Some policymakers, among them members of Congress and the Obama Administration, have expressed interest in increasing support for CTE and they are looking to education leaders to demonstrate programs’ link to the administration’s goals: student achievement, high school completion and pathways to postsecondary education, said Glenn Cummings, deputy assistant secretary for OVAE, in a recent Education Daily article.

OVAE and Education Department officials have already begun to signal support for CTE, noted Cummings in a Q&A published today. Cummings highlighted his experience as a high school teacher and director of Portland Partnership, a program that focused on linking businesses and educational institutions. His past work gives him a distinct perspective of student needs and industry demands, he said.

Further, Cummings noted OVAE Assistant Secretary Brenda Dann-Messier, who he said in her first month of appointment sat down with ED Secretary Arne Duncan and “immediately encouraged him to start thinking about the role of CTE.” Since, Duncan has referred to CTE in his speeches. As for Duncan, his past work in Chicago should offer perspective of his interest in CTE as such programs were used as strong components of high school reform efforts, Cummings said.

The task ahead requires officials and education leaders to identify the common goals of the CTE community and the administration. Looking to programs such as those under the Career Clusters, Cummings said examples of those goals and the strategies to achieve them do exist.