FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                        Contact: Megan Reiter
January 15, 2005                                                  (703) 683-9312; mreiter@acteonline.org


ALEXANDRIA, VA- In a January 12th speech President Bush unveiled an initiative touting high school reform. Although final details are still pending, the President proposed consolidating existing programs to fund his initiative, including highly successful career and technical education (CTE) programs, (formerly known as vocational education).

Christin M. Driscoll, the Association for Career and Technical Education’s (ACTE) senior director of public policy said that ACTE has long called for more focus on high schools, to ensure that students are adequately prepared for postsecondary education and the workplace. She noted that CTE programs are an essential element of that.

CTE programs across the country provide high school students with high-quality skills that prepare them for in-demand jobs. These programs also provide business and industry with the skilled workers they need to compete in the 21st century economy. Additionally CTE programs reduce dropout rates and lead to postsecondary learning opportunities and increased earnings in the work place. Students who complete a rigorous academic core coupled with a career concentration have test scores that equal or exceed “college prep” students. These dual-concentrators are more likely to pursue postsecondary education, have a higher grade point average in college and are less likely to drop out in the first year, reports the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).

“We support the Administration’s focus on High School reform and feel that career tech programs are integral to achieving the goals of better outcomes for students, but we are concerned as to what the Administration’s proposal could mean for CTE programs that are working for students in schools across the country,” commented Driscoll.

For more information on CTE and how proposed cuts could affect these programs visit the ACTE’s Web site at www.acteonline.org.

The Association for Career and Technical Education is the national professional association for the field of career and technical education. Now in its 78th year, ACTE’s membership numbers more than 30,000 teachers, counselors and administrators at the middle school, high school and postsecondary levels.

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January 14, 2005                                                     NR#05-01