The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) recently announced that 32 school districts across the state have been awarded funds from the Perkins Reserve Grant (PRG) to support career and technical education (CTE) for the 2023-24 school year.
Tennessee’s CTE consists of “16 nationally recognized career clusters with the ultimate goal of preparing students for success at the postsecondary level and in their chosen careers.”
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Career and technical education attracts bipartisan support in Pennsylvania, but that doesn’t mean funding flows freely and problems are quickly resolved.
While student interest is high, at least in some parts of the state, finding qualified teachers and offering enough classrooms can hold back expansion.
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States are where policymaking magic happens because they can experiment with innovative policy ideas. Tennessee citizens are unsurpassed in courage, passion, determination, and kindness reflected in our diversity; that is actually why Tennessee is America at Its Best. As a state, we must set our agenda with relentless optimism and resolve toward our future. In education, we understand that there must be needed changes in school funding, including additional monies. Governor Lee’s proposal in the State of the State tonight needs much deeper review, study, and time. In Tennessee, we do not “pass the bill so people can find out what’s in it.”
The Tennessee Constitution requires the General Assembly to provide for the maintenance, support, and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools. There are many key policy levers needed to improve public education and many are interlinked. Teachers are the critical element in improving education. It’s not about more programs, more standards, or more tests. It’s about that relationship between an adult and a child. Students need an adult who believes in them and their ability to succeed in life. Moving education policy is a lot like the game Jenga. If you remove the wrong piece the structure collapses. This is especially true in education funding. Without skilled personnel, education cannot succeed.
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President Donald Trump has proposed one of the largest increases in funding for career and technical education in recent history.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced college projects receiving $25 million in funding through the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) program.
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Schools like the University of Wisconsin at Stout are addressing the other side of the skills-gap equation. If public schools are going to bring back the trades, then they’ll need educators to teach them. The university’s Emerging Center for Career and Technical Education Excellence seeks to “serve the career and technical education community by meeting the 21st century needs of K-12 and postsecondary technical educators who are at the forefront of workforce education.” The Center offers a number of bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees in the career and technical education (CTE) fields—all of which are geared towards the training of teachers. “UW-Stout is uniquely qualified to address the needs of career and technical educators and leaders as it is the only UW campus that offers a full complement of career and technical education programs,” its website explains. “Graduates from the CTE programs are prepared to teach and lead within secondary and postsecondary settings such as high schools, community colleges, public and private technical colleges, and industrial training programs.” In fact, the Center’s doctoral degree in career and technical education was first launched in 2013, and is the university’s first and only doctoral program. “The degree is designed to help…
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In July 2018, President Donald Trump signed the “Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act” into law. The bill reauthorized the 2006 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which provides an “increased focus on the academic achievement” of CTE students, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.
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