KTEC enrollment already at capacity

COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai Technical Education Campus is already full - and it hasn't even opened.

Director Mark Cotner said KETC enrollment is at 900 students, exceeding enrollment capacity, so the need for certified instructors is great.

Industry experts will be hired for all KTEC programs and University of Idaho will provide the teacher training.

"This agreement will serve as a model for public school and university cooperation in professional-technical education," said KETC director Mark Cotner.

Cotner said the University of Idaho will provide courses in Coeur d'Alene for KTEC faculty seeking professional-technical teacher certification.

"This partnership with the university allows professional-technical educators to remain in the region as they earn and renew their certification," hesaid.

John Cannon, University of Idaho career and technical education program coordinator, said that courses, such as teaching methods, assessment techniques and curriculum development, would be provided through the university's Coeur d'Alene Center under the direction of Robert Ketchum.

Ketchum was recently hired to serve the alternatively certified Professional-Technical Education - or PTE - teachers in northern Idaho.

PTE courses will be offered for high school students at the KTEC in Rathdrum.

The 54,000-square-foot technical professional high school is being constructed near the intersection of Meyer and Lancaster roads, and is slated to open next fall.

"Economic development depends on a skilled workforce," said Cotner. "The KTEC is poised to become a critical component in North Idaho's regional economy.