What is CTE education?
Arroyo Valley High School‘s program is called . Other schools call these pathway programs, or magnet schools, or vocational education, or career and technical education (CTE). What’s common to these programs is a series of organized classes that expose kids to real-world career options by doing academic and hands-on work that applies to careers in many different arenas, such as the medical field, journalism, business, logistics, engineering, digital media, construction, legal fields, and more.
A few factors help make these programs work really well. For example, at , the leaders of each career academy are not only great teachers, they are mentors for their students. Research and surveys show that students do better in school when they have a close connection with a teacher or school staff member who knows and understands them. Another key factor is having students’ chosen pathway (or career academy) closely aligned with their core academic courses — including their challenging courses — because it helps students see the real-world application of all that they’re learning in school. Finally, many strong CTE or pathway programs are aligned with dual-enrollment course options and/or give students the opportunity to earn professional certificates that show they’re ready to enter their chosen fields so they may work right away to build a career or so that they can work in their chosen field while they pursue a college degree.
Learn more about successful pathway and CTE programs
• Read: Cracking the code on STEM success for black and brown students
• Read: How one high school turns career dreams into practical pathways
• Read: How high school pathway programs can make dreams come true
• Read: High school secrets for success: pathways for all students
• Watch: The importance of real-life learning and career pathways
• Read: How high school pathway programs help students get on the right track
• Read: Vocational and CTE schools
