The growing demand for Career Tech Education in Ohio

A lot of people have a lot to learn about what Career Tech Education is and the amazing opportunities it offers for students in Ohio, whether they're pursuing paths to careers, college, or the military. In this episode, the president of the Greene County Career Center Education Association gives us an education on CTE in our state, his path to becoming a Career Tech educator, and what Career Tech educators learned from each other at the first-ever OEA Career Tech Leaders Retreat in the fall.

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SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS | For too long, the federal Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provisions of the Social Security Act have unfairly hurt Career Tech educators, who often enter the education profession after private sector careers. At the end of 2024, Sen. Sherrod Brown's Social Security Fairness Act passed in Congress. Click here to read OEA's statement on the landmark legislation.

Featured Public Education Matters guest: 

• Doug Picard, Greene County Career Center Education Association President 
  • Doug Picard is in his sixth year as a manufacturing and engineering instructor at the Greene County Career Center (GCCC) in Xenia, Ohio. Before joining GCCC, he served 21 years in the U.S. Air Force, where he taught in classrooms, developed avionics test programs, and authored technical policies. At GCCC, his teaching emphasizes human-centered design and adaptive technologies to support underrepresented communities. Picard has also collaborated with the University of Dayton and Central State University as a research mentor for their Global STEM Research Experience for Teachers where he studied engineering in developing areas in Ecuador and India. Over the next three years, he will work with these universities, along with Wright State University, on a National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Teachers focused on electronics and semiconductors.

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