CTE Resources

When HVAC students at a Philadelphia career and technical education center kept struggling with the EPA Section 608 refrigerant handling certification exam, their CTE instructor realized that the traditional lecture-and-quiz…

A cosmetology student at a Philadelphia career and technical education center doesn't just practice on a mannequin head — she runs a functioning salon one day a week, taking real…

When students at Philadelphia's career and technical education cybersecurity programs log into their labs next fall, they could be working toward the same industry credential that employers use to screen…

When Philadelphia's School District greenlit a new advanced manufacturing pathway at Randolph Career Academy, administrators didn't start by shopping for CNC machines. They started with a question: What do local…

The Problem CTE programs exist to prepare students for careers that require hands-on skills — welding a joint to code, diagnosing an engine fault, preparing a restaurant-quality dish, reading a…

Most CTE programs have an industry advisory board on paper. Far fewer have one that meaningfully shapes curriculum, opens doors for students, and holds the program accountable for producing graduates…

The cancellation of 19 federal Career-Connected High Schools grants in 2025—$48.6 million in expected funding evaporated overnight—taught CTE programs a hard lesson. Grants launch partnerships. They don't sustain them. When…

When ninth graders at Penn Hills High School walk into the PHorge Robotics lab, they are not sitting through a lecture on theoretical engineering concepts. They are earning an industry…

Here's the problem with the way most CTE programs handle industry certifications: they treat them as a senior-year event. Students spend three and a half years building skills in a…

When engineering students at Philadelphia's Swenson Arts and Technology High School open their PLTW lab kits each fall, they are not completing a textbook exercise. They are building the same…