The month commemorates the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act in February 1917. The Act was the first federal law to recognize the importance of vocational education to America’s economic future. While the Smith-Hughes Act focused primarily on education for agricultural careers—the nation’s primary industry at the time—today’s CTE is organized in 16 Career Clusters that include critical and growing sectors of the current economy, including information technology, healthcare, energy, and manufacturing.
Throughout February each year, national, state, and local CTE organizations celebrate the achievements of CTE students, advocate for CTE, and strive to raise awareness of CTE’s important role in a strong economy. The month emphasizes the benefits of CTE in academically preparing students for fulfilling careers that will support America’s continued economic growth. Educators can find CTE activities, links to articles about CTE, and advocacy materials on the Advance CTE website. [Read more…]