In this episode, Snehal Bhakta and Rachael Mann discuss looking forward while building the foundation and what’s in store for the future of education and CTE.
Blog post by Snehal:
Normally, as the school year wraps up, I try to reflect on the work of our CTE Department and myself to support our schools, principals, teachers, and most importantly our students. For whatever reason, this year feels different. Almost like that, there isn’t an end in sight at all.
The 2019-2020 school year will be known as the year education changed...no really, let’s hope that is what it is remembered as. Change is always difficult, frustrating, challenging, and a number of other words… however, in order to look forward, innovate, and truly succeed, then change must happen.
As I and many of us reflect on this past year, there are many things we can all be proud of that we did for education and our students. We began planning for more equity initiatives and increasing middle school career exploration based on Perkins V. As well as continuing to grow the current programs that align with our local industries. Yes, it was shaping up to be another “banner” year of successes and some items for growth and improvement.
Then, we entered March... the home stretch. Making summer plans, trying something new, and counting the days till the end of the school year. Unfortunately, the world stopped. It wasn’t just education... it was everything. Stay at home orders, social distancing, and this thing called “distance” or “remote” learning. Many things were closed; however, a lot isn’t… phone calls, reading, family time, exercise, laughing, and hope is not cancelled.
Now is the time to embrace what we have. Yes, we need to look forward to what the future holds...the opportunities, the hope, and the possibilities. What better time than during a global pandemic to “rebuild” education...or just blow it up and start from scratch.
Snehal Bhakta started his professional career by working in the private sector, primarily in business and technology consulting for 15 years prior to entering into public education. When the opportunity presented itself for him to lead a new Career and Technical Education(CTE) program focusing on technology within Clark County School District(CCSD), he welcomed the opportunity to fuel his passion of helping others and working with the next generation of innovators.
Currently, he is a CTE Administrator employed for the 5th largest school district in the country with over 320,000 students, focusing on ensuring Nevada’s future workforce is prepared for success. Snehal has worked on projects related to increasing student and community participation with National Job Shadow Day, started an Annual Student Workforce & Innovation Summit, promotion and growth of Career & Technical Student Organizations, and leading CCSD’s #GirlsinSTEM and #GirlsinTECH Initiative as well as supporting STEM equity programs across 59 middle and 47 high schools for all students and especially those underserved and underrepresented students.
Snehal also serves as the Affiliate Coordinator for NCWIT(National Center for Women & Information Technology), marketing and event chair for the Society of Information Management(SIM) of Las Vegas, steering committee member for the Intermountain STEM(IM STEM), and holds board positions on several other local organizations. In 2017, he was awarded the Top Tech Exec Award in the Education Category by Cox Communications and in 2019, the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity(NAPE) awarded Snehal the 2019 Rising Star award at their National Summit for Educational Equity in Washington, D.C as well as he recently received the COX Business 2019 Top Tech Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with diversity in the workforce in Southern Nevada.