Tennessee celebrates National CTE Month during February

Tennessee Department of Education announced February is Tennessee Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month and will celebrate throughout the month by amplifying the role CTE has in preparing students for postsecondary success.

With an investment of $530 million, thanks to Governor Lee and the General Assembly, Innovative School Models (ISM) are an integral part of the state’s CTE work and are reimagining students’ daily classroom experiences in public middle and high schools across the state, representing 137 public school districts and 45 public charter schools.

To spotlight the state and nationwide celebration of CTE Month, Governor Lee issued a proclamation to recognize how CTE provides Tennessee students with various opportunities to improve the quality of their education and increase their skills necessary for career readiness and future success. Using the hashtags #InnovativeSchoolModelsTN, #CTEMonth, and #AcceleratingTN, Tennesseans can engage on social media throughout the month to learn about CTE opportunities.

“Tennessee is committed to ensuring every student is prepared for postsecondary learning and their future careers,” said Lizzette Reynolds, Commissioner of Education. “Career and technical education are for ALL students regardless of the pathway they choose, and the opportunities are endless for students taking CTE courses in schools across the state.”

Across the state, districts and schools are implementing innovative programs geared toward setting students up for postsecondary success. In West Tennessee, a district consortium between Milan, Trenton, and Gibson County Special Schools is implementing a Pathway to Success Project where students meet academic requirements online while working up to 30 hours per week at over 25 partnering employers. In East Tennessee, Oak Ridge High School made vocational education investments, from building an advanced manufacturing school-based enterprise to renovating their welding center. To learn more about exemplary ISM districts across the state, click here.

Additionally, CTE will continue to keep our state’s workforce strong for years to come. Blue Oval City will bring more than 5,800 jobs to West Tennessee to produce electric Ford Lightning trucks and electric vehicle batteries in the state. Through partnerships with multiple state agencies, the department is supporting Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) and Ford’s Blue Oval City to create a talent pipeline that will meet the demands of emerging technologies and jobs of today and tomorrow. 

Career clusters are another integral aspect of CTE in Tennessee, which house programs of study that prepare students to plan for future career goals and include opportunities to participate in Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO), obtain industry credentials, and take part in work-based learning experiences.

For more information about Tennessee’s CTE work, click here.