Advance CTE Making Good on the Promise Part 3
Making Good on the Promise: Part 3
Building Trust to Promote Equity in CTE
Expanding access to high-quality Career and Technical Education requires more than offering programs. Learners, families, and communities also need accurate information, meaningful opportunities to participate in decision-making, and confidence that CTE programs will support their education and career goals.
Building Trust to Promote Equity in CTE, the third brief in Advance CTE's Making Good on the Promise series, examines how CTE leaders can strengthen relationships with communities and stakeholders, increase transparency, and create conditions that support equitable participation.
Trust Is Built Through Relationships and Action
Building trust requires listening to learners and communities, acknowledging inequities when they exist, communicating clearly about CTE opportunities, and demonstrating through policies and practices that every learner is valued and supported.
Acknowledge Barriers and Gaps
Trust begins with recognizing that learners and communities may have different experiences with education and CTE systems. Historical practices, current access gaps, and differences in information or opportunity can influence how learners and families perceive CTE.
Acknowledging these experiences does not mean assuming that every community faces the same barriers. It means being willing to examine local data, listen to learner experiences, and openly discuss where improvement may be needed.
Examine Who Has Access to Information
Access gaps can begin before a learner ever enrolls in a CTE program. Some learners may have strong networks of counselors, educators, family members, or other advocates who help them understand available opportunities. Others may have limited exposure to CTE programs or may not receive the same information and guidance.
Questions to Consider
- How do learners and families learn about available CTE programs and pathways?
- Is information understandable, accessible, and available in ways that reach different communities?
- Do all learners have access to counselors, advisors, educators, or other trusted adults who can help them navigate CTE opportunities?
- Are learners receiving complete information about program requirements, postsecondary options, credentials, work-based learning, and career pathways?
- What might prevent a learner or family from viewing a CTE program as an opportunity for them?
Engage Communities as Partners
Meaningful engagement goes beyond sharing information or asking stakeholders to respond to decisions that have already been made. Learners, families, educators, community organizations, and workforce partners can provide important context for understanding local needs and identifying solutions.
Create opportunities for stakeholders to describe their experiences, identify barriers, respond to findings, and help shape strategies for improvement. Engagement should include people whose perspectives may not always be represented in traditional planning and advisory processes.
Practices That Can Strengthen Trust
- Acknowledge inequities and barriers identified through data and stakeholder experiences.
- Build a culture that values equity and inclusion across programs, institutions, and partnerships.
- Be transparent about program opportunities, expectations, outcomes, and areas needing improvement.
- Engage learners, families, and communities as partners in identifying needs and developing solutions.
- Identify and share effective practices that improve access, participation, and learner success.
Consider This in Your CLNA
Stakeholder engagement can help explain what quantitative data cannot. As you conduct your CLNA, consider:
- Whose voices are represented? Identify which learner groups, families, educators, and partners are participating in the process.
- Whose voices may be missing? Consider whether traditional meetings, surveys, or advisory structures reach the people most affected by an identified gap.
- What are stakeholders telling you? Look for themes related to awareness, advising, belonging, program quality, access, and support.
- How are you responding? Show how stakeholder input influences priorities, strategies, and program improvement.
- How will you continue the relationship? Engagement should be ongoing rather than limited to the CLNA planning cycle.
From Engagement to Partnership
Trust grows when learners and communities can see that their experiences matter and their input leads to action. Strong partnerships can help CTE leaders better understand barriers, improve programs, and create opportunities that reflect the needs and goals of the learners they serve.