2025 ACSA Equity Institute

Career Technical Education (CTE) plays a critical role in preparing students for the future. CTE course data still suggests a large disparity of students with disabilities, students of color, and English Learners being unable to access these relevant learning opportunities. Join us as we share how we created CTE programming opportunities that were previously unavailable and inaccessible to marginalized youth.

We will explore the student voices, partnerships, and logistics that any school or district can use to increase access for students. We will also share the data findings related to academic achievement, attendance, and the decrease of undesired behaviors that often arise when our systems are not meeting the needs of our students.

Recognizing one of the largest challenges to opening access to CTE courses are interventions and support classes; we will demonstrate how we used an assessment of instructional minutes, master schedule creativity, connection to innovative teacher’s, and collaboration with community colleges to design CTE Masterclasses. These courses meet the equivalency of State mandated high school courses as well as the demand for A-G approved courses and labor market industry certifications.

Acknowledging that many schools and programs do not have funding to spare, we will explain how we approached sustainability through grants and explore best practices for finding success in CTE grant submissions.

You too can have engaged students, excited teachers, and CTE Pathway completers!