CTE – Career and Technical Education
If you don't know about CTE, you should!
Usually after a lot of discussion Duane and I strike out on our own for our articles. This article is a collaborative effort, with Duane doing most of the research and the broader outline, and me doing the writing.
Writing our articles there have been several topics that Duane and I were well acquainted with before starting our research, topics that seem to come up time and time again in conversations with our wives and the various people with whom we discuss education. Topics like banning cell phones from the classroom, homogeneous learning groups, implementing a 3rd grade reading gate (like Mississippi), etc. But then there are also concepts that we had never heard of before we started following the local and national education literature. CTE, Career and Technical Education, is something we were clueless about, and now there isn’t a significant meeting on the state of Decatur Public Schools without a mention of CTE. In fact, Duane and I would put the importance of CTE up there with nearly any discussion you might want to have about DPS. Here’s why…
This is a back of the napkin calculation because the real numbers aren’t available, but it goes something like this… We’ll have approximately 500 high school seniors in DPS this school year, of which about 80% will graduate. Of those that graduate, approximately 42% will go on to some form of post-secondary school after 16 months. Of those that go on to some form of post-secondary school, only about 40% will graduate. And so, of our 500 DPS graduates, only (500 x .80 x .42 x .40 = ) 67 will earn a college degree. This is only a back of the napkin calculation so let’s round up and say DPS will produce around 70 future college degreed students each year. So, what happens to the other 430?
In 2009 Barak Obama in his State of the Union address famously urged every student to continue on to some form of higher education.
“Tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training…. this can be community college or a four-year school. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma.”
The results of this attitude of the early 2000’s was a small uptick in the trend of bachelor’s degrees awarded, but also an enormous amount of college student debt taken on by kids that never had a chance to graduate. Notice that the trendline for debt is much steeper than the number of graduates we are producing. We, as a nation, are not getting a bang for our college tuition bucks.
The good news though is that the pendulum has started to swing back from encouraging every student to take on debt that they may have only a small hope of recouping by attending a four-year university, to being a little more pragmatic with whom we encourage to take on debt.
So, where do we go from here? What is the role of high school if not to prepare students for college? There isn’t a definitive philosophical answer to this question, but answered or not, we have (at least!) 430 students each year, the vast majority of our DPS graduates, whose futures will be best served by coming up with a strategic answer to this question. This is where CTE enters into the conversation. This is why every large school district in the country is pumping enormous amounts of money into CTE programs, and why our district needs to refocus on CTE.
OK, what is CTE? A CTE (Career and Technical Education) curriculum for high school students offers a range of benefits that go beyond traditional academic education. CTE programs are designed to provide students with practical skills, hands-on experiences, and knowledge that directly align with potential career paths. Here are some of the key benefits of a CTE curriculum for high school students:
Relevance to Real-World Careers: CTE programs nationally are designed to prepare students for specific careers in various industries such as healthcare, engineering, information technology, agriculture, and more. By focusing on practical skills and industry-specific knowledge, students gain a deeper understanding of the real-world applications of what they are learning. Locally, in Decatur however, we should focus solely on non-college related jobs! Look, the college bound kids will be fine. If someone in the current Ag Academy program discovers food science is a great career choice – whatever. That kid was going to be fine anyway. But if the Ag program can get a few non-college bound kids interested in becoming an electrician – these are the wins! This is what it should be all about!
Hands-on Learning: CTE programs emphasize hands-on learning experiences, which can include internships, apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and simulated workplace environments. These experiences give students a chance to apply theoretical concepts in a practical setting, enhancing their problem-solving abilities and critical thinking skills.
Early Career Exploration: CTE programs allow students to explore potential career paths before they enter the workforce. This exploration can help students make informed decisions about their future careers, reducing the likelihood of switching majors or careers later on.
Skill Development: CTE programs teach students a wide range of technical and soft skills that are highly valued by employers. These skills might include communication, teamwork, problem-solving, time management, and technical expertise related to a specific industry.
Industry-Recognized Certifications: Many CTE programs offer students the opportunity to earn industry-recognized certifications. These certifications can provide a competitive edge in the job market and can be valuable even if students decide to pursue a different career path later on. Let’s not forget computer programming when we talk about CTE. IN many companies, this is no longer a career where a college degree is required.
Engagement and Motivation: CTE programs often engage students who may have been disinterested or struggled in traditional academic subjects. The practical and relevant nature of CTE subjects can increase student motivation and enthusiasm for learning.
Labor Market Demand: CTE programs are designed in response to labor market demands. This means that students who graduate from CTE programs are more likely to find job opportunities in fields that are in high demand, increasing their chances of securing meaningful employment.
Here are a few CTE related questions, and our answers:
Q: We have the Ag Academy, isn’t that enough?
A: The Ag Academy is great but it’s not sufficient to fulfill the needs of the students that really need help. Approximately 100 seniors participated in the Ag Academy in 2022. We don’t know how many of those are included in the 380 high school graduates that will not receive a future college degree, but our guess is a lot of the Ag kids are the ones going to college. We must do more for the 380!
Q: We have other CTE programs too in DPs (see https://www.dps61.org/collegeandcareer). How are we doing with that?
A: Not great. Only a relatively small number of students participate, and most of those students are ones intending to go on to college. Once again, we need to do more for our non-college-bound students.
Q: Do we need community / business involvement to implement a successful CTE program?
A: Absolutely not! From our research, the driver behind a successful CTE program is not finding the perfect company or person to facilitate a specific program. CTE programs should follow labor market demand. If DPS helps produce hospital lab techs, teaching assistants, carpenters, truck drivers, electricians, or whatever the hot job market requires, those students will find well-paying jobs regardless of whether a community business was involved with the program.
Q: Where should the focus be in developing a quality CTE program?
A: The focus should be on the students! Attracting unmotivated students will be hard work. But if the progressives want a cause – something to spend money on that will matter to the future of the kids – this is it! The wages below are real.
Q: OK, I’m on board. Where do we go from here?
A: Here’s an outline:
We should have a CTE Recruiter. Someone in the buildings every day talking to kids, starting their freshman year about real-world opportunities. Pull them out of classes to show them what’s available.
Redesign, or rename some of the HS courses. To be a carpenter, for example, you still need some math and reading. But, by focusing the coursework on say “math for carpenters” and making that course part of the apprenticeship in the HS Carpenter curriculum, we may motivate the kids enough to complete the coursework!
Track kids after they graduate. The only way to make this a success is by understanding what happens after kids leave DPS.
Track local job needs. This is easy, but maybe not obvious. A lot of kids never leave the community. We must produce what the local community needs. But the good news is – that’s a lot right now.
We can’t leave out this one… we should combine our high schools. This will free up staff to teach other, non-traditional, types of courses. This is not a small undertaking, and we realize the huge transformation this will require, but once again, the kids that are in the traditional college track curriculum will be OK. It’s the other 380 kids that need a chance to flourish.
I hope you realize how huge CTE can and should be in our district. Let’s get the board and the administration talking about it today!
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