Career Technical Education Pathways (CTE)
Helix EDGE - Career Pathways (CTE)
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Helix EDGE (Explore, Develop, Gain, Earn) is our career pathway program and is part of the Career Technical Education (CTE) program. The four pathways offer students the opportunity to take a series of classes that relate to a specific course of study and that lead directly to high-need, high wage, high-skill careers. The rigorous and relevant career and technical pathways are designed to connect high school classes to college, industry certifications and/or a career. This may help spark interest in a specific subject as a hobby, degree program or a future profession. We also integrate real-world educational activities, clubs, networking events, presentations from leaders in the field and more to create a well-rounded pathway program.
We are always looking for people to get involved and enrich our program and there are a number of ways to do that. You could attend a networking event, be a guest speaker or classroom judge, sponsor a scholarship and more. See the menu in the left nav of this page (or from a mobile device, click on the drop down arrow in the heading) to get involved!
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Sports Medicine
Our Program
- Helix has one of the most accredited and comprehensive Sports Medicine programs in the state. We have a state of the art space that is fully equipped with e-stim, ultrasound, rehabilitation equipment, whirlpools, concussion screening and baseline equipment (BTRACKS), and diagnostics tools.
- We have three nationally certified athletic trainers on campus, two of which are full-time employees of the school. We provide medical care after school every day for all athletes, no matter their sport or level of competition. We also provide medical coverage for most athletic competitions on campus.
- We have comprehensive emergency action plans, concussion and covid protocols, heat and lightning action plans, as well as Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Infections Disease policies. We baseline test all of our athletes so we are able to properly care for any concussions that arise. We also provide physicals on campus three times a year.
- We are proud to have partnered with PLNU and SDSU to provide educational opportunities for college Athletic Training students.
Our Classes
- Introduction to Sports Medicine – Concentrator Course (G-Elective)
- Advanced Sports Medicine – Capstone Course (G-Elective) (Medical Assistant Certification by exam)
- Anatomy & Physiology - Intro Course (G-Elective)
- Club: Aspiring Medical Professionals Club
Our Team
Kathryn Welch, MEd, MA, ATC
- Alumnus of Helix High
- Kinesiology, Athletic Training Degree from Penn State University
- Nationally certified Athletic Trainer
- Masters in Sport Management from University of San Francisco
- Masters in Education and Teaching Credential from National University
- In 15th year at Helix
- Former Director of the San Diego Sports Medicine Foundation
Andie Jimenez, MA, ATC
- Kinesiology, Athletic Training Degree from PLNU
- Nationally certified Athletic Trainer
- Masters in Education and Teaching Credential from PLNU
- In 8th year at Helix
Gabe Saltzman, ATC
- Helix Alumnus
- SDSU Graduate
- Former NFL Athletic Training Intern
Marisa Elbers, Mental Performance Coach
Awards
- National Athletic Trainers Association, Safe Sport School Award - This is a national award that assesses the services we provide to our students and our standard of care. We are one of only three schools in San Diego County to ever receive this award!
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Business Entrepreneurship
Our Classes
We offer the following classes in the Business Pathway:
- Empowering Entrepreneurship/Econ 1C – Capstone Course (G-Elective) BUS 141
- Elementary Accounting – Concentrator Course, BUS 109
- English for Business – Concentrator Course (B-English) BOT110
- World History 1C/2C with an Economics Focus - Intro Course (A-History)
- Social Media Marketing - Intro Course (G-Elective)
- Club: Honeycomb by EDGE Business/Entrepreneurship
Honeycomb
Honeycomb is the student-run business which is part of the business pathway. The students in this class learn accounting and business skills by applying them to a real-world business. They learn to use the equipment, create marketing plans, take orders, graphic design, printing, and record-keeping.
Our Team
Gifford Asimos currently serves as a teacher, Business Department Chairman and Lead Teacher of the Business Career Pathway at Helix Charter High School in San Diego, teaching Dual Enrollment Courses for Grossmont College. Giff teaches Econ. 120 Macroeconomics, Econ. 121 Microeconomics, Bus. 109 Elementary Accounting as well as a course titled Empowering Entrepreneurs. He serves on the Economics Education Foundation of San Diego Board of Directors as a Teacher Representative and Treasurer and on the CASET Board (California Association of School Economics Teachers) as Treasurer and past President. While at Ramona High Giff served as the WASC Site Coordinator and was awarded Teacher of the Year twice in 1993 and 1996. Giff was named as one of the Top Ten Finalists for the San Diego County Teacher of the Year in 1999, the Helix Charter High School Teacher of the Year in 2003 and the Adam Smith Award Winner in 2005 for his contributions to Economic Education in California. Most recently, Giff was presented as the California Council for the Social Studies Outstanding Secondary School Social Studies Teacher of the Year for 2019. Giff completed his undergraduate studies in Business Economics at Colorado College. He received his teaching credential from the University of Colorado at Denver and his M.B.A. from National University in San Diego.
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Education
Our Classes
- Foundations & Cultural Perspectives of Teaching & Learning 1/2 – Concentrator Course, ED200
- Foundations & Cultural Perspectives of Teaching & Learning 3/4 – Capstone Course CD 153
- Child Development – Intro Course (G-Elective) CD124
- Club: Educators Rising Club
Our Team
Eric Ginsberg leads our Education Pathway and has been a faculty member in the San Diego State University School of Teacher Education (STE) for the past 13 years, Ginsberg has also taught English at Helix Charter High School in La Mesa for the past 22 years. In 2019, he was one of the teachers who launched a California Department of Education-funded program at Helix to form a future educator pathway to engage and equip students interested in the teaching profession. In the wake of a year of virtual instruction wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ginsberg was eager to give his aspiring educators a real-life experience they would always remember. A field trip to his other campus turned out to be just the thing. “Through Helix Charter’s pathway, we want to help foster the development of a next generation of educators — especially at a time when the shortage of both substitute teachers and credential teachers is so dire,” Ginsberg said. “So we brought our community of future educators to the SDSU community of teacher education. It felt like it was an opportune moment to show them higher ed. I wanted to show them where they could be headed with careers in education.”
Above is an excerpt from the following article written by Michael Klitzing. Full article can be found here: http://sdsucoenews.blogspot.com/2021/12/local-high-school-students-get-taste-of.html
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Biotechnology
Our Program
Biotechnology pathway students learn about biological concepts from the perspective of the biotechnology industry. Students have opportunities to apply the theories that they learn to a variety of lab experiences that mirror that type of work currently being performed within the industry. Students also begin to develop and refine a variety of workplace skills.
Our Classes
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Biotechnology 1C/2C
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Biotechnology 3C/4C
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Technology for Biology
Our Team
Our Biotechnology pathway is led by Dr. Kristina Mitchel & Melanie Harrington.
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Information & Communications Technology
Our Program:
This is a new pathway offered for 23-24 School Year.
The 2 year program requires no previous computer knowledge and provides students with foundations in Information Technology, Networking and Security, as well as opportunities for highly sought after industry certification - Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA).
The first course in the sequence introduces architectures, models, protocols, and networking elements. You’ll even get the chance to build simple local area networks (LANs) yourself. You’ll have a working knowledge of IP addressing schemes, foundational network security, and be able to perform basic configurations for routers and switches. You will then focus on switching technologies and router operations that support small-to-medium business networks, including wireless local area networks (WLAN) and security concepts. You’ll perform basic network configuration and troubleshooting, identify and mitigate LAN security threats, and configure and secure a basic WLAN.
The second course in the sequence focuses on the architectures and considerations related to designing, securing, operating, and troubleshooting enterprise networks. It covers wide area network (WAN) technologies and quality of service (QoS) mechanisms used for secure remote access along with the introduction of software-defined networking, virtualization, and automation concepts that support the digitalization of networks. You will then study and prepare for taking the industry certification exam that will earn you the industry recognized CCNA certification.
If you’re looking for a networking role in IT, such as a network specialist, administrator, or engineer, or cybersecurity, getting a CCNA certification is the first step in this rewarding field.
For more information please visit these links Flyer and Cisco
Our Classes:
- CISCO/Networking 1/2 - Concentrator Course
- CISCO/Networking 3-4 - Capstone Course (offered in 24/25) - CCNA Certification
- Intro to Computer Science 1 - Introductory Course
More information can be found here.
Our Team:
Our ICT pathway is headed up by Glenn Melero. Glenn has been teaching for 22 years and has a Masters in Cybersecurity and Educational Technology. Glenn has a strong passion for helping students meet the demand for tech professionals in today’s global marketplace. Glenn shares Cisco’s belief that technology is changing the world by connecting billions of devices and improving how we live, work, play and treat our planet. By partnering with Cisco Networking Academy, Glenn hopes to transform the lives of his learners and our community through the power of technology, education and career opportunities.
