known for years, light up when they find their place and understand their potential is what drives Johnston, Maddox, and Shannon Presnell.

Johnston said students enter his classroom with a variety of backgrounds, but in the welding shop, the experience is universal.

“Sometimes I have to just start with teaching them how to use a push broom,” he said. “But then you watch them all grow, succeed, and feel good about themselves.”

Shannon Presnell echoed that sentiment. As he gave a tour of the ACPS CTE spaces, he walked by a student and his face lit up.

“Hey man, I’m so proud of you,” he told the student.

After fist bumping the student and moving on, he shared how hard the student had worked to raise his grade and why he feels it’s so important to remind students that they’re doing great things.

“You can see the sparkle in their eyes and they remember that, they remember what you’ve said, and they will come back years afterwards and say, ‘That one little comment changed my life,’” Shannon Presnell said. “That’s why I’ve been doing this for 24 years.”

ACPS CTE staff want students and their families to understand that CTE is for everyone, Maddox said, and that their goal is to provide support for all students, no matter what their path may be. One aspect of that support is helping students understand the many possibilities that can come from each career, something Jackson Presnell said he appreciated.

“It’s definitely widened my perspective of how many opportunities there are and how there are so many career paths you can go down,” he said. “It’s not just that you can do welding. You can do so many different things or eventually get into management with it, go higher up and not always be low on the totem pole.”

Local businesses serve as valuable partners in the ACPS CTE program. All CTE programs have advisory committees that consist of business leaders in the region who provide feedback on the skills and certifications students need as they enter the workforce, said Shannon Presnell. ACPS also partners with the Amherst County Education Foundation to hold regular “Lunch and Learns,” where representatives from area businesses have lunch with students to share real-world experiences in their fields and answer questions.

“I love it because we can preach all day long in school, but when the businesses come in and say, ‘If this is what you want to do, here’s what you need,’ and then you’ll hear students talking about it later,” Shannon Presnell said, laughing.

These four men are leaving lasting legacies in the Amherst community: Shannon Presnell, Maddox, and Johnston through the life lessons they instill in their students and Jackson Presnell through the physical representation of his work in the LOVE sign and life he’s just starting to build. Most valuable of all, though, are the lifelong bonds they’ve established in the place they call home.

“The most important thing is building relationships with everyone for the benefit of our students, our school division, and our community,” Shannon Presnell noted. “We want to see people going out into the community happy, making money, and loving what they do.”