Bright Horizons for CTE Students

The mission of ACTE, incorporated since 1926, is to promote the educational reform known as: Career and Technical Education. Career and technical education connects students to workforce development and academic coursework aligned with professional and academic standards. After 17 years as an CTE instructor and formerly eighteen-years as a scientific researcher, my inspiration to continue to volunteer and support ACTE comes from the graduates who completed our NYSED-approved, CTE career sequence in Medical Laboratory and Health Assisting, and later went on to successful careers. The horizons are so bright for our CTE students they graduate wearing eye shades, rather than career-blinders like most students.  


During the hundred-days of my father’s convalescence in a local hospital and nursing home, I met over thirty students who were nurses, paramedics, doctors, physical therapists, technicians, pharmacists, physicians’ assistants or in training as health professionals, and had graduated from our CTE program. It was thrilling to see the success of our students. Most importantly though, those CTE students were grateful for their exposure to cutting-edge techniques, work-experience, CTE curriculum, and the scientific content, so early on their journey during high school.  Our CTE students were well-prepared to enter any health occupational career pathway in college and beyond because we focused our science curriculum and the clinical and research laboratory activities.  Some students even chose notably different paths as a result of their high school experience in law, science education, entrepreneurial endeavors, fashion design, or film directing.

CTE programs need to be supported today so that students will be prepared for the undefined careers of the future. Our program was successful because our New York State Education Department (NYSED) applied high standards and hired licensed teachers with both academic and professional experience, and reviewed the curriculum through a rigorous approval process. The independence engendered by Vocational & Technical Act Programs (VTEA ) grant funding and NYSED guidelines emboldened teachers to design and develop a curriculum which is articulated aligned with industry and collegial standards and academic programs of study (POS).

From a personal perspective, I am motivated to work for ACTE in support of CTE programs across the nation because I believe that free public career and technical education is transforming generations of students and, in particular, my extended family since the ACTE inception. ACTE is the anchor for the responsible stewardship of the public funding that supports all CTE programs and students.

By Robert Marraccino, Ph.D.,M.S. Edu.

NYC DOE CTE

Instructor of Medical Laboratory and Health Assisting

Adjunct, Professor of Biology at the College of Staten Island

Sun is rising over horizons and the CTE books: