CTE is for All Students
Mythbuster: More high school students than you may think are enrolled at a career-technical center. In 2021, more than 127,000 high school students CHOSE to pursue a career-technical education at one of Ohio’s 99 career-technical high schools.
Mythbuster: Career-technical centers encourage the next best step for each student’s future based on their interests and aspirations. In 2021, an average of more than 46 percent of CTE graduates, and at some career centers a much high rate, choose to attend a 2- or 4-year institution within two years of graduating high school. That number only grows if you include students that pursue additional certifications or credentials through an adult continuing education program.
Mythbuster: CTE is available and accessible to every high school student in the State of Ohio. It is not by invitation only or designed for a certain student demographic. With the number of career fields represented, CTE is an incredible option for every student that qualifies and has an interest in a particular career pathway.
Career-Tech students exemplify diversity. When you look around career centers and within their programs, you’ll see and feel the many different backgrounds and experiences that reflect our communities and at the same time strengthen the CTE student experience.
Career centers offer all the support that a traditional high school provides so that each student has an equitable and the best chance at success.
Mythbuster: CTE students are also organizational leaders, sport stars, musicians, performers, artists, valedictorians, salutatorians, and philanthropists while they complete their career tech experience. Career centers encourage and will work with students to give them every opportunity to have the fullest high school experience possible.
Mythbuster: CTE students have the same opportunities to earn distinguished academic and organizational honors from their home school and/or their career center. Career-Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) allow students to earn regional, state, and national accolades. Students with high academic achievement may be eligible for groups, like the National Technical Honor Society, while remaining eligible for distinctions at their home school.
Mythbuster: CTE students have proven that their experience at a career center does not negatively impact their ability to continue their extracurricular pursuits. A number of CTE students have committed to compete in intercollegiate athletics, including at the NCAA Division I level. Some CTSOs retain their officers as they begin the next part of their journey. Club involvement while in high school sets the foundation for an engaged individual, post-graduation.
While CTE is traditionally connected to high school students, learning and the desire to improve never stops. Many career centers provide education to adult students in the trades or for professional and personal development.