The AIRSS team is proud to present the first-ever issue of our new digital publication, The Prairie Career Advocate. This storytelling effort is part of the Rural IL CTE Project that AIRSS and the Illinois State Board of Education began in 2023.
We encourage you to read the first issue below, featuring Geneseo CUSD #228, to learn more about the successes of their CTE programming and how your district could potentially start a similar program in your community. The links in the document will work if it is downloaded to a computer; otherwise you can find them at the bottom of this page. You may download the PDF by clicking the three dots on the bottom right of the menu, then clicking “Download.”
If you have any questions or comments about the Advocate, please contact Program Director John Glasgow at john@airssedu.org.
‘Just Try It Out’:What’s Behind a Shift Away From 4-Year College
This article from EdWeek reports on the latest research confirming what we’ve been seeing in our rural schools: more and more students are interested in growing their professional and employability skills before graduation. Having uncontestable data such as this on hand makes a strong, convincing argument to policymakers, philanthropic partners, and local leaders as to the imperative for investing in CTE.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s Rural Opportunity Summit Highlights Continued Investment in Workforce Development
Illinois needs to be channeling much more funding into career exploration and experiences for students. This recent article from Clarksville Online illustrates the kind of high-level backing that CTE in Illinois needs. It can serve as a guide for crafting our own state commitment to CTE.
America’s Innovative High Schools
The spirit of the Prairie Career Advocate is to show how other schools are doing CTE. While not all of these schools are rural, this series spotlighting innovative high schools around the US from the74, a digital education news outlet, offers great inspiration.
AIRSS Response: Rural CTE and the “Great Misalignment”
Recently, we responded to the publication of a new report investigating the apparent “misalignment” between post-secondary associates degrees and available positions seeking those degrees. Although this finding has strong merit, requiring us to genuinely reflect on whether our CTE offerings are aligned with community needs, the conclusion misses the point.
IACTE Conference Call for Proposals
The Illinois Association of CTE has just opened their call for proposals to present at the 95th IACTE State Conference in Springfield. If you’d like to share your own story about developing an innovative CTE program, answer the call.
Growing Rural IL Success through CTE
After a year of intensive engagement and research with rural Illinois school districts, the Rural IL CTE Project is proud to announce the publication of Growing Rural IL Success through CTE, the first attempt of its kind in Illinois to systematically document the needs and equity gaps of rural CTE programs, and to offer policy recommendations for addressing them. We encourage you to peruse the report, consider its findings and assertions, and find an avenue for advocating its recommendations be implemented. [Click Here]
Rural IL CTE Project Portal
Visit the Rural IL CTE Project Portal for the latest tools, tips, guides, and resources your rural CTE program needs! From research, case studies, an asset map, and more, we’re working to provide you with everything you need to grow and sustain an exemplary program for students. The Portal is updated regularly with new content, and any suggestions and criticisms are welcome.
U.S. Department of Education: Power Your Future Challenge
This nationwide challenge inspires high school students to envision clean energy careers. Students can explore clean energy and connect CTE programs with a wide variety of clean energy career pathways. Submissions are due by 11/19/24 at 7:00pm CST. [Click Here]
Learning Blade
In support of the Navy’s need to build submarines for the future, a collaborative group is providing all the middle schools in Illinois state fully funded access to the Learning Blade’s STEM, Computer Science, and CTE career awareness resources.
CTE program at Geneseo High School is state of the arch. The community is tremendous at supporting all of the school programs. This particularly is a game changer for students that are not geared for college and are visual/hands on learners. The CTE center has more than doubled the enrollment in their classes.