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ACTE Essay Contest Asks Students to Address President-elect Obama

Thursday, January 08, 2009

ALEXANDRIA, VA- The Association for Career and Technical Education today announced the topic for the Cliff Weiss Essay contest in the memory of former ACTE Senior Director of Communications Cliff Weiss (1951-2004). This year’s topic for secondary and postsecondary students is “What would you tell President Obama about your CTE experience?”

ACTE’S Annual Convention Recognized Educators, Career Guidance

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) last week held its Annual Convention and announced today that 4,200 educators and exhibitors attended the event in Charlotte, North Carolina, December 4-6. During the three-day Convention, ACTE released a guidance Issue Brief; held a luncheon celebrating 100 years of career guidance; launched the Association’s new Web site; announced the 2009 Career and Technical Education Month PSA video and national award winners; and held more than 300 concurrent sessions that covered topics such as workforce readiness, career academies, curriculum integration, business partnerships and federal initiatives and legislation affecting CTE.

Phil Harrington Receives Association for Career and Technical Education’s Friend of Guidance Award ADEL, Iowa, Dec. 8, 2008 – The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), Guidance and Career Development Division, has announced that Phil Harrington, president, Kuder, Inc., is this year’s recipient of its prestigious Friend of Guidance award. The award was presented at a celebration luncheon held this past week during the Association’s annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since 2000, it is given annually to an individual or organization that has been instrumental in the growth and development of guidance and career development. The U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Recruiting Command and America’s Career Resource Network Association (ACRNA) are among some of the previous award recipients.

ACTE Releases Issue Brief Highlighting CTE, Career Guidance Brings Student Success

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) released a new issue brief today, entitled “Career and Technical Education’s Role in Career Guidance,” that explores the leading role career and technical education (CTE) plays in the area of career guidance and improving student success through career-development services. Although there are counseling structures in place within the educational system, challenges, including an average student/counselor ratio of 479 to 1, indicate that more needs to be done to provide students with strong career guidance and career development services.

ACTE Praises Selection of Duncan as Secretary of Education

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) today commends President-elect Obama in naming Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools, as Secretary of Education. Duncan has worked on improving CTE programs in Chicago to ensure students graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills necessary to be prepared for postsecondary education and the workforce.

ACTE & NIOSH School Lab Safety Award Entries Due

Sponsored by ACTE and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. To encourage a safe and healthy environment in school laboratories, NIOSH and ACTE are seeking entries from ACTE members on the subject of "Promoting Safety and Health in Career and Technical Education." One entry will be selected to receive an award of $750 to the author and $250 to the author’s educational institution. Entries are due Jan. 23, 2009.

Click here for more information!

Birdville Media Tech Students Win ACTE PSA Video Contest, Promote CTE Month

The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced today that students from Birdville Media Tech, Birdville ISD in Haltom City, Texas, won the 29-second Public Service Announcement (PSA) contest by ACTE. The students, Yanina Gonzalez, Adrian Scarborough, Joseph Walsh and Philip Wilmut, developed a PSA called “Beyond A Textbook,” which will be used to publicize CTE Month during February 2009. ACTE debuted the video during its National Awards Ceremony at ACTE’s Annual Convention in Charlotte, NC.

New Administration + New Congress = New Opportunities
March 9-11, 2009 - Arlington, VA

With a new administration and a new Congress, the time is now for career and technical educators to bring their voices and stories to Washington, D.C., to inform current and new legislators on the importance of CTE. CTE programs are a vital component in the development and training of a productive national workforce. However, if these programs are not properly and fully funded, many of them won’t survive - and, in this economy, we can’t afford to have an undereducated or underprepared workforce.

Click here for more information and register today!

CTE_Month_2009_2 CTE Month 2009

February is CTE Month and ACTE hopes that you’ve started planning your festivities. This month-long celebration of CTE kicks off with National Job Shadow Day on February 4 and will conclude with National Entrepreneurship Week USA, which runs February 23 to March 1. Schools looking for promotional items can check out the Product Guide, which features products that can be customized to commemorate CTE Month. Visit the CTE Month Online Store to view the Product Guide and to purchase your promotional and commemorative items.

You can share CTE Month celebration plans over in the CTE Month forum of ACTE's new online discussion forums.

Video PSA Contest Winners Announced
ACTE is proud to announce the 2009 CTE Month Video PSA Contest winners. Learn more and watch the winning PSAs. You can also link to or embed the winning PSAs into your Web site.

Meet the 2009 CTE Month Logo Design Contest Winner
Michael Brandonisio of Gurnee, Illinois has been selected as the winner of the 2009 Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month Logo Design Contest. Brandonisio is an upcoming senior at Warren Township High School and he takes a graphic and Web design course at Lake County High Schools Technology Campus. He has already been accepted into the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he plans to further his career as a graphic artist.

Logo Use and Restriction Agreement

ACTE’s New Membership Campaign: Spotlight on Washington

ACTE needs the support of every CTE professional to enlighten a new Congress and a new administration by showcasing the success of career and technical education in our nation’s schools.

Join ACTE in its “Spotlight on Washington” membership campaign by joining or renewing your ACTE membership and by referring a colleague.

Don’t wait. Shine your light today!

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Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel series “Dirty Jobs” and founder of the mikeroweWORKS campaign to celebrate the skilled trades, has granted an exclusive interview to ACTE's own Catherine Imperatore at Career Tech Talk. Rowe discusses his work, the need for skilled labor in the United States as well as this nation’s negative perception of the skilled trades, and candidly shares what he learned about education and hard work from his family. (This podcast was recorded prior to the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, so some of the news items discussed during the interview are no longer current.) Listen today!

Updates from ACTE blogs and from others in the CTE blogosphere.

ACTE's CTE Policy Watch Blog

ACTE and CTSOs Promoting CTE Month
As we head toward CTE Month next month, I had a conference call with media professionals from the Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) to discuss our joint press release and events coming up. We talked about stressing the importance and impact of CTE related to the workforce and the current economic situation with the press, policymakers and our community. Read more ...
"A Crisis Unlike Any We Have Seen in Our Lifetime"
Pretty scary stuff! Over the last two days, the country’s economic crisis has taken center stage in Washington as Members of Congress return to work and focus on the task of putting together an economic recovery bill that will spur job creation and consumer spending. This morning, President-elect Obama gave a major economic policy address, one of the first since his election. He stressed that the United States has lost more jobs in the last year than at any time since WWII, and that if nothing is done, “a bad situation could become dramatically worse.” Read more ...
Congress and ACTE Are Gearing Up for a Busy Year
Congress is back in town and it’s a busy time for ACTE. Since there is a new Administration and new Congress, we are making introductions, ensuring that all Members of Congress and key Administration staff know about career and technical education, and asking for their support in the upcoming year. It’s a great time to perform such activities, particularly with new Members of Congress who are forming their agendas. January 6 was the date that Members of Congress got sworn into office and most offices held “swearing in” receptions. I had the opportunity to attend a reception in Rep. Earl Pomeroy’s office. Read more ...

Convention 2008 Logo 1

ACTE 2008 Convention Blog

SchoolTube interview with blogger Joe Petrosino

Watch the video!

And It's A Wrap!

The convention is now officially over. It has been a long and busy day. I started off my day at the Strategic Planning meeting for the Business Education Division. Business Education is my primary membership and teaching area. Since I am very active at the state level I wanted to glean some of what happens at the national level so I can report back to my state newsletter group. Read more ...

Blogroll

ACTE thanks the Charlotte Convention Center and the presenters, exhibitors and attendees who all helped make the 2008 Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo a huge success. If you missed it (or just feel a little nostalgic), you can follow along with attendees on the Convention blog and forums, read through the Twitterstream, browse the photo gallery and watch videos with members, exhibitors and students recorded at the SchoolTube studio on the Expo floor. A Convention roundup will be available shortly.

The 2009 Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo will be held Nov. 19-21 at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville. The call for presentations is now open. The deadline to submit is March 2, 2009.