CTE classes play important role in reaching vision for education in Kansas

Students who are involved in Career and Technical Education (CTE) are more engaged and graduate at higher rates, according to the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). So it’s important to recognize the importance of CTE programs across Kansas and the nation.

Career and Technical Education Month® takes place every February to celebrate the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across Kansas and the nation.

The theme for CTE Month is Celebrate Today, Own Tomorrow! This month provides CTE programs an opportunity to demonstrate how CTE makes students college and career ready and prepares them for high-demand career fields. Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, signed a proclamation designating the month of February as Career and Technical Education Month.

CTE in Kansas embraces the needs of business and industry through the development of the foundational knowledge and skills aligned to the Kansas workforce.

The vision for Kansas education is to lead the world in the success of each student. CTE classes play an important role in helping the state meet that goal by making sure our students are prepared for postsecondary success – whether that be entering the workforce, obtaining an industry-recognized certificate or attending a two-year or four-year college.

Kansas has 16 Career Clusters for students to choose from, and there are 37 Career Cluster Pathways.

A Career Cluster is a group of occupations similar in skill set and training. Career Cluster Pathways are focused and specific areas of study leading to a particular area of industry or business. These occupations fall within seven career fields in Kansas — agriculture; business; design, production and repair; family and consumer sciences; health; media and technology; and public services. In 2018, Kansas schools educated students in 2,746 school pathways across these fields.

Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) enhance this instruction by offering opportunities to apply what is learned in a variety of ways, interact with adults in their selected Career Pathway, develop leadership and employability skills and address community issues through in-depth projects.

Nationally, CTE encompasses 94 percent of high school students and 8.4 million people seeking postsecondary certificates and associate degrees in CTE fields, according to ACTE. Also, taking one CTE class for every two academic classes minimizes the risk of students dropping out of high school.

Students in Kansas enrolled in more than 140,000 CTE courses and 24,329 are in Kansas CTSOs. Students earning three or more CTE credits have a 99 percent graduation rate.

For more information about ACTE, visit www.acteonline.org.

For more information about CTE in Kansas, visit www.ksde.org/Agency/Division-of-Learning-Services/Career-Standards-and-Assessment-Services/CSAS-Home/Career-Technical-Education-CTE.