This morning, Steve DeWitt (ACTE), Sasha Pudelski (American Association of School Administrators) and I presented at an event hosted by the U.S. House of Representatives Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus co-chairs Representatives Jim Langevin (D-RI) and G.T. Thompson (R-PA).  The event, titled “CTE 101: The Nuts & Bolts of Establishing a Qualified Workforce” provided attendees with:
- an overview of CTE,
- the benefits of CTE,
- the range of students served,
- the myriad of CTE delivery systems,
- the spectrum of CTE programs offered,
- the importance of business/education partnerships, and
- the impact and importance of federal support for CTE.
Each presenter shared examples of high quality CTE programs and discussed potential considerations for federal policy related to CTE, including the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Workforce Investment Act and the Higher Education Act. Congressman Thompson and Langevin both shared the sentiment that CTE is “a tried and true solution for creating jobs, retraining workers, and ensuring that students of all ages are career- and college-ready.”  For a current list of members of the CTE caucus, please visit here.
Representatives Langevin and Thompson have worked tirelessly to promote CTE and to protect Perkins funding. As we reported in this blog post, they hosted a “Dear Colleague” letter supporting funding for CTE, which was signed by 61 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sasha also shared that the latest publication from AASA focuses exclusively on CTE. This free on-line publication can be found here.
Kimberly Green, NASDCTEc Executive Director