Career & Technical Education

New Vision Puts Career Technical Education at the Front of Educational Reform

The shared vision outlines long-term guiding principles and short-term action steps to support CTE.

• By Sri Ravipati
• 05/10/16

Recent reports have shined a light on the value of career technical education (CTE), and now national organizations are identifying CTE as a solution to transforming the education system.

Advance CTE and seven national organizations released Putting Learner Success First: A Shared Vision for the Future of CTE, a collective vision proposing a transformation of the education system, with a focus on Career Technical Education (CTE).

The document is a “call to action for leaders, policymakers, employers and practitioners across the nation to commit to creating a high-quality education system where all learners are prepared for a lifetime of future success in high-skilled, in-demand careers,” according to a news release.

The vision’s principals are:

• “All CTE programs are held to the highest standards of excellence;

• “All learners are empowered to choose a meaningful education and career;

• “All learning is personalized and flexible;

• “All learning is facilitated by knowledgeable expert; and

• “All systems work together to put learner success first.”

"Putting Learner Success First raises the bar for Career Technical Education, and lays the path forward for the field," said Rod Duckworth, the chancellor of Division of Career and Adult Education at the Florida Department of Education and board president of Advance CTE, in a prepared statement. "I certainly intend to use this document to guide my own work, and encourage my fellow State CTE Directors and state leaders to do the same."

Putting Learner Success First was initially developed at the Future of CTE Summit last fall. The vision is supported by: Advance CTE, Association for Career and Technical Education, Council of Chief State School Officers, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges, National Governors Association, National Skills Coalition and US Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

Further information about Putting Learner Success First can be found at the Advance CTE site.