February 17, 2026
By MEALAND RAGLAND-HUDGINS
Rutherford County Schools
Eighth grade students across Rutherford County Schools have been participating in Pathway Fairs designed to help students decide what courses to take in high school.
In recent days, teachers and students from local high schools have visited middle schools to offer insight into Career & Technical Education pathways offered by Rutherford County Schools and job opportunities in each field. Visiting students and teachers were paired with current industry experts recruited by Rutherford Works.
Using their YouScience assessment results, middle school students selected four CTE pathways that interested them and rotated through 30-minute sessions to get a deeper understanding of each pathway.
The day is an important one for students as they continue their academic journey.
“I always have students who come away saying they know exactly what they want to do, or some find something new and change their minds,” Siegel Middle School Principal Kim Stoecker said. “They don’t have to decide today, but they should be thinking ahead.”
Pathway Fairs wrap up later this week. RCS offers all 16 of the U.S. Department of Education’s Career & Technical Education clusters at the high school level. Clusters include information technology, architecture and construction, health science and advanced manufacturing.
A list of pathways offered at each school is available at https://www.rcschools.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=527035&type=d&pREC_ID=1648783.