2020 National ACTE Postsecondary Teacher of the Year



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2019

Contact: Jarrod Nagurka
jnagurka@acteonline.org,
703-683-9312

ACTE Announces New York Assistant Professor as 2020 National Winner

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Today, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced Jan Held Woodworth, Assistant Professor at SUNY Oswego in Oswego, New York as the 2020 National ACTE Postsecondary Teacher of the Year. This award recognizes the finest career and technical education teachers at the postsecondary level who have demonstrated innovation in the classroom, commitment to their students and dedication to the improvement of CTE in their institutions and communities. The Postsecondary Teacher of the Year Award is sponsored by Goodheart-Willcox.

Woodworth received her Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture Education; Master’s Degree in Agriculture and Extension Education; and Ph.D. in Agriculture, Extension and Adult Education from Cornell University. Woodworth is a Permanently Certified Teacher of Agriculture in New York State (NYS), who taught in two high schools before going into higher education. During her tenure as an agriculture teacher, she had several NYS FFA officers and hosted the NYS FFA Convention. She also was awarded the NYS Young Agriculture Teacher of the Year award and served on the NYS FFA Board of Trustees, on the NYS FFA Leadership Training Foundation, and as Treasurer and President of the Association of Teachers of Agriculture of NY (now NYAAE). Woodworth has worked as a curriculum writer and evaluator for NYS Agriculture in the Classroom and Project Food, Land and People, among others. She taught dairy science at SUNY Morrisville, teacher education at Syracuse University, and now is an Assistant Professor of CTE at SUNY Oswego, where she was an Adjunct Professor for 12 years before accepting her current position six years ago. Woodworth has been on the Cazenovia Central Board of Education for the past eight years, the last four of which she served as Board President.

Woodworth believes that CTE is essential for all students and has dedicated her professional life to making connections between students and work experience, and preparing CTE teachers to better serve their students through the development of new certification pathways and alternatives.

“As a proud sponsor of the ACTE Excellence Awards, Goodheart-Willcox is excited to honor the 2020 recipients and recognize their outstanding achievements,” said Todd Scheffers, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Goodheart-Willcox. “This partnership with ACTE reinforces our longstanding commitment to preparing students for success in college and the workplace. Thank you to all of the finalists for sharing your talents and leadership with students across the nation. Together, we build careers.”

Woodworth was one of five finalists for the 2020 national title. The national winner was announced at the ACTE Awards Gala, a dinner and award presentation recognizing the best CTE educators in the
country. The event took place on Wednesday evening, December 4, during ACTE’s CareerTech VISION 2019 in Anaheim, California. The Awards Gala was sponsored by Express Employment Professionals, , CareerSafe, Goodheart-Willcox, eDynamic Learning and Stratasys. For more information about the ACTE Excellence Awards, visit our webpage.

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About ACTE
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the nation’s largest not-for-profit association committed to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. ACTE represents the community of CTE professionals, including educators, administrators, researchers, school counselors, guidance and career development professionals and others at all levels of education. ACTE is committed to excellence in providing advocacy, public awareness and access to resources, professional development and leadership opportunities.