WHS Career Education

The four-year Arts Designer program at Westerly High School develops the skills of the young artist and guides them in communicating and creating using a visual language. Students are taught to practice and apply the elements and principles of art and design. Each course is designed to sequentially focus on skill-building to develop the students’ knowledge while fostering their creativity and conceptual skills to visualize their ideas. Students explore their personal voice and vision as an artist as well as develop an awareness of the social and cultural context of their work.

The Construction Technology Program is designed to be a hands-on course that helps students explore the construction industry. Students learn the use of hand and power tool safety while building full-scale projects. Students will investigate a variety of career paths such as engineering, carpentry, masonry, electrical, welding and others. As part of this course, students will receive an OSHA 10 safety card issued by the US Department of Labor. Students will be involved in a national curriculum that creates a personalized resume which can be viewed around the world by potential employers.

Are you interested in a career in the beauty industry? Did you know that with a cosmetology license you can be employed as a stylist, nail technician, esthetician, makeup artist, educator, product educator, sales consultant, business owner, and many more? WHS offers a four-year, 1500 hour program that uses RIDE approved curriculum. Students completing the program will be eligible to test for the RI Cosmetology Licensure and can receive OSHA 10 Certification.

The 4-year Criminal Justice program at Westerly High School offers a curriculum that includes the study of the criminal justice legal system within the Law, Public Safety, and Security career fields. Students are provided opportunities to learn through classroom instruction and hands-on experiences, including collaborations with the local police departments. Successful completion of the program includes credentialing by the National Occupational Competency Institute.

The WHS Culinary Arts program prepares students to gain competencies within the food and beverage service industry. Students learn and become proficient in Food Service Safety & Sanitation, Nutrition, operation of kitchen tools and equipment, knife skills, food prep, dining room operations and menu design/costing. The students operate The Highland Grille and the Campus Cafe and also cater various events in town. Students will graduate with entry-level career skills and will be prepared for employment or further education.

The 3 year Information Technology Specialist program at Westerly High School offers a curriculum that includes Intro to Computing, Cyber Security, and AP Computer Science Principles which are CS4RI courses in which credits from the University of Rhode Island are earned. “A+” Certification is available and an internship where students utilize their learned skills along with certifications are offered with our technology department and within the community.

This 4 year Maritime Manufacturing program, in partnership with Electric Boat and CCRI, enables students to experience hands-on and theoretical learning, along with the opportunity to earn college credits. Coursework includes CADD as well as machining along with other industry vetted coursework. Through the program course sequence, and our partnerships with Electric Boat, CCRI and the Westerly Education Center, students are prepared to further their education and/ or enter the workforce upon program completion.

Medical Careers is a 4-year program that provides students with classroom instruction and hands-on experiences in various aspects of the medical field. Currently housed at the Westerly Ambulance Corps, students will receive a hands on approach to in demand medical careers such as Emergency Medical Technician and Emergency Medical Responder. Certifications which you can expand to include Phlebotomist, Medical Assistant, and Medical Imaging.

This 3 year Software Developer program at Westerly High School, in partnership with URI and CS4RI, offers a curriculum that includes: Intro to Computing (URI Course), CS4RI Internship where students work to create a software product and present it to industry mentors at the end of the semester, AP Computer Science Principles (URI Course), and AP Computer Science A (JAVA). Students can earn 8 University of Rhode Island Credits, and 3 credits from the college board with a score of 3 or better on their AP exam.