ACTE/NPS - Find Out Why It's Important

2012-03-06

Each year, ACTE’s National Policy Seminar brings together some of the most powerful voices in Career and Technical Education. Yesterday, we were privileged to have Undersecretary of Education Martha Kanter join us for the opening session of NPS. Everyone was thrilled to have the honor of listening to one of the most influential people in U.S. education. Undersecretary Kanter’s devotion to the success of students brought her message to life, catching the attention of all attendees.

One of Undersecretary Kanter’s main topics of discussion was the upcoming reauthorization of the Perkins Act. Her message about the Perkins Act served as a great reminder that the input of CTE stakeholders is vital to securing a viable future for this piece of legislation. Collectively, we have a voice in providing input on the new outlook and direction of the Perkins Act, and we must use this platform. We also must have a continual focus on Perkins during the appropriations process to ensure that CTE is fairly funded. Undersecretary Kanter’s message helped to reinforce the foregoing ideas, and it also gave us insight into the potential structure and focus of the upcoming Perkins reauthorization.

Undersecretary Kanter also mentioned her “four silos” throughout the presentation. To help prioritize and make effective decisions, Undersecretary Kanter determines how educational concepts will impact certain groups. I think this method of decision-making can certainly be applicable to our lives. In our CTE programs, we should be determining how our actions will impact different segments of our school and community. Dissecting potential decisions in this manner will help us to leverage our impact and best utilize our resources.

Listening to this presentation was the ideal way to start the seminar. Through the messages, lessons, and facts presented in her speech, Undersecretary Kanter helped prepare us to effectively reach out to members of Congress and positively impact the future of CTE.