CTE Curriculum Development in Mississippi
Serving 29,994 students across 49 programs
Mississippi's Career and Technical Education system plays a critical role in the state's workforce development strategy, serving students through a network of secondary CTE centers and community colleges. The state has made significant investments in modernizing its CTE programs to align with industry demands and provide students with credentials that lead to employment in growing sectors.
The Mississippi State Board of Education oversees CTE at the secondary level, while the Mississippi Community College Board manages postsecondary CTE programs. This dual governance structure creates both opportunities for coordination and challenges in maintaining seamless pathways from high school to postsecondary education.
Mississippi has placed particular emphasis on growing CTE programs that support the state's economic development priorities, including advanced manufacturing, healthcare, energy, and logistics. The state's strategic location along the Gulf Coast and major transportation corridors creates unique workforce demands that shape CTE program offerings.
Standards & Alignment
Mississippi's CTE programs follow state curriculum frameworks developed by the Research and Curriculum Unit at Mississippi State University. These frameworks provide detailed competency-based standards for each CTE program, aligned with national industry standards and the state's academic content standards.
The state updates its CTE curriculum frameworks on a regular cycle, with input from business and industry advisory committees, postsecondary educators, and secondary CTE teachers. Mississippi also requires CTE programs to incorporate industry-recognized credentials, ensuring that graduates have tangible proof of their skills.
Key Challenges
Mississippi faces persistent challenges related to poverty and rural isolation, which affect both student access to CTE programs and the state's ability to recruit and retain qualified CTE teachers. Many rural districts struggle to offer a broad range of career pathways due to limited funding and enrollment.
The state also works to address infrastructure needs, as many CTE facilities and equipment require significant updates to support modern instruction. Additionally, Mississippi is focused on improving CTE completion rates and credential attainment among all student populations, with particular attention to closing equity gaps.
Struggling with these challenges in Mississippi?
Perkins V in Mississippi
Mississippi's Perkins V state plan prioritizes improving program quality, expanding access to high-demand career pathways, and strengthening work-based learning opportunities. The plan emphasizes using data to identify and address disparities in CTE participation and outcomes across student subgroups.
The state has directed Perkins funding toward professional development for CTE teachers, updating equipment and technology in CTE programs, and supporting comprehensive local needs assessments in districts across the state.
Mississippi CTE Resources
Essential links for CTE educators and administrators in Mississippi.
State CTE Agency
Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Career and Technical Education
Official CTE division of the Mississippi Department of Education
Course Standards & Frameworks
Mississippi CTE Course Standards
State-approved standards, course sequences, and pathway frameworks
National Profile
Mississippi on Advance CTE
Enrollment data, Perkins funding, and state comparisons
How Sage Helps Mississippi CTE Programs
AI-Powered Curriculum
Generate standards-aligned lesson plans in minutes, not months
Mississippi Standards Built In
Pre-loaded with Mississippi's CTE standards and frameworks
Teacher Customization
Teachers personalize content while maintaining standards alignment
Ongoing Updates
Curriculum stays current as Mississippi standards and industry needs evolve
"Together with Sage, we're rewriting the future — accelerating timelines, giving teachers precious time to focus on students, and helping schools retain and support the passionate educators who make it all possible."
Lynne Wilson
CTE Director, CTAERN
Frequently Asked Questions
Mississippi offers 49 CTE programs across 16 career clusters. These programs provide students with hands-on career preparation aligned with industry needs.
Mississippi aligns CTE curriculum with industry standards through a comprehensive process that includes working with industry advisory boards, mapping to state and national standards, and regularly updating programs to reflect current workplace requirements. This ensures students graduate with relevant, job-ready skills.
Perkins V is federal funding that supports Career Technical Education programs in Mississippi. This funding helps schools purchase equipment, develop curriculum, provide professional development for teachers, and ensure CTE programs meet quality standards that prepare students for high-skill, high-wage careers.
Sage uses AI to help Mississippi educators build standards-aligned CTE curriculum in weeks instead of months. Our platform generates customized lesson plans, assessments, and resources tailored to Mississippi standards, saving teachers countless hours while ensuring high-quality, industry-aligned content.
Explore Other States
Alabama
ALAlabama has built a robust Career and Technical Education system that serves students across all 67 counties through a network of comprehensive high schools, career centers, and the Alabama Community College System. The state organizes its CTE offerings around 16 federally recognized career clusters, with strong emphasis on advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and information technology pathways that align with the state's growing industrial base. The Alabama CTE program is guided by the Alabama State Plan for Career and Technical Education, which prioritizes work-based learning, industry certifications, and seamless transitions from secondary to postsecondary education. Alabama has invested significantly in upgrading CTE facilities and equipment, particularly in the automotive manufacturing and aerospace sectors that anchor the state's economy. Alabama's CTE system also benefits from strong partnerships with major employers including Honda, Hyundai, Airbus, and the Huntsville aerospace corridor, providing students with real-world connections to high-demand career fields.
SoutheastArkansas
ARArkansas operates a comprehensive Career and Technical Education system that serves students through secondary programs in public schools and a robust network of postsecondary institutions. The state's CTE offerings are organized around 16 career clusters and more than 90 individual programs of study that prepare students for high-demand careers in Arkansas. The Arkansas Division of Career and Technical Education works closely with the state's two-year colleges and technical institutes to create seamless pathways from high school through postsecondary credentials and into the workforce. Arkansas has made significant investments in CTE program quality, including competitive grant programs for equipment upgrades and facility improvements. Arkansas has also been a leader in the region for integrating computer science education into its CTE offerings, requiring all high schools to offer computer science courses and embedding digital literacy across career pathways.
SoutheastLouisiana
LALouisiana's Jump Start program represents one of the most innovative approaches to Career and Technical Education in the nation. Launched as a key component of the state's education reform efforts, Jump Start provides high school students with industry-valued credentials and workplace experiences that prepare them for high-demand careers. The program operates across all public school districts and emphasizes strong partnerships between schools and regional industries. The state organizes its CTE offerings around regional labor market needs, ensuring that programs align with the economic realities of different parts of Louisiana. From petrochemical industries along the Gulf Coast to healthcare systems in urban centers like New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Jump Start pathways reflect the diverse economic landscape of the state. Louisiana has invested heavily in work-based learning opportunities, requiring students to earn industry-based credentials as part of their graduation pathway. This emphasis on credentials has helped the state achieve strong outcomes in connecting education to employment, particularly in high-demand sectors like energy, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.
SoutheastTennessee
TNTennessee's career and technical education system is one of the most comprehensive in the Southeast, serving over 190,000 secondary students annually through programs offered in comprehensive high schools and career and technical centers across all 95 counties. The state's CTE system is organized around 16 career clusters with more than 80 defined programs of study. Tennessee has been nationally recognized for its innovative approach to CTE, particularly through the Tennessee Pathways initiative, which creates aligned career pathways from K-12 through postsecondary education and into the workforce. This initiative leverages partnerships between school districts, higher education institutions, employers, and community organizations to ensure that CTE programs meet regional workforce needs. The state's Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect programs provide tuition-free access to community and technical colleges, creating strong postsecondary pathways for CTE completers. These scholarship programs have significantly increased postsecondary enrollment among CTE students and have strengthened the connection between secondary CTE and advanced training opportunities.
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