DMS Launches Paxton Patterson College & Career Ready Lab

Decatur Middle School is excited to share that at the start of the 2025–2026 school year, the school launched the Paxton Patterson College & Career Ready Lab, a hands-on, project-based learning experience designed to help students explore future possibilities while building real-world skills. This semester-long elective course not only provides engaging, authentic learning opportunities but also allows students to earn high school credit.

Paxton Patterson labs are aligned to state and industry standards and give students access to relevant instruction, authentic tools, and real-world applications. Currently, about half of our 8th-grade students are participating in the “Preparing for College/Careers” course, depending on schedule availability. With strong student interest and positive feedback, the district plans to double enrollment next school year so that more students can benefit from this innovative program. 

The goal of the “Preparing for College/Careers” class is simple but powerful: help students discover their interests, strengths, and aspirations. It encourages them to begin answering one of life’s biggest questions: “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

Mr. Geoffrey Godbout, Preparing for College/Careers teacher, explained,

“The College & Career Ready modules are designed for students to explore a wide variety of Career Clusters and to develop their Career Ready Practices. Students spend a few weeks at a time in modules covering careers from Culinary Arts to Criminalistics, Cosmetology and Barbering to Welding, Health Sciences to Engineering and Design, to name a few. A combination of history, key terminology and tools, and background information mixed with hands-on activities yields experiences which aid students in exploring possible future career paths.”

Mr. Michael Gath, Director of Secondary Education, shared that the modules were intentionally chosen to align with the Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways available at Decatur Central High School to the extent possible. This helps ensure continuity for students as they advance through secondary school and begin choosing specialized courses. Beyond career exploration, the modules provide meaningful opportunities for students to strengthen essential academic skills, including math, reading, writing, science, and history. 

This integration, especially with math and science, was clear to Decatur Middle School student, Isaiah Pedrey, who was participating in a welding module during a recent visit to the class. “I’m using ABR simulation to weld. You have to get a good angle and travel speed to get a good weld. It’s very challenging,” he explained.

Mr. Godbout added,

“The modules present a well-rounded learning experience for students and keep them engaged and excited about the content and eager to explore the next module. It’s a fun class to teach. It's truly a great experience to see students' interests grow, change, and develop as they experience a taste of several possible career paths.”

 

 

 

  Decatur Middle School is proud to bring this dynamic, exploratory learning environment to our students and looks forward to expanding the program in the coming year. Through authentic experiences and hands-on discovery, our students are gaining the confidence and skills they need to dream big—and begin building the future they imagine.