CTE Curriculum Development in Tennessee

Alabama 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.

Georgia's Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) system is one of the largest and most well-organized in the Southeast, serving students across the state's 180 school districts. The state uniquely includes agricultural education as a core component of its CTE framework, reflecting Georgia's strong agricultural heritage alongside its modern economic strengths in technology, film production, healthcare, and logistics. Georgia organizes its CTAE programs around 17 career clusters and more than 130 career pathways, providing students with a comprehensive range of options for career exploration and preparation. The state requires students to complete a career pathway, which includes three sequential courses, as part of its graduation requirements, ensuring that all Georgia students gain meaningful CTE experience. The state has invested heavily in CTAE program quality, including the development of Georgia-specific curriculum resources and the establishment of strong partnerships with the Technical College System of Georgia, which provides seamless transitions from secondary CTE into postsecondary programs.

Kentucky's Career and Technical Education system serves students through a comprehensive network that includes area technology centers, comprehensive high schools, and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). The state organizes its CTE programs around 14 career clusters and more than 70 career pathways, reflecting Kentucky's diverse economic landscape that spans advanced manufacturing, healthcare, energy, agriculture, and logistics. Kentucky's area technology centers are a distinguishing feature of the state's CTE delivery model, providing specialized facilities and instruction to students from multiple sending school districts. These centers, operated by the Kentucky Department of Education, offer programs in high-demand fields that require expensive equipment and specialized instructors that individual districts might not be able to support. The state has made significant investments in CTE through its career readiness initiatives, which have elevated CTE as a core component of Kentucky's education strategy. The state's accountability system recognizes CTE pathway completion and industry certification attainment as key measures of school and district performance.

North Carolina's Career and Technical Education system is one of the most well-developed in the Southeast, serving students through all 115 local school systems and the extensive North Carolina Community College System. The state has built a comprehensive CTE infrastructure that connects secondary and postsecondary programs through clearly defined career pathways. The state's economy has undergone significant transformation in recent decades, shifting from traditional industries like tobacco and textiles to advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, financial services, information technology, and healthcare. North Carolina's CTE programs have evolved to reflect this economic transformation, with growing programs in STEM fields, healthcare, and technology complementing traditional strengths in agriculture and trades. North Carolina's CTE system benefits from strong state-level support and a well-organized governance structure. The Department of Public Instruction oversees secondary CTE, while the Community College System manages postsecondary programs, and both agencies collaborate through career pathways initiatives that create seamless transitions for students.

Virginia's career and technical education system is one of the most comprehensive in the Southeast, serving over 300,000 secondary students across the state's 132 school divisions. The state's CTE programs are organized around 17 career clusters and offer more than 130 programs of study, reflecting Virginia's diverse economy that spans technology, defense, healthcare, agriculture, and advanced manufacturing. Virginia has been a leader in CTE innovation, particularly through initiatives such as the Workplace Readiness Skills assessment, which evaluates students' competency in essential workplace skills, and the Governor's STEM Academies, which integrate rigorous academics with career-technical education in high-demand STEM fields. The state's CTE system benefits from Virginia's proximity to major federal agencies, military installations, and a thriving technology corridor in Northern Virginia. These connections provide unique work-based learning, internship, and apprenticeship opportunities for CTE students, particularly in cybersecurity, information technology, and government-related career fields.