
A huge thank you to Cheyenne Edmundson from SDSU who visited with culinary students about dairy and food science. 100% job placement, close to home, and there’s scholarship money available. SDSU has a 10:1 student to teacher ratio, internship possibilities with a wide variety of companies, and Cheyenne brought SDSU ice cream!!!! CTE loves giving students knowledge about career opportunities connected to food beyond working directly in the kitchen as a chef. 💙🐰💛#sdsujackrabbits #sfcteacademy #dairyscience @sdstate_dairyandfoodscience



Ashlyn Hora is a sophomore from Washington High School and is taking Digital Music Production at the CTE Academy. We see a lot of potential in this young lady but we also see a student using her skills to be involved in her school and her community. Ashlyn has a simple, direct philosophy – “I just want to share my talents with the world.” Our “See the Vision” winner shares her talents by playing in the Washington High School Orchestra and Jazz Band. Ashlyn also plays in her church youth worship band. Most students in Digital Music are creative but not always a musician. Ashlyn can work and collaborate in both roles. She plays the cello, guitar and the base guitar. Our winner says she want to make her own music or be involved in producing music some day. Her teacher, Mrs. Mehlert, says it is wonderful to have Ashlyn in class because she works hard to make her projects sound appealing. To top it off Mrs. Mehlert explained that Ashlyn is a team player, “Ashlyn does a wonderful job of supporting her peers in their musical journeys and is always willing to lend a hand or give feedback to other students.” Ashlyn, we are not sure where life will take you but you have the creativity, musical and people skills to go places! Congratulations on being a “See the Vision” winner!


Intro to A/V students creating TV productions on the KLRN studio. #careerandtechnicaleducation #siouxfalls





Networking and fostering relationships are important in business. Thank you to Sara, Amy, Corey, & Aaron for the CPA Society presentation to the Academy of Finance classes





“She definitely shows a passion for learning and puts true effort in what she does at the CTE Academy.” Those are the words of Mrs. Mushaney about her student, Isabella Krunitzky, a sophomore from Lincoln High School, who is enrolled in Bio Med and Integrated English/Speech at the CTE Academy. Isabella Krunitzky is our next “See the Vision” winner because in her Integrated Speech class she is willing to look for ways to improve, implements advice and is counted on to give positive feedback and friendly smiles to her peers. Isabella said it best, “Taking Speech (at the CTE Academy) has given me new opportunities for classes that interest me and more confidence in my ability to speak and present in front of audiences.” Isabella plans to use CTE as a stepping stone to gain more knowledge about the field of medicine. Isabella, we say – that is exactly what we (the CTE Academy) want to be – a stepping stone into great educational opportunities for you in healthcare!


The sky's the limit for the CTE Academy's Aviation Program after recent news that it is the recipient of the 2022 CTE Innovative Equipment Grant award.
The grant will allow the program to purchase three state-of-the-art flight simulators, unlike any South Dakota aviation program has ever seen. CTE’s aviation program will be the only aviation program in South Dakota to have flight simulators of this caliber, both at the secondary and post-secondary levels. A big congratulations goes out program leader, Laureen Mehlert, who worked tirelessly in her efforts to be the winning recipient of the grant. (An additional thanks goes out to Rebecca Wimmer who spent a significant amount of time helping with the grant writing process.) In total, the grant award amount is over $249,000!
Congratulations to Laureen and the Aviation Program on this exciting accomplishment!


While out in Napa for the CIA Worlds of Flavor Africa and the World, Mrs. Whempner had the great pleasure of dining with the amazing Chef April Johnson (former CTE student) at Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc.
As a CIA graduate this 24-year-old has built an incredible resume for herself already. Her most recent position finds her on the very elite and prestigious Team USA for the 2023 Bocuse d’Or as team assistant.
This appointment means that April has earned the privilege of working along side some of the best chefs in the world including Thomas Keller.
She has traveled to Santiago, Chile and will soon be off to Lyon, France in January with the team. Best of luck Chef, the CTE Academy will be cheering on Team USA!



In Small Animal Science, the students learned about different breeds of dogs, dog groups, and then built replicas of their favorites. To top it off, they had the first-ever CTE AG Dog Show, judged by local Sioux-lebrity Mitchell Olson!





Jimena Mendoza is a senior at Jefferson High School. She enrolled in Health Careers at the CTE Academy because she wants to become a registered nurse. Our “See the Vision” winner wrote, “I love learning about medicine and human anatomy. I find it all very fascinating to me.” With Jimena Mendoza, the truth lies in the evidence. Jimena is the real deal…..not only is she doing great on CNA skills, medical terminology, class content and lab participation, she takes time for extra learning opportunities in the community to further her knowledge of health-related topics. Her teacher Mrs. Even says, “Jimena loves to learn! She tackles challenges with a smile, is always respectful, kind and compassionate which are qualities for a great health professional.” Jimena, the love of learning and the ability to tackle challenges with a constructive and upbeat style will make you an outstanding healthcare provider! We can’t wait to see where that love of learning takes you!


A big day for the Sioux Falls CTE FFA!
Congratulations to our first ever state qualifying leadership development event (LDE) team - the Marketing Plan! They will compete in Pierre at the State Leadership contest in December.
We also had the 4th place- District alternate extemporaneous speaker!



Health careers students add muscles made of play dough to skeletons to help them learn the anatomical positions of each!





Mrs. Whempner took some of CTE’s Culinary and Baking & Pastries students to be CTE Academy representatives at the Sioux Falls Junior Achievement Inspire Event! Students even got to do a knife skills activity with kinetic sand much like our Culinary students do to practice their skills!




Today is Education Assistant's (EA) Day! Our Education Assistants are crucial parts of our educational process. They develop important relationships with our students, support teachers, fill all kinds of roles throughout the day, and can leave each afternoon knowing they've made a difference in the lives of kids.
In honor of this special day, please help us thank our very own EA’s Jim & Cindy! Thank you for always advocating and supporting our students and staff. CTE couldn’t do it without you! #siouxfalls


A student who makes positive connections is the best way to describe our latest “See the Vision” winner from Jefferson High School. Eman Adem is in Health Careers I and our winner can certainly and easily make human connections. Her teacher, Mrs. Kennedy, explains it this way. Eman is kind and caring. She is patient and easy going. She is willing to learn and teaches others. She has a quiet demeanor and has great listening skills. In addition, the teacher described her student’s promising connective skills as “screaming with professionalism and she leads by example.” Eman wrote, “I am going to be a nurse and I am learning things that I will use in my future career.” Eman – we are proud of all that you have and will accomplished at the CTE Academy! We look forward to seeing where these “connective” skills take you as you make people feel seen and valued in your chosen healthcare field!


Students in Computer Hardware & Software are learning about laptops/tablets/cell phone maintenance!


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Students in Health Careers created skeletal structures in class today! #healthcareers #siouxfalls #sfcteacademy




Students in Speech class presented their visual support speech utilizing a prop and had to provide a handout to support the topic of their choosing. Great work everyone!



“Savanna is crushing it!” Those are the words of Mr. Brockmueller about his student, Savanna Meyer, in Computer Hardware and Software. The junior from Washington High School is not really crushing computers – she is fixing them. In fact, in the first day of Hardware and Software, Savanna completely tore down a desktop computer and put it back together with an operational desktop at the end of the class. Her teacher says that Savanna is taking advantage of her CTE class and is using this class as a base of knowledge to pursue a career in computer technology. Our talented student is a busy student. This fall she is in Color Guard and Jazz Band at WHS. She juggles early morning practices with an early morning class at the CTE Academy. Savanna is tentatively planning to attend Dakota State University for Computer Science or Computer Operations. She is also considering joining the National Guard. Our “See the Vision” winner brings a great work ethic and it is demonstrated by her “crushing” it in class and her fall activities schedule. Savanna, we know past performance is often an indicator future successful endeavors and we think you will “crush” it!


And with a blink of an eye, we are already a quarter way through the 2022-2023 school year! The second quarter is here, and it’s a busy one! While this time of year tends to get chaotic, it’s important to remember how crucial student attendance is. Chronic absenteeism is a serious problem in South Dakota - a problem SFSD is committed to improving. Missing just two days a month can hurt a student’s grades and increase their chance of dropping out. Make sure your student is on the path to a bright future – and that starts in the classroom!
