ALSDE Update

The Future Is Bright

State’s Innovative K-12 Education and Career Development Partnership Has become an Inspiring Way-of-Life!

Dr. Eric Mackey, Alabama State Superintendent of Education

Over the past decade, our state has focused more of its efforts on developing the academic range and full set of essential workplace skills of all Alabama K-12 students. The long term goal is to ensure that every student in our state is both prepared to graduate and to become a top college and career ready leader who is prepared for a lifetime of personal success.

National experts continue to indicate that our full recovery from the devastating global pandemic will rely heavily on sustained economic growth over the next few years – Our nation must maintain its world-class and highly skilled workforce. Alabama’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program has been instrumental in this effort.

This past February, our state officially celebrated Alabama CTE Month 2022. Many local schools and communities throughout Alabama hosted special in-school events, online career fairs, virtual college and business tours, and jobetiquette workshops to highlight the great impact that high school and middle school career preparation are having on overall student success.

CTE is preparing K-12 students for indemand career opportunities in America’s leading career areas. *Why are students joining Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) and local CTE classes? Hear these honest answers, directly from Alabama students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2K9ofyQtRk

“Alabama’s workforce development efforts are truly connecting K-12 education, postsecondary learning, and professional-career development in our state,” said State Superintendent, Dr. Eric Mackey. “Over 173,000 students in grades 9-12 are now enrolled in Alabama CTE programs. We are truly appreciative for the great partnership that has been created between our local schools, state Workforce Development Council, and state lawmakers. It has had such a great impact on the career and postsecondary readiness of our high school graduates.”

Today’s students will soon be our nation’s next generation of top executives, business professionals, and highly respected community leaders. U.S. high school and college students have many promising career options available. According to top experts, over the next decade America’s leading occupations that require college-level or advanced professional credentials, will have record-breaking job openings - https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/home.htm

Alabama over the past five years has seen a 120 percent growth in workplace credentials earned, with 81.9 percent of students in Alabama schools currently enrolled in at least one CTE class. https://alabamactso.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Alabama-CTE-Impact-Report-2020-2021-Final.pdf

“There are so many excellent learning opportunities for students in today’s CTE,” said Assistant State Superintendent, Dr. Jimmy Hull. “We believe each student has the potential to develop the key skills necessary to become an effective professional in the future. Career and Technical Education is so valuable because it allows every student to develop their individual workplace skills and knowledge. We utilize the National Career Clusters concept to help our students navigate and learn more about the professions they are interested in. The goal is to spark real career interest and appreciation in every young person.”

Examples of some of the career fields Alabama CTE students prepare for include Civil Engineer, Journalism, Aquaculture, Human Resources, Medical Professions (physician, nursing, dentistry), Cybersecurity, First Responder Careers, Military Leadership, and hundreds of other areas.

Students, who take advanced CTE courses in high school or college (CTE concentrators) have been shown to earn nearly 3.2 percent more in salary over their lifetime, compared to peers who do not take these classes. Concentrators take at least two CTE classes in a specific program-of-study.

· Alabama FBLA-PBL - https://www.alabamafbla-pbl.org/ · Alabama JROTC - https://alabamajrotc.org/ · Alabama FFA - https://alabamaffa.org/ · Alabama SkillsUSA – https://alskillsusa.org/ · Alabama FCCLA – https://alabamafccla.org/ · Alabama DECA – https://www.alabamadeca.com/ · Alabama TSA - https://alabamatsa.rocks/ · Alabama HOSA - https://alabamahosa.org/ · Jobs for Alabama’s Graduates (JAG) - https://www.alabamajag.org/

To learn more about Alabama’s CTE programs, contact the ALSDE Career Tech/Workforce Development Section at 334-694-4876, or visit www.alabamaachieves.org