Dec 15 Voices of CTE Heard by New State Director
(December 15, 2023)
On November 17, Steel Center for Career and Technical Education hosted the first ever Greater Pittsburgh Career and Technical Education Open Forum. Allies for Children was honored to be part of this forum and serve as a facilitator. The event brought together CTE educators and students from Southwestern PA, and Judd Pittman, the new State Director for Career and Technical Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, to discuss challenges and identify ways to strengthen the CTE system. .
This event truly gave educators and students a chance to directly impact change. As we’ve learned through our work in other areas, individuals with lived experiences provide the most valuable insight into how the current system needs to evolve to ensure that all children are able to access the best CTE programming possible.
During the event, I had the privilege of being the facilitator for the educators’ session. I heard first-hand the challenges that the CTE instructors encounter every day. Some of the challenges were universal and included teacher recruitment and retention – specifically addressing the complicated and timely process to become a certified CTE instructor, and the lack of adequate funding to support the needs within the program. Other challenges varied between career and technical centers (CTCs) and included topics such as roles of partners, relationships with school districts, student recruitment, industry certifications, etc. The educators were able to summarize these issues very clearly and offer solutions to State Director Pittman who took detailed notes and offered possible solutions when he could. State Director Pittman also provided insight into the future direction he would like to take CTE programming within PA.
The entire experience felt very positive and empowering for all audiences. It is very clear that we are on a path towards strengthening our CTE system to better align to our region’s workforce needs, while also being a place for students to thrive as they develop lifelong skills that prepare them for postsecondary and workplace success.
Jamie Baxter, Allies for Children Executive Director