News

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

We are looking forward to starting the school year with your student. In preparation for a safe and organized return to school, we provided Senior Students and Cooperative Education Students who plan to drive to the Career Center an opportunity to obtain parking pass applications on August 7, 2024.

Senior Students who plan to drive but did not obtain a parking pass on August 7, 2024 may pick-up an application at the Career Center's front office.  Underclassmen may not obtain a parking pass until September. Each parking pass is $40.

Please know that students may apply for a parking pass at any time throughout the school year. However, the Career Center will only have a limited number of parking passes available due to high student enrollment this year. Once the limit of parking passes has been reached, no more passes will be issued. Also, please be aware that if a student accumulates (8) or more tardies, their parking pass will be revoked.

Students will only receive a parking pass when the application is complete. This includes a signature from their homeschool principal.

Mr. Scariot, the Career Center Dean of Students will meet with student drivers to provide them with more information shortly after the start of the school year. Please address any questions you may have in regards to parking passes to Mr. Scariot who can be reached at scott.scariot@beattietech.com .

Respectfully,

Dr. Jason Watkins
Assistant Director/Principal

Please join us in congratulating our newest full-time educators – Nicholas Sauer, Stevie Slogan and Evelyn Sussman.

Mr. Sauer has worked at the Career Center for 10 years in various roles and recently was named the Student Engagement Specialist.

In this new role, Mr. Sauer will work to ensure that A.W. Beattie students are ready for their post-high school career pathways, helping them craft their resumes, cover letters and thank-you notes. He will also assist our counselors with the PNC PartnerUp program and support instructors.

“I’m excited because this is something I love to do,” Mr. Sauer said. “I have the opportunity to use my certificates toward practical ends and to ensure students are prepared for their career pathway. I like that I can adapt my skillset to the needs of every student regardless of what field they’re in.”

Mr. Sauer earned his Bachelor’s degree at La Roche University and his Master’s degree from Youngstown State University.

“I also love working with students as a class or individually with their writing and communication skills,” he said. “The ability to communicate with a boss, a client and coworkers is so important in every field and that also can look different in each field. I’m looking forward to helping students develop those skills.”

Mrs. Slogan began working in January at the Career Center as an Instructional Assistant in the Cosmetology program.

She will be the fourth Cosmetology instructor, joining Cynthia Cazin, Sarah Christen and Joani Zelazowski.

“What I love about this program is that students can earn their license while they’re in high school so that they can be ready to enter the industry before they graduate,” Mrs. Slogan said. “I also love that I have three instructors here with tried and true lessons that I get to learn from. I’m excited to bring as much as I can to the program whether that’s teaching alternative techniques, branding yourself in this day and age, making connections and being a kind human. My number one thing in life and the beauty industry is communication. Everything starts with clear and respectful communication.”

Mrs. Slogan attended North Hills Beauty Academy and has more than 10 years of experience in the Cosmetology field.

She noted how her first five months in the program benefited her.

“I realized the impact I can have on students, but I also realize the impact they can have on me. It was a mutual learning experience,” Mrs. Slogan said. “I love being around the students, and it’s amazing how much they are already trying to learn through social media before they get here. When they do get here they are eager to learn so much. That doesn’t mean they can come in and skip the basics, but they’re often more well versed in the field as a starting point.”

Chef Sussman will be the Career Center’s newest Culinary Arts instructor.

She previously taught at a high school in Virginia for 10 years and Bidwell Training Center.

“I’ve learned from my experiences that teaching adults is definitely different compared to teaching high school students,” Chef Sussman said. “I’m really looking forward to igniting a passion in young people, sharing my knowledge and seeing how they grow and where they go.”

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an educator, Chef Sussman said, is when student realizes what they’re learning can be applied to Culinary school and working in the field.

“It’s great when a student returns from a culinary school and they’re excited because what they are learning is the exact same as what we’ve taught them and it’s making their transition easier,” she said. “I also love that they can connect their schooling to their real life, and if they want to they can make a career out of it.”

Chef Sussman earned her degrees at Virginia Tech University and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the Culinary Arts industry.

“I love making other people happy with great food,” Chef Sussman said. “I love being able to give something to someone who is going to enjoy it. That’s the most exciting part of being in the culinary field, and I want to ignite that passion in students, too.”

Dear Students and Families,

Welcome back for the 2024 – 2025 school year! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We anticipate nearly 1,100 students joining us to focus on their career and college pathways.

As the school year draws nearer, the following resources will be useful for your preparation:

• 2024-2025 Student Calendar and Handbook
• 2024-2025 Student Parking Passes
• 2024-2025 Uniform Store
• Use of Medication Forms

We ask that each family completes the enclosed forms mailed to you and return to us in the self-addressed stamped envelope that is enclosed, prior to mid-August.

The continued support of our families is appreciated as we work together preparing the next young leaders within our communities. Please reach out to us if we may be of assistance throughout the school year. I hope that the remainder of the summer will be enjoyable and relaxing.

Respectfully,

Eric C. Heasley, Executive Director
A.W. Beattie Career Center

With countless items on their annual summer to do list, A.W. Beattie’s IT Department once again expanded their team by hiring four students as paid interns.

North Allegheny’s Brayden Albert and Jacob Mignella, Northgate’s Caleb Brandt and Shaler Area’s Dominick Leombruno led several IT projects to prepare the Career Center for the 2024-2025 school year. A.W. Beattie Director of Technology Mr. Miller and Senior Systems Technician Alex Gralia oversaw their duties.

“I like that we’re practicing skills for the workplace in a laidback, professional environment,” Dominick said. “It’s like an in between of school and a real job. We have responsibilities, but also we’re learning.”

Each student has used skills learned in A.W. Beattie’s Networking Engineering and Cyber Security program.

“It’s fun to do something different every day, and if you make a mistake, it’s OK because it just means you’re learning something new,” Caleb said. “Also, usually you wouldn’t get to meet every faculty member, but when there’s only four students you get introduced to everyone for a nice work experience. I’ve learned a lot more, especially in expanding what I can do with networking.”

The group has upgraded hundreds of computers for the new school year, disassembled and reassembled hundreds of electronic devices, did maintenance on a variety of printers and completed networking related tasks.

“I like setting up the rooms after they’ve been cleaned,” Dominick said. “It’s fun hooking up the computers, monitors, internet, and power and making it all clean and neat. In one instance, while setting up a room, we had cables that weren’t the correct length for the setup. I made some cables to the correct length, which is something I learned during the school year.”

They each plan to pursue careers in the IT and Cyber Security field.

“It’s been a great experience that we can put on a resume or applications and hopefully gets us more opportunities later on,” Jacob said. “It’s always interesting, especially working with (Mr. Gralia and Mr. Miller), because we’re learning how they think and approach different things.”

With the school year approaching, they are looking forward to completing their tasks.

“We’re on a great pace, so it’s nice to know we’ll complete everything before the summer ends,” Caleb said.