Making a Case to Establish High-Quality Career and Technical Education and Culturally Responsive Programs for Students in Urban Schools

Despite career and technical education's (CTE) history of tracking Black and Latinx students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds into low-wage, low-demand, and low-skilled occupations, more recent CTE education reform has vowed to repair its image and embrace a more relevant and meaningful educational pathway for the future generation of learners. Therefore, I discuss the historical significance of CTE in the US educational system, share insights into contemporary CTE programs particularly in urban school settings, and outline how high-quality culturally responsive CTE programs of the future should operate.