Not your momma’s CTE program! – Michelle Freidman

For the second episode of the Future College Parent Podcast, I was excited to speak with Ms. Michelle Freidman, Director of Career and Technical Education at CVES BOCES. Michelle lives and breathes Career and Technical Education or CTE. Her passion for her work is so obvious and I so appreciative of how she is able to explain the work she does in an approachable manner. Episode Timeline: [03:06] Michelle's role in supporting parents and students in getting an education.[05:40] How CTE is growing in popularity[09:27] Benefits of participating in BOCES’ CTE programs[16:19] How CTE programs can help you figure out your passion[17:23] The difference between being college-ready and being career-ready[21:02] How parents can prepare students for their careers after high school[26:03] Michelle’s advice for the higher education system[30:54] Justin’s 5 takeaways from the episode. Five things I learned from my talk with Michelle! 1. CTE offers students the opportunity to “test drive” learning a skill (or skills) or a career path while still in high school. Don’t pay extra for the experience! Remember Michelle’s nursing example of a student who thought they wanted to be a nurse but then when it came time to provide patient care, she wasn’t a fan! She was a fan of the medical field and was able to focus her energy elsewhere.2. Have conversations with your students early and often about their talents, what their passions are, and what brings them joy to attempt to link them to a career path. Then encourage and seek out opportunities for them to learn and gain skills.3. Sustainable lifelong learning happens with skill building. Once you learn a skill or trade, you have it for life!4. CTE does not mean no traditional college or advance level of career. Your student’s education path doesn’t end with certification in a CTE program. Most trades are now looking for an advanced level of academic experience.5. Use Michelle’s advice to traditional colleges to benefit you, ask colleges to highlight or map occupational opportunities with degree programs. Resources: Future College Parent Podcast website: https://www.futurecollegeparent.com/ Future College Parent Network: The Future College Parent Network is here for you to post what you learned by listening to this episode and engage with other listeners so we can learn together! Please join at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/futurecollegeparentnetwork/ Listen to episodes on: https://www.futurecollegeparent.com/Please share the podcast widely with other parents, leaders of activities your student is involved in, and your school administrators so they can share with your school district. You can also let parents know the show is streaming directly from the website and there is no need to download anything! The show is also on your favorite podcast platforms as well. Parent Action Plan!: Parents can download the action plan document to actively engage with their student, secondary, and post-secondary professionals to help their student prepare, chose and finance college. Lesson Plan & Worksheet: Leaders of activities your student is involved in, and your school administrators can download the Lesson Plan and Worksheet for this episode to help teach all Future College Parents the content of this podcast episode. Referenced links: Career and Technical Education (CTE): The Division of Academic and Technical Education (DATE) is responsible for helping all students acquire challenging academic, technical, and employability skills to succeed in postsecondary education and in-demand careers. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cte/index.html Perkins Collaborative Resource: Look up your state’s CTE Profile here! https://cte.ed.gov/ Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES): https://www.boces.org/ Transcription: Justin Alger 00:25Michelle, thank you for being here.