Touring Cardozo Education Campus
This article was originally published in ACTE’s CTE Policy Watch blog.
Educators and community members recently visited the Cardozo Education Campus in Washington, D.C., to learn more about their high-quality career and technical education (CTE) programs and to meet faculty and students. Cardozo is also home to Aris Pangilinan, ACTE’s Teacher of the Year, also known at school as “Mr. P.” The event featured panel discussions and facility tours designed to showcase opportunity and students’ accomplishments.
Techniques ACTE May 2024_ CardozoTouring Cardozo Education Campus
The event began with opening remarks by ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Curry, followed by remarks from Cardozo Principal Arthur Mola, senior deputy chief of SEAD Strategy at D.C. Public Schools Glenn Starnes and Cardozo CTE Director Cheryl Rodgers. Mr. P followed these remarks with an inspiring speech. He shared how he grew into his role as a CTE teacher and the incredible experiences he offers to his students.
A student panel took center stage following Mr. P’s remarks. This was moderated by and featured several CTE students pursuing pathways in engineering, computer science and similar fields. Students on the panel shared hopes of pursuing careers in neuroscience, diplomacy, cybersecurity and more. These students spoke about the impact that CTE has had on their education and their career prospects, giving examples of how CTE has strengthened their employability skills, confidence and networking abilities. They also shared some of the incredible opportunities CTE has opened for them, including internships.
Notably, the students discussed policy changes they need to see in how Congress and local leaders approach CTE.
The overwhelming consensus was a push for more funding. Students explained how an increase in funding would help to ensure they all had access to laptops and other learning materials for home use, proper preparation for internships on behalf of both the students and organizations hosting the internships, and more programming that could send students abroad to expand their scope of understanding.
ACTE is grateful for the collaboration with Cardozo Education Campus in hosting this insightful event in celebration of CTE Month. Specifically, ACTE extends a warm thank you to the following individuals:
- CTE Director Cheryl Rodgers
- Mr. Aris Pangilinan and Dr. William Blake from Cardozo
- Crystal Smith and Iris Wilson from DCPS
- The wonderful guests from the Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical,
and Adult Education (OCTAE) - Our guests from partner organizations
- And the generous sponsor for this event, the National Association of Home Builders
Hannah Richards is ACTE’s advocacy and media coordinator.
