HEARING RECAP: Owens Spotlights Utah Success Story in Hearing on Classroom-to-Career Pathways
WASHINGTON — Education and the Workforce Committee Vice Chair Burgess Owens (UT-04) joined the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education for a hearing on strengthening skills pathways through Career and Technical Education (CTE).
Rep. Owens opened the hearing by highlighting Utah’s success, noting Jordan School District has awarded more than 16,000 credentials of value and 10,000 credits to its students, with CTE participants graduating at higher rates than the general student population.
Rep. Owens: “Our children are the most precious resources we have, and we want them to live the best of their lives, and CTE helps make this possible, giving our students the opportunity to experiment with careers before graduating from high school so they’re more knowledgeable of their own interests and aptitudes. CTE also offers students a chance to build tangible, practical skills for use in life and in the workforce.”
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Rep. Owens questioned Dr. Deb Volzer, Vice President for Workforce Development at SME, about how inter-agency agreements between the Department of Education and Department of Labor impact local CTE programs.
Dr. Deb Volzer: “Opportunities to collaborate, to innovate, and to ensure that funding is still maintained for these programs is critical to our nation.”
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Rep. Owens then turned to Mrs. Kristi Rice, Cybersecurity Teacher at Spotsylvania County Public Schools, asking how federal agreements impact classroom instruction.
Mrs. Kristi Rice: “As a classroom educator, my focus is delivering the highest quality learning experience for my students. Regardless of where funding is administered, what matters most to me is that CTE programs will continue to receive stable, consistent support so that students have access to tools, technology, and opportunities that they need.”
She later explained how Virginia refreshes cybersecurity curriculum standards:
Mrs. Rice: “We actually just did this last week: we reviewed and rewrote our competencies for our cybersecurity course. We do that every three to five years based on the course, and we have higher education in the room. We have industry partners in the room, and we have other high school teachers. So we just make sure that it’s always updated and fresh.”
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Rep. Owens also questioned Mrs. Nicole Gasper, CEO of West Michigan Aviation Academy, about program flexibility and innovation.
Mrs. Nicole Gasper: “Similar to what they just said, my primary focus is on ensuring that we have excellence across all of our programs, including our CTE programs. It sure would be nice if we could see some continued innovation at the federal level. I’m not someone who tries to predict what will happen and live in fear, but I would also like to not have to fight for every dollar that we get. So having more control locally would be amazing.”
The full hearing is available to watch here.
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