Bray discusses perceptions, impact of CTE.

--Education Daily, August 28, 2007 ACTE's Executive Director Janet Bray discusses the positive impact career and technical education (CTE) is having on student outcomes, and how her experiences have influenced her perceptions of CTE. While Bray was working at Printing Industries of America, she served as a CTE liaison to federal agencies and state and local governments. She helped develop a youth apprenticeship program for the graphic arts industry in Wisconsin, and worked to further the industry's effort to develop national skill standards. She learned how fights between industry, government and instructors can cripple attempts to improve education. From this experience, she learned about the different challenges facing the education system, and learned strategies to inform business and policymakers about the value of CTE.

She also notes in this article that thanks to new Perkins legislation, CTE's role in helping engage students in high school, and the vital skills students learn in CTE programs, policymakers and the public in general are changing their views about career education. And it's hard to miss the impact that CTE is having on student outcomes. A recent report released by the Arkansas Education Department finds that CTE concentrators, those who take three or more CTE classes, achieve the same level of academic proficiency and graduate and continue on to postsecondary education at the same rate as non-CTE students.