Career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) like DECA, FBLA, FCCLA, FFA, HOSA, SkillsUSA, and TSA are one of the most powerful pedagogies available to the field of CTE, yet it seems to me that they receive far less acclaim than they deserve. Although there are many factors that contribute to students' academic and technical achievement while in high school, many of our most accomplished CTE graduates cite their active involvement in a CTSO as a primary reason for their success.
I want to share with you this feature I read in a newsletter from the Santa Clara County Office of Education in California (if you'd like to subscribe, too, click here). It provides an example of a stellar student whose leadership experiences in a CTSO-- in this case, DECA-- have primed her for success after high school.
California Career Tech Student is Harvard Bound  One of the state's high-achieving [CTE] students has earned early admission to Harvard University. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is congratulating Belinda Zeng of Monta Vista High School in Fremont Union High School District on this honor. Zeng is currently president of DECA (formerly known as the Distributive Education Clubs of America), a [CTSO] designed to help students prepare for work in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. She is also DECA's 2012 California student member of the year, was the Silicon Valley DECA President and served as the student representative on the Santa Clara County Office of Education Career Technical Education steering committee. Zeng previously made headlines last January after receiving a patent for a fashion design software program she created.
Stories like Ms. Zeng's send an important message to the CTE community and to local and state education leaders whose support is necessary to expand opportunities to participate in CTSOs for all CTE students.
Take our poll and help spread the word about how CTSOs benefit your students. I encourage you to share your CTSO success stories with me and our readership on our Facebook page. We'll feature them in upcoming newsletters.
Regards, 
James R. Stone III Professor and Director National Research Center for Career & Technical Education University of Louisville Louisville, KY 40292 Phone (502) 852-0639 Mobile (502) 322-6260 www.nrccte.org |
