Reflect, transform, lead. Those words and the ethic that they represent permeate every level of the CTE community, and sum up concisely what drove many students, educators and administrators to participate in CTE to begin with.

On Wednesday, February 19, 2014, the Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) held its briefing “Reflect, Transform, Lead: Preparing Students for College, Careers and Citizenship.”

Led off by Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical and Adult Education Brenda Dann-Messier, the program centered on the importance of Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) and their work to promote student engagement across the country. The briefing took place just a day after a group of student CTSO leaders sat down with Secretary Duncan to discuss how their organizations and the Department of Education could collaborate to achieve specific department goals, expand CTE access and opportunities, and enhance student achievement nationwide.

Four CTSO student leaders—National President of Future Business Leaders of America Cole Simmons, National President of Family Career and Community Leaders of America Brian Will, National Treasurer of SkillsUSA Daria Ferdine and DECA National President Carter Christensen—delivered presentations during the program and took questions on CTE, CTSOs and student leadership. In their speeches, each described their organization’s positive impact, highlighting their ability to take education beyond the classroom and allow students to develop hands-on experience and career-ready skills.

Facilitated by OCTAE Branch Chief Robin Utz, the program also included presentations from OCTAE Policy Analyst Alicia Bolton, the Office of Early Learning’s Group Leader Tammy Proctor, Senior STEM Education Advisor Camsie McAdams and Promise Neighborhoods and Full Service Community Schools Office of Innovation and Improvement’s Elson Nash. Event video and accompanying powerpoint are available at EDStream and are highly recommended as we continue to commemorate CTE Month!

Evan Williamson, Communications Associate

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 20th, 2014 at 8:35 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.