Medical Detective Students at St. Lucie West K8 use microscopes for their protozoan classification lesson. Students also participated in the St. Lucie County Regional STEM Fair!
Author: Dana Caputo
Teachers - (Changed 3/30/2026 1:17:21 PM)
Indian River State College Culinary Institute and Hospitality and Tourism Program hosted an educational tour for FPC’s Culinary students. During the visit, the students were able to participate in the youtube simulcast of the No Vacancy Live podcast with Glenn Haussman and Anthony Melchiorri; and the guest was Greg Juceam, the President and CEO of Extended Stay America. It was an interesting day where students continued to build rapport with IRSC Professors, toured the IRSC Culinary Institute, met current IRSC students and FPC alumni, were served a delicious lunch, and were exposed to exciting aspects of the Hospitality industry. More … Read More
Congratulations to Chef Chris Balachak, St. Lucie West Centennial High Culinary Arts Instructor, and her students who received a Rachel Ray $5,000 Grow Grant to purchase new equipment shelving, hand tool bins, and temperature/moisture resistant shelving. In addition, the St. Lucie Education Foundation matched the $5,000 awarded by Rachel Ray so they have another $5,000 to spend on upgrades to their catering facility. Go Eagles!
St. Lucie Public Schools Culinary Programs competed at the Sunshine Kitchen in Fort Pierce. Five outstanding high school culinary students competed along with an Indian River State Culinary Institute student at the Tuesday, October 25th Sunshine Kitchen Cook-Off. Master of Ceremonies was Chef Leslie Moyer, judges included Chef Mike Febre, True Roots Catering; Heather Belmont, Indian River State College; and Guytano D’Annna, Bonefish Macs. The winning team was Donavin Derrico from Fort Pierce Westwood Academy and Jay Shemo from Indian River State Culinary Institute who each won a $1,500 scholarship. Big thanks to Gina McCants, St. Lucie County Tcerda Research … Read More
Students in Mr. Picchiarini’s Technical Design classes are using Autodesk AutoCad and Inventor to design. Analyzing and editing are a big part of the process. After editing, the designs come to life using the class lab 3D printers. Pictured are some designs created by Kadesh Robbins, Nick Collins, and Nick Lambiase. For information on the Preapprenticeship program, see Mr. Picchiarini at Port St. Lucie High.
Fort Pierce Westwood Academy, the W.E.S.T. Prep Magnet’s student Jaime Espinoza-Hurtado, designed and created a popular PBIS t-shirt. Jaime is pictured with Digital Media Multimedia instructor, Erica Hueter to his right, Dwayne Chapman to his left, and Mr. Thomas on the end. Mr. Dwayne Chapman loves the design and his staff wears the t-shirts every week! Jaime wants to be a graphic designer and works hard in his classes at Fort Pierce Westwood Academy where he’s already earning an Adobe Certified Professional in Photoshop and Illustrator! Jaime is also a budding entrepreneur who now has his own business where he … Read More
Treasure Coast High hosted Universal Technical Institute (UTI) who arrived with performance machines! UTI spoke to students in the Engineering and Manufacturing CTE programs about continuing their education and training in the automotive field. Students respected the mustangs!
St. Lucie Public School Culinary Arts students cooked at Cinco de Mayo festivities. Culinary students from St. Lucie West Centennial High and Port St. Lucie High Preapprenticeship along with their teachers Chef Chris Gedke-Balachak and Chef Roland Foerster were the highlight at the Monarch Country Club’s Cinco de Mayo event. Student’s dishes included elote (fresh grilled corn with cotija cheese and cilantro), carne asada with pico de gallo and salsa de queso, sayulita shrimp, homemade corn tortillas with slow-braised shredded pork, homemade guacamole cups, sopa de frijol negro, salsa verde, tomatillo salsa, churros with fresas con crema, and agua fres … Read More
Treasure Coast High’s (TCHS) Advanced Manufacturing Advisory Board hosted Career Day on Microsoft Teams! Business partners from Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) Apprenticeship, Piper Aircraft Apprenticeship, Indian River Select Freshco, Indian River State College and CareerSource Research Coast participated. TCHS Instructor Phil Depuy and his Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering students heard about apprenticeships, job openings, 2-year college programs, the importance of a resume, and wisely choosing references. It was a great morning for all!
Students in Port St Lucie High’s Technical Design Program 3D printed race cars! Students designed their car using AutoCAD, troubleshot to make adjustments, then printed using their classroom 3D printers. They will then race their cars later this semester! Look for more designs to come. Technical Design is a pre-apprenticeship at Port St Lucie High School.
In January, Chef Strell’s culinary students at Fort Pierce Central High raised the temperature to concentrate on their baking skills. Pictured are the delicious and good-looking results that came out of the oven; braided breads and pizza! Well-done, Cobras!
Fort Pierce Westwood Academy Agriscience and Veterinary Assisting students hosted virtual field trips. Northport K8 and Oak Hammock K8 students stayed in their classrooms and via Microsoft Teams they visited the Ag and Vet programs! The high school students shared info about the programs, highlighted their classroom labs and equipment, while the middle school students asked great questions. Thanks to all who participated!
Fort Pierce Central High (FPC) and Embry Riddle Aerospace Institute students hosted virtual field trip at FPC. Northport K8 and Gaines Academy K8 students stayed in their classrooms and via Microsoft Teams were able to tour the FPC classroom highlighted by a live drone demonstration!
Port St. Lucie High School’s Technical Design students virtually visited A-1 Truss to hear how their high school class is connected to A-1’s apprenticeship. Dawn Riccardi at CareerSource Research Coast, Jeremy Tichenor, and Jason at A-1 Truss presented and answered questions from the high school students.
Teachers from the International Business, Digital Video Production, TV Production, and Marketing programs virtually met with their Business Advisory Board. Big thanks to Shyanne Harnage, Shadia Blair, Nick Brown, Chevelle Lewis, and Matt Stover for their participation!
Natalia Chekhovskaya of Indian River State College’s LASER-TEC, Photonics, and Optics lab, visited Treasure Coast High School’s Engineering Club to talk about girls in engineering, and in return, she heard about the Club’s solar GoKart project. This partnership is a great collaboration working on classroom projects and Club activities.
St. Lucie Public Schools Career and Technical Education teachers in the Technical Design, Applied Robotics, Global Logistics Supply Chain, Aerospace, and Engineering programs virtually met with business partners, Tim Fischer from South East Elevator, Paul Jakubczak from Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, Paul Godfrey from Indian River State College, Muhammed Anwar from East Coast Truss, Maria Brown and Jason Smith from A1 Truss, and Natalia Chekhovskaya from Indian River State College. The group shared experiences, exchanged ideas and will continue to build on this collaboration at their next meeting in December. Big thanks to all who attended!
Port St. Lucie High Culinary Program virtually visited the Sunshine Kitchen in Fort Pierce. Chef Roland Foerster and his culinary students virtually visited the Sunshine Kitchen hosted by Gina McCants, Sunshine Kitchen Manager and Tcerda Research Park Manager. The students learned about activities at the Sunshine Kitchen and watched a food demonstration by Chef Leslie Moyers and his team.
Treasure Coast High’s (TCHS) Advanced Manufacturing pre-apprenticeship program virtually visited to hear important highlights of the Industrial Manufacturing Technology Apprenticeship. On Microsoft Teams, TCHS Instructor Phil Depuy and his Advanced Manufacturing students stayed in their classroom to listen and ask questions of Dawn Riccardi at CareerSource Research Coast, Jim Brann, and Bobby at The Porch Factory in Fort Pierce. Big thanks to Treasure Coast Manufacturer Association (TCMA) who were instrumental in coordinating these presentations!
Port St. Lucie High School’s Technical Design Program and Preapprenticeship students hosted 3D Printed Car Races. Students designed, tested, 3D printed, and raced their cars in the gym! Mr. Picchiarini and his Tech Design students not only entertained but recruited students into the Technical Design classes. Level Up CTE!