Career & Technical Education (CTE)

News & Announcements

Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) Four-Year State Plan

In accordance with the provisions of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education Act for the 21st Century (Perkins V), the state eligible agency shall conduct public hearings for the purpose of affording all segments of the public and interested organizations and groups (including teachers, faculty, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, school leaders, authorized public chartering agencies and charter school leaders [consistent with state law], employers, labor organizations, parents, students, Please refer to Superintendent’s Memo 243-19-This is a Word document. (Word) for a list of the public hearing locations.

Nominations for Career and Technical Education Curriculum Review Committees

The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education is accepting nominations for curriculum review committees. School divisions may nominate a Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher for any of the 36 committees. Approximately 12 applicants will be selected to serve on each committee.  All nominees who wish to serve on a committee must complete the web-based application using the CTE Application Processing System (CTEAPS). The web-based application process requires a professional reference and division-level approval (division superintendent or designee). Procedures for submitting the web-based application are available on the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) website.  Completed applications should be submitted to the VDOE using CTEAPS. Please refer to Superintendent’s Memo 078-19-This is a Word document. (Word) for more details. 

Virginia Economics and Personal Finance Students Again Lead the Nation in Success On the Working in Support of Education (W!SE) Financial Literacy Credential

At a recent ceremony held in New York City, the Best 100 W!SE high schools teaching financial literacy were announced.  First published in 2013, the 100 Best W!se High Schools national ranking recognizes the top 100 performing high schools in W!se’s national network, showcases excellence in financial education and motivates schools to “race to the top” in personal finance instruction.   Among the top 100 schools nationwide, 46 of those award-winning schools were Virginia high schools.  A complete listing of the 100 Best W!se High Schools is available.

Working in Support of Education (W!se) Announces the W!se Blue Star Schools for the 2017-2018 School Year 

Congratulations to the 258 schools nationwide who were announced in September 2018 as earning the designation of W!se Blue Star Schools for the 2017-2018 school year.  To be designated a Blue Star School, a school must have achieved an 80% or above passing rate on the W!se Financial Literacy Test and have EITHER a majority of students on a given grade level take the test OR achieve a minimum average score of 85%.  Of the 258 schools listed-This is a PDF document. (PDF), 166 or 64% of them were Virginia schools.  Congratulations to this year’s Blue Star Schools for an outstanding achievement and sincere thanks for the tremendous hard work in helping to improve the financial literacy of our nation’s young people.  

Virginia’s Workplace Readiness Skills:  Framework for the Future

In collaboration with the Demographics Research Group of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, the research report Virginia's Workplace Readiness Skills: Framework for the Future-This is a PDF document. (PDF) is being shared with school divisions.  The purpose of this research was to evaluate Virginia's current 21 Workplace Readiness Skills and to make certain they are up-to-date and aligned with the needs of employers. For more than 30 years, in each decade since the 1980s, hundreds of employers throughout the Commonwealth have been interviewed or surveyed to determine the most essential workplace skills for entry-level workers.