CTE in High Schools: The Formula for Success

Career and technical education (CTE) offers a major solution for many problems in the nation's education system. CTE also has a profound impact in saving the youth that even No Child Left Behind (NCLB) leaves behind. Each year, tens of thousands of kids, feeling disconnected and disenfranchised, drop out of school. In its present state of arbitrary demands, lacking the necessary funding and support for already strapped school districts, NCLB has the potential to crush any glimmer of hope left for kids who opt to drop out. In this article, the author describes how Pekin Community High School has attained success for its students through its strengthened CTE programs, which offer a wide spectrum of experiences that serve both college-bound students and those planning to enter the work world directly after high school.