More Michigan Students Taking Career & Technical Education Courses

MDE Wants to Further Increase Enrollment

LANSING, MI – A growing number of students from around Michigan are enrolling in career and technical education programs. Michigan Department of Education (MDE) officials are seeking additional legislative support for expanding the programs, which prepare students for careers in areas ranging from agriculture, to skilled trades, to public safety, to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Enrollment in career and technical education programs, often known as CTE programs, has not only recovered from decreases during the pandemic, but now exceeds enrollment from before COVID, Ms. Celena Mills, director of the MDE Office of Career and Technical Education, said during a presentation at Tuesday’s State Board of Education meeting. In the 2023-24 school year, 112,156 students enrolled in CTE programs, the third year of increases totaling more than 9,000 students, or 9%, since the 2020-21 school year enrollment of 102,988 at the low point of the pandemic and more than the pre-pandemic, 2019-20 school year enrollment of 111,073.

CTE completers, students who finish an entire series of courses in a given career area rather than a single course or two, have also increased the last three years, a total increase of more than 8,000 students, or 19%from 44,226 in 2020-21 to 52,625 in 2023-24, and greater than not only the 2019-20 pre-pandemic number of 50,416 but also any single year pre-pandemic.

“We know that overall, students who participate in CTE have better outcomes – not just right after high school, but further down the road,” Mills said, referencing surveys of students who previously were enrolled in CTE programs. Students in the Class of 2016 who completed CTE programs reported earning higher median wages than those who did not.

“CTE programs help some children learn what they want to pursue as careers,” said State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice. “As importantly, CTE programs can be the inspiration that help other students realize why they are in school and why school is important to their careers and futures. For previously unengaged students, these programs can improve attendance and graduation rates, postsecondary credential attainment rates, and life outcomes.

“We call on the legislature and governor to help us eliminate CTE deserts and reduce opportunity gaps in Michigan by expanding CTE with more funding and by encouraging additional partnerships with business and industry to support programs and offer work-based learning opportunities to students.”

During the State Board of Education meeting, Ms. Diana Allard, executive director of CTE for the Genesee Intermediate School District, and Mr. Kevin Harmes, CTE instructor for the Genesee Career Institute Fire Academy, shared the positive effects the programs have on students. Through the Fire Academy, students are trained to be firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

The intermediate school district began the Fire Academy during the 2021-22 school year. Enrollment has grown from 18 students in the first year to 41 during the current school year. Twenty-six students have earned certification through the program.

A focus has been to diversify the firefighter and EMT professions, which tend to be dominated by white males. Progress has been made, as 38% of this year’s Fire Academy students are females, Allard said. However, 12.2% of students are Black, compared to 19% of all Genesee County residents who are black. “We’re still looking to increase the number of students who might reflect their community,” she said.

CTE programs contribute to meeting several goals in Michigan’s Top 10 Strategic Education Plan, including Goal 4, to expand secondary learning opportunities for all students; Goal 5, to increase the percentage of adults with a post-secondary credential; and Goal 6, to increase the percentage of adults with a post-secondary credential.

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