Career and Technical Education Month Career and Technical Education Month
February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, which celebrates the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across Kansas and the nation.
Career and Technical students have a higher graduation rate and see higher earnings, according to the Association for Career and Technical Education.
This month provides CTE programs an opportunity to demonstrate how CTE makes students college and career ready and how it prepares them for high-demand career fields.
Career and Technical Education in Kansas embraces the needs of business and industry through the development of the foundational knowledge and skills aligned to the Kansas workforce.
Kansas has 16 Career Clusters for students to choose from, and there are 37 Career Pathways. Garden City High School offers 16 of the 37 Career Pathways. The pathways include: BioMedical; Business Finance; Comprehensive Agriculture Science; Corrections, Security, Law, and Law Enforcement Services; Digital Media; Early Childhood Development and Services; Engineering and Applied Mathematics; Fashion, Apparel, and Interior Design; Graphic Design; Health Science; Manufacturing; Marketing; Power, Structural, and Technical Systems; Restaurant and Event Management; Teaching/Training; and Web and Digital Communications.
Kansas has implemented the modernized National Career Clusters Framework. The Career and Technical Education Pathways include Six Industries: Agriculture, Business, Design, Production & Repair, Media & Technology, Health & Human Services, and Public Services. There are thirteen career clusters in the areas of Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources, Financial Services, Hospitality, Events & Tourism, Management & Entrepreneurship, Marketing & Advanced Manufacturing, Construction, Supply Chain & Transportation, Digital Technology, Healthcare & Human Services, Education, and Public Service & Safety. Within these thirteen career clusters, there are 31 pathways. For the 2025-2026 school year, GCHS offered 15 and is projected to offer up to 24 in the next few years.
A Career Cluster is a group of occupations similar in skill set and training. Career Cluster Pathways are focused and specific areas of study leading to a particular area of industry or business. These occupations fall within seven career fields in Kansas: agriculture; business; family and consumer sciences; public services; media and technology; health; and design, production, and repair.
The vision for Kansas education is to lead the world in the success of each student. CTE classes play an important role in helping the state meet that goal by making sure students are prepared for postsecondary success – whether that be entering the workforce, obtaining an industry-recognized certificate, or attending a two-year or four-year college.
Ninety-eight percent of Garden City High School students have taken at least one CTE course before graduating from Garden City High School.
