Three NJ High Schools Roll Out New CTEP Marketing Course to Prepare Students for College, Career

Carteret, Mount Olive, Paterson’s JFK High Schools Are Pioneers in Offering Improved Career-Oriented Curriculum

EDISON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carteret High School, Mount Olive High School in Flanders, and JFK High School in Paterson are the first schools in New Jersey to offer Principles of Marketing, a 35-week standards based course that uses up-to-date marketing materials and real-world problem-solving exercises to better prepare students for a career or college.

“By giving their students a more relevant educational experience, these three high schools are also helping to refine the curriculum.”

The course was developed by the state’s Career and Technical Education Partnership (CTEP, www.ctepmarketingtoolkit.org). The pilot program implemented at the high schools is part of an effort to create a state-wide model program of study for the Marketing Career Cluster using curriculum that is relevant, engaging and standards-based. Standards used in the development of the curriculum included the Common Core, New Jersey’s Curriculum Content standards, and the recently published Common Career Technical Core standards.

“Forty-eight states have adopted the common core concept as the best way to keep American students competitive with the rest of the world,” said Til Dallavalle, Coordinator of the CTEP Marketing Project. “By giving their students a more relevant educational experience, these three high schools are also helping to refine the curriculum.”

Faculty from several high schools, including the three involved in the pilot program, received three days of professional development focused on instructional strategies and lesson planning for the course at a CTEP Marketing Summer Institute in August.

“The sessions provided me with a wealth of information from leaders in the field that I will incorporate into my marketing curriculum,” said Dr. Tim Kelly, Marketing Teacher at Mt Olive High School in Flanders. “I’ll be using many of the sample lesson plans.”

Edwin Hernandez, Marketing Teacher in Paterson’s John F Kennedy High School said the new approach will inspire students to excel. “Students will apply what they learn from classes and study materials to their course projects. They can design a marketing plan around any activity they’re enthusiastic about, from a cause they want to support to a business enterprise that interests them.”

According to JoAnn Angelucci, Marketing Teacher in Carteret High School, the course could also spur students improve their English and math skills. “Principles of Marketing puts reading and writing into a career context. They have to communicate well to make their projects successful.

“Once they see how mastery of the basics helps in real-world work, they’ll pay more attention to those aspects of the core curriculum.”

According to Dallavalle, nearly one job in ten is marketing-related. Government figures project a 13% growth in marketing employment to over 700,000 jobs through 2018. “We’re proud that three New Jersey high schools have taken the initiative to launch this new program to prepare students to succeed as global citizens in 21^st century career opportunities.”