Today the Texas Education Agency, Career and Technical Education team launched the Texas CTE Resource Center (www.txcte.org).

The CTE resource center is the central repository for free CTE instructional and supplemental materials and professional development content. CTE teachers, counselors, and administrators now have a one-stop-shop for digital CTE resources to prepare Texas students for a career pathway that may include college, career, and opportunities in the military. The CTE resource center provides a wealth of helpful, refreshed instructional materials and professional development content, aligned with the new 2017-2018 CTE Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

The initial launch includes

• CTE TEKS Implementation Online Professional Development Modules
• an updated Texas CTE course guide with course information and PEIMS numbers
• updated CTE programs of study/pathways in higher wage, in-demand fields
• updated CTE course scope and sequence documents for all 277 CTE courses
• updated and aligned CTE lesson plans for courses linked to in-demand occupations in all 16 CTE career clusters
• special populations support webcasts and videos
• information and links to college and career counseling online resources
• updated CTE Texas College and Career Planning Guides in each career cluster
• links to TEA’s partners- the Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and others

A powerful search engine allows CTE educators to search for content and filter search results. Users can sign up for a free account, which provides an online folder structure for saving shortcuts to favorite and frequently referenced digital content.

The initial launch is a starting point. The CTE team is visiting Texas regions through conferences and meetings to learn about additional digital content demand. The CTE team will also be meeting with CTE teachers and other stakeholders to plan the next infusion of new, high-quality, content into the CTE resource center.

It is an exciting time to be educating students in CTE across the great state of Texas! Job growth and demand in high-skill careers require a highly trained, and well-prepared Texas workforce. The resource center is a foundation for building a Texas CTE community of educators that will help today’s Texas students meet tomorrow’s demand for skills, knowledge, and experience.