CTE Description

What is Career Technical Education (CTE)? 

It is a program of study that integrates career training, academic knowledge, and technology to prepare students for the workforce, postsecondary education, and careers.

The vision of DJUHSD is to incorporate a comprehensive career technical education program into the culture of its schools that meet the needs of all students, families, and businesses in the local community.

Career pathways are a way to organize classes and career information on a school campus. Research shows that students learn best when content is clustered by theme and is relevant to students' interests.

Career pathways organize student learning and reinforce high academic standards for reading, writing, and mathematics. Designed well, career pathways expand student opportunities for learning and career preparation. At the kindergarten through middle school level, career pathways consists mostly of awareness of careers and learning about the pathway clustering. At the high school level and above, students can actually select a career pathway of interest to give meaning to learning.

Often pathway courses are sequenced, with more advanced topics building on introductory courses. Because core academics are taught and reinforced in a thematic way, students learn academic skills regardless of the pathway selected. In high school, students should be able to change pathways and not have their learning harmed. At the post-secondary level, career courses become more content-specific and students who change "majors" may have to start a new pathway sequence at an introductory level.

The career pathways are sequenced as follows:

• Introductory/Concentration Course - usually taken 2nd or 3rd year
• Capstone Course - usually taken 3rd or 4th year

Check back often as our District continues to create more career pathways in the future.  Please contact your students' counselor for more information.

Source: Association for Career and Technical Education