The National Journal featured a series of articles praising CTE as a promising opportunity to engage students and promote college- and career-readiness outcomes as a part of its Next America project. The articles, written by Staff Correspondent Sophie Quinton, highlighted secondary CTE programs such as comprehensive high schools and technical centers’ unique ability to help students explore their career aspirations at an earlier age. These opportunities allow students to identify their interests and obtain the education necessary to achieve those goals.
The first piece, “What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up 101,” spotlighted T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria Virginia. There, Quinton visited a surgical technologist class that boasts a partnership with local Inova Alexandria Hospital and an articulation agreement with Northern Virginia Community College. Quinton noted the many motivations and interests among T.C. Williams’ students for enrolling in CTE programs, including personal interests, college preparation and career exploration.
The second piece examined West Virginia’s Simulated Workplace initiative, a CTE program model that puts students in the driver’s seat of their program’s industry sector. Students in courses at United Technical Center in Clarksburg, Virginia leap into their field of study headfirst by treating their classroom like a job, including clocking in and out, running “staff” meetings and working in assigned positions – for example, students in the school’s machine tool technology program take turns in positions including shop foremen and safety coordinators. All of these steps are intended to more fully immerse the student in their CTE curriculum and help them to better understand their chosen career path, as well as putting their skills to the test in a safe and supportive environment.
Positive coverage of CTE programs helps to spread awareness of the role that CTE has in every student’s education to prepare them for 21st century careers. To learn more about how you can attract positive coverage of your CTE program, click here to visit ACTE’s Advocacy Toolkit – and if you want to go above and beyond, consider organizing a media tour in your state using our newly published how-to guide here.
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