February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, which celebrates the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across Kansas and the nation.
Students who are involved in CTE have a higher graduation rate and see higher earnings, according to the Association for Career and Technical Education.
The theme for CTE Month is Celebrate Today, Own Tomorrow! This month provides CTE programs an opportunity to demonstrate how CTE makes students college and career ready and prepares them for high-demand career fields.
CTE in Kansas embraces the needs of business and industry through the development of the foundational knowledge and skills aligned to the Kansas workforce.
Kansas has 16 Career Clusters for students to choose from, and there are 37 Career Pathways. Garden City High School offers 16 of the 37 Career Pathways. The pathways include: BioMedical; Business Finance; Comprehensive Agriculture Science; Corrections, Security, Law, and Law Enforcement Services; Digital Media; Early Childhood Development and Services; Engineering and Applied Mathematics; Fashion, Apparel, and Interior Design; Graphic Design; Health Science; Manufacturing; Marketing; Power, Structural, and Technical Systems; Restaurant and Event Management; Teaching/Training; and Web and Digital Communications.
A Career Cluster is a group of occupations similar in skill set and training. Career Cluster Pathways are focused and specific areas of study leading to a particular area of industry or business. These occupations fall within seven career fields in Kansas — agriculture; business; family and consumer sciences; public services; media and technology; health; and design, production and repair.
The vision for Kansas education is to lead the world in the success of each student. CTE classes play an important role in helping the state meet that goal by making sure students are prepared for postsecondary success – whether that be entering the workforce, obtaining an industry-recognized certificate or attending a two-year or four-year college.
Ninety-eight percent of Garden City High School students have taken at least one CTE course before graduating from Garden City High School.