February is Career and Technical Month

1. Highlight youth development through Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO): FFA, FCCLA, SKILLS USA, BPA, DECA, and HOSA). How has your class activities extended leadership outside of the classroom to make your students more career and college ready?
2. Consortium leaders or district Perkins representative can write a short summary of strong CTE programs in district/consortium. (Use a template we already created for you).
3. Highlight a business industry partnership and post it on a school/college website or social media in honor of CTE Month.
4. Download the CTE infographic and share with students, principal, school board, superintendent, counselors and parents through the course website/school website. Headline could be, “Celebrating CTE Month.”
5. Send a copy of the Governor’s signed CTE Month Proclamation to post on school website/pages.
6. Have a few students write a quick Thank You note to the principal, school board, superintendent. Include:
   • Thank them for the opportunity to take ___________ course;
   • Briefly state the value they have gotten out of the class;
   • Share how they are using the information in their life/career/transition to post-secondary; and
   • Include a copy of the Governor’s Proclamation with the thank you note
7. Each teacher write up a brief account of experiential learning activities they have done this last year (e.g., field trips, industry tours, guest speakers, job shadows, career exploration activities, knowledge gained about a career pathway) and send it to the principal. Suggested title: "This is how I prepare students for careers and college."
8. Highlight a CTE student of the month for February from each of your courses and share it on social media. Write brief description of what makes this student successful in the program.
9. Invite administrators and counselors to your classroom—or make it a specific classroom activity—in honor of CTE Month.
10. Plan an experiential learning experience for students (e.g., field trips, industry tours, guest speakers, job shadows, career exploration activities, knowledge gained about career pathway) to celebrate CTE Month and note this is making them more career and college ready.
11. Ask for a 15 minute or longer meeting with the principal and/or superintendent to brag on accomplishments of your students and program. Make it an annual meeting!
12. Make February the month your advisory board, CTE teacher and student representatives highlight CTE and your program at the monthly school board meeting. Get on agenda or sign up for public comment.
13. Plan a 15 minute “Need to know about CTE” presentation with your school’s counselors.
14. Invite administrators and counselors to your professional organization state conference, and/or CTSO State Student Leadership conference to judge an event.
15. Send the Minnesota Career Cluster Framework Wheel to all stakeholder groups and include a note about the value of CTE.
16. Print the Minnesota Career Cluster Framework Wheel, blow it up to poster-size, and hang it the hall or your classroom and invite other teachers to display it in their classrooms too.
17. Hand out the Minnesota Career Cluster Framework Wheel to students and have them relate how and what they learned in your course, prepares them for career fields/clusters/and pathways identified on the wheel.
18. Make a presentation to your school World’s Best Workforce (WBW) on the value of CTE and how CTE, or your program, is making them career-ready and helping them transition successfully to postsecondary.
19. Have students read stats about Career and Technical Education on the announcements during the month of February. (Use the CTE infographic!)
20. Pick a topic around CTE and host a brown bag lunch with your peers and colleagues. Everyone's already eating lunch anyway, right?
21. Print the CTE infographic onto a poster-size board, put it on an easel, then place it in a high traffic area (e.g., lobby, cafeteria, front receptionist area, etc.) in recognition of CTE Month.
22. Request to deliver the proclamation at a February school board meeting. Have a student deliver it and share a personal story about how CTE programs have made an impact on their life.
23. High School CTE teachers and students can give presentations to middle school students prior to registration for next year or a local Chamber of Commerce.
24. Ask one CTE teacher to select a successful CTE professional, then profile their career, and post it on social media with hashtag #CTEMonthMN.
25. Share your personal story on how CTE has impacted your education and career path and tag us #CTEMonthMN.

This list was put together by our partners at Minnesota Department of Education's Office of Career and College Success.