This week, Advance CTE held its 2016 Fall Meeting bringing together attendees from across the country to take a deep dive into all things Career Technical Education (CTE). Advance CTE staff reflects on the Fall Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland in this two-part series. 
Perkins Reauthorization and Looking Ahead
The Carl D. Perkins Act and related reauthorization efforts in Congress were top of mind throughout our meeting. During a general session on Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to participate on a panel with Alisha Hyslop, the Association for Career Technical Education’s Director of Public Policy, and speak to the current reauthorization processes in both chambers of Congress. With an overwhelming vote of support from the House, activity and focus has centered on the Senate where the parties remain locked in negotiations over the issue of secretarial authority. Following this, Kimberly Green, Advance CTE’s executive director, led a reaction panel with distinguished set of state CTE directors from Washington state, Iowa, and Maryland. With the prospects for Perkins uncertain in this congress, the discussion focused on what states can be doing now, using current law, to promote their respective visions for high-quality CTE.
Steve Voytek, Government Relations Manager
Fall Meeting Provides Opportunity for CTE Leaders from Across the Nation to Come Together 
Networking is one of the greatest benefits of attending an Advance CTE meeting. This year’s Fall Meeting was no different – with 150 attendees gathering from 40 states, one territory and D.C. Consistent with our new name and tagline, “Advance CTE: State Leaders Connecting Learning to Work,” attendees included State CTE Directors, counterparts, state staff, as well as local and national CTE leaders.
This meeting was made possible thanks to financial support from our many longtime sponsors:

• Diamond-level sponsors: Certiport, Kuder, and the National Center for College and Career Transitions.
• Gold-level sponsors: NOCTI and Today’s Class
• Bronze-level sponsors: CTECs, MBA Research, Realityworks

Many attendees had the opportunity to take part in a special networking opportunity thanks to the generous support from Kuder, who sponsored a dinner cruise along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
With all of the excitement and energy around CTE, we are looking forward to seeing this community of bold CTE leaders continue to grow during our next in-person meeting. Save the date – May 2-4, 2017 in Washington D.C. for our 2017 Spring Meeting!
Andrea Zimmermann, Senior Associate, Membership Engagement
Advance CTE and Meeting Attendees Lean into Putting Learner Success First
Putting Learner Success First: A Shared Vision for the Future of CTE was a central topic throughout 2016 Fall Meeting, which provided participants with insight into how to share and implement the vision including solid state, local and partner examples of the fantastic work already being accomplished. The meeting kicked off with a dinner and opening session that brought together all attendees to learn more about the multitude of resources Advance CTE and partners have developed, the sign on campaign, which has been supported by over 30 states, and the growing list of national partners. We heard from one of our newest supporters, Goodwill, Inc., who described CTE’s importance in serving all learners to bring them successfully into the workforce, the Association for Career and Technical Education who reiterated the success of the vision in speaking to the necessity of high-quality CTE educators, and FCCLA who continues to commit to the success of all learners. We also heard from states including Wisconsin and Nebraska who have worked hard to spread the vision far and wide in their states, and use it as a resource when strengthening their own state visions. We are thankful to our partners, members and meeting attendees who have wholeheartedly adopted this vision for CTE, and continue the imperative work of carrying out vision principles and strategies as we strive to ensure all learners are prepared for a lifetime of career success.
Katie Fitzgerald, Senior Associate, Communications