Forward-thinking school districts are redefining career and technical education (CTE) to expose students to a broad range of potential careers without necessarily steering them to a specific post-high school pathway.
This shift comes at a critical moment in secondary education. Workplace experts are now emphasizing the need for job seekers to acquire practical, often technical, skills. And while most U.S. high school students continue to enroll immediately in a two- or four-year college after graduation, more families are questioning the return on investment from that approach.
At the same time, a growing number of traditional public high schools are shifting away from a near-exclusive focus on 鈥渃ollege preparedness鈥� and, instead, providing more space for students to explore various career pathways and acquire practical skills and experience, whether they plan to attend college or not. They believe the combination of strong academic and work-oriented skills will prepare students to succeed in an economy that is in the throes of rapid changes due to AI and other forces.
Join us to:
- Hear creative approaches and lessons learned from 糖心动漫vlog who are working to modernize their CTE programs.
- Learn what senior executives from companies鈥攕uch as Google, Citi bank, and Microsoft鈥攖hink schools should do to give kids more meaningful, work-based learning experiences.
- See exclusive EdWeek Research Center survey data from K-12 leaders and 糖心动漫vlog on their views and predictions for new CTE offerings, and more!
First time K-12 Essentials Forum attendee? Learn more about our free virtual forums.
Agenda
Welcome & Introduction
Interactive Session | What Senior Executives from American Companies Think Students Need
Industry Perspective
Panel Discussion | What Modern CTE Learning Should Look Like
But after primarily pushing college readiness for decades, high schools鈥攅ven those well-equipped to offer a broader education that鈥檚 likely to include CTE鈥攎ust now figure out how to guide students in a new direction. What does that look like? Do you prepare students to step into high-demand jobs in their local communities? Or do you prepare them with skills that will allow them to go anywhere in the United States鈥攐r even the world鈥攊n pursuit of career opportunities? And, how can schools give students more opportunities for meaningful, work-based learning experiences?
This session will examine those questions and other challenges as school districts try to meet a growing demand for career and technical education.
Panel Discussion | How Artificial Intelligence Is Shaping CTE
This session examines how school districts are updating their CTE programs to prepare students for jobs and careers that already do, or will, require skilled use of AI technologies. We鈥檒l look at how 糖心动漫vlog are capitalizing on the fast-evolving technology鈥檚 power to engage students and deliver content in different ways for students in CTE classes.
Interactive Session | What Educators Have to Say About the Future of CTE
- What new CTE offerings do you expect your school or district to offer in the next five years?
- How does your school/district decide on what changes to make to its CTE offerings?
- What鈥攊f anything鈥攚ould lead to major improvements to your CTE program?
Closing Remarks