From 1925 to the present day, career and technical educators and administrators have had a national organization to call home. The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) — previously known as the American Vocational Association (AVA) — turns 100 next year.
It was 1969 when Gary Moore began his work as a high school agriculture teacher. That’s also the year he joined ACTE. Some years later, as Moore was pursuing his master’s, and then a doctorate, he invested in an ACTE lifetime membership.
He was looking forward to a long tenure as an agricultural education professor. And for 56 years now, he’s witnessed ACTE’s comings and goings from the perspective of member, Association president, Agricultural Education Division vice president, volunteer, and more. He remains committed to and hopeful about the work of high-quality career and technical education (CTE).
Opportunities for reflection
It’s hard to capture how the organization that Moore and thousands of others came to know has morphed over time. With each year, a new president; every few decades, a change in structure; new members every month; perpetually awash in societal, technological and political changes. Yet here we are, staring down a whole century.
As ACTE launches its centennial celebration, this article offers a forward-looking perspective at how ACTE will continue to serve not just its members but the CTE field as a whole — and how you fit into this monumental effort.
“We all have the same goal of working with students in CTE,” said Carrie Giles, ACTE president and Central Region chief administrator for Central Ohio Technical College. “It’s interesting to learn best practices from other people and think outside of what you’re doing in your own state or local area.”
Belonging
In 1983, Debbie Nelson walked into her first family and consumer sciences (FCS) classroom as the teacher. Nelson had known since eighth grade that she wanted to teach FCS; her mother was a home economics teacher. Yet there she was, feeling a little out of place, a new teacher with few resources. ACTE became a lifeline.
“I appreciated it when I was teaching, but now I can look back and see, even more, what a difference [ACTE] makes,” said Nelson, who retired from teaching to become the executive director for Colorado ACTE in 2017. “No matter what content area they teach in, oftentimes they’re the only person in their building teaching what they’re teaching. … It’s really easy to think that you’re the only person in the whole world that’s doing this.
“The first year that I taught, I was so grateful for this network of people that I knew. But it’s really more than just a network,” said Nelson. “I have stayed for 42 years, because it’s a family.”
Relevance
In 1926, many of the fields that comprise modern CTE were just dreams. Schools were segregated. Men did not traditionally work in nursing, and most women were not welding. ACTE has proven that changing with the times is one of its strengths.
ACTE’s CareerTech VISION 2025 conference kicks off the official 100th anniversary celebration in Nashville, Tennessee. Then save the date for the big centennial bash happening at VISION 2026, in New Orleans, Louisiana. ACTE’s events offer a great opportunity for CTE educators to understand and appreciate the Association’s history.
Nelson said, “I’m excited to provide some context for the newer members and have them be as proud of our history as I am.” At conferences like VISION and the upcoming National Policy Seminar (NPS), ACTE members can connect with fellow educators and industry representatives and stay current on what’s happening in CTE.
Advocacy
CTE makes a special case for strong education funding. After all, high-quality programs in fields like farming, health care and engineering often require specialized equipment and lab spaces. “And so, on the legislative front, ACTE has been very active in promoting career and technical education,” said Moore.
When the Smith-Hughes National Vocational Education Act was signed into law in 1917, authorizing the first federal funding for secondary CTE programs, CTE didn’t yet have a united national organization. In the decades that followed, a series of laws were passed to continue to provide consistent funding for CTE. Then, when the George-Deen Act was enacted in 1936, and Congress was tasked with reallocating funds, AVA got to work.
Today, ACTE’s major funding focal point is the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, as amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act in 2018 (known as Perkins V).
“Perkins is one of ACTE’s strongest pieces of advocacy, in my opinion,” said Chaney Mosley, ACTE past president and associate professor of agricultural education at Middle Tennessee State University. He pointed out that ACTE has staff dedicated to policy, but the Association also equips its members to advocate for themselves, their students and programs, and the CTE field as a whole — even bringing educators to Washington, D.C., to have their voices heard.
Of course, ACTE’s advocacy work extends beyond funding. “One of the big things now is the teacher pipeline and teacher recruitment,” said Giles. Education leaders want to attract young people to teach CTE while also recruiting instructors from business and industry roles to share their experience with learners.
Conclusion
ACTE acts as a loud, clear voice for the field. And they will continue to uplift the stories of their communities. Because the members make the organization.
The Association’s longevity is due in part to its leadership’s willingness to be nimble, respond to changing environments, and take a stand. It’s the passionate, educated and motivated membership that’s made all of this possible over the past century. And that same membership will continue to guide CTE into the future.
Lisa Munniksma is a freelance writer, communications project manager and farmer based in Kentucky. She’s a product of CTE, as she uses what she learned in high school agriculture classes, and as a member of FFA.
