I just had to share some of these direct quotes from a great article I just read.  I am extremely passionate about CTE and the benefits CTE has on underprivileged students.  The article I have drawn these exerts from is refereced below.  Happy reading!

"Our CTE "formula for success" commits us to a higher standard of learning. After the political winds shift from NCLB, and overly stressed standardized testing gives way to applied common sense, public schools will still teach everyone who walks through their doors. There are no simple solutions. But the elements of academic excellence combined with the relevance of CTE give secondary education incredible potential to build lives and inspire". 

“Career and technical education also has a profound impact in saving the youth that even No Child Left Behind (NCLB) leaves behind. Each year, tens of thousands of our kids, feeling disconnected and disenfranchised, drop out of school. Politicians and legislators seldom mention these endangered students in their rhetoric. They disappear from the political radar as if they constitute the "dark side" of education. Increased standardized testing and mandates will not likely bring them back. And, if they do not come to school, you cannot teach them”

“Passionate educators applaud, rather than fear, increased learning and accountability. However, they also understand that far more important than regimented academics and mandated over-used standardized testing delivered with factory-like precision, is the higher purpose of education-empowering people to build their own lives”

 “Healthy CTE stimulates higher achievement and results in quality education with enthusiastic community support” 

Brewer, R. L. (2004). CTE in high schools: The formula for success. Tech Directions, 64(5), 15-18.

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