Great news for CTE advocates! On Monday, June 22, President Obama signed an amendment to executive order No. 11155, “Awards for Special Capability in Career and Technical Education.” This action formally expands the Presidential Scholars program to include recognition for student excellence in CTE!
The executive order was issued in response to a letter sent in May of 2014 by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH), three of the co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus, which requested that the Presidential Scholars program be expanded to recognize student accomplishments in CTE alongside those in academics and the arts. The bipartisan group of senators praised the President’s answer to their letter in a press release following yesterday’s news.
ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Wilson issued a statement following the announcement Monday afternoon, saying:
"The U.S. Presidential Scholars in CTE program will be a fantastic opportunity to give our CTE students additional recognition that they so greatly deserve from our leaders in Washington... I am thrilled that President Obama and his Administration have taken this step to acknowledge the excellence and innovation happening in CTE classrooms nationwide, which is laying the foundation for students' college and career success."
This marks a major victory for ACTE and its members, who consulted with congressional staff in drafting the letter to President Obama and advocated for a response from the White House. We also applaud our members who contributed to this win for CTE by writing letters to President Obama through the CTE Action Center.
Following the Executive Order, the White House published a blog about the Presidential Scholars Program’s expansion. The first class of up to 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in CTE will be assembled in the spring of 2016. ACTE will keep our members posted on updates related to the nominations process and other developments as they arise!
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