SILVER SPRING, MD—Today, the White House released its Fiscal Year 2011 budget, which proposed level funding for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Perkins is the largest source of federal funds for secondary schools and the primary source of federal funding for education programs that provide individuals with the knowledge and skills to compete in the workforce. The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) understand tight budget constraints, but believe that a greater investment should be made in order to answer the nation’s most pressing need of rebuilding the workforce.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), National Association of State Directors for Career and Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) and career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) are taking steps to educate the public about the role career and technical education (CTE) plays in educating and training the future workforce and the economic impact it has on local communities.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) today announced the topic for the Cliff Weiss Memorial Essay contest, held in memory of former ACTE Senior Director of Communications Cliff Weiss (1951-2004). This year’s topic for secondary and postsecondary students is "How Is CTE an Investment in Your Future?”

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced today that it has selected five members to participate in the ACTE National Leadership Fellowship Program, which provides educators an opportunity to enhance their leadership skills and involvement in professional organizations. The program identifies, trains and motivates a cadre of leaders who will continue to advance efforts that support an educated, prepared, adaptable and competitive workforce.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) last week held its Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo and announced today that 5,200 educators and exhibitors attended the event in Nashville, Tennessee, November 19-21, roughly a 20 percent increase over last year’s event. During the three-day Convention, ACTE released an adolescent-literacy Issue Brief, signed an MOU with the U.S. Army Accessions Command, announced the 2010 CTE MonthPublic Service Announcement (PSA) video and national award winners, and held more than 250 concurrent sessions and workshops that covered topics like data collection, career academies, incorporating technology into the curriculum, and legislative and policy issues affecting CTE.

NASHVILLE, TN—Representatives from the U.S. Army Accessions Command (USAAC) and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) this week signed an official memorandum of understanding (MOU) providing the cooperative framework to increase collaboration in supporting the nation’s young people and improving the educational experiences, postsecondary readiness and career and technical pathways for the nation’s high school students.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced today that students from Silsbee Independent School District (ISD) in Silsbee, Texas, won the 29-second Public Service Announcement (PSA) contest sponsored by ACTE. The students, Katie Eldredge and Hannah Read, developed a PSA called “The Future Is in Your Hands,” which will be used to market CTE Month during February 2010. ACTE unveiled the video during its opening General Session at ACTE’s Annual Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—A new Issue Brief by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), "Career and Technical Education’s Role in Adolescent Literacy," explains how career and technical education (CTE) can increase adolescent literacy engagement and achievement. CTE teachers are integrating content-area reading and writing strategies and a number of enrichment activities to help students gain and apply higher-level literacy skills, which will help students prepare to enter postsecondary education, training opportunities and the global economy.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announces it has signed on to become an endorsing partner of the Data Quality Campaign (DQC), which is a national, collaborative effort to encourage and support state policymakers to improve the availability and use of high-quality education data to improve student achievement. ACTE will work with the DQC to support the use of longitudinal data to inform policy and practice and to improve student achievement.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) praises the Senate for confirming Brenda Dann-Messier as the assistant secretary of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education. Dann-Messier was nominated by President Obama in July.