Welcome to our Continuum

The purpose of the Leadership Continuum is the development of leaders who know and understand Career and Technical Education (CTE). We believe that as a profession we have an obligation to educate our own regarding the value and importance of CTE. We believe further that it is our responsibility to enable, encourage and support CTE teachers and CTE administrators to become leaders. In addition, we believe that we have an obligation to inform public opinion regarding CTE by educating various stakeholders about CTE.

We offer four distinct continua. Each continuum is a series that will allow you to achieve further progress in the CTE field you choose. Continue reading for more information.

The first of these series is the Teacher Series. The Teacher Series is designed to provide all CTE teachers with professional development opportunities for advancing their careers. New to CTE teachers move in a very intentional progression from a provisional status to a Standard Certificated Teacher through an array of courses designed to provide teachers with the skills they need to be successful as an instructor. The Teacher Series is designed to provide teachers with the skills they will need to successfully navigate not only the CTE classroom, but the CTE laboratory, work-based learning and CTE student organizations as well. This is good teacher training. The courses are offered throughout the state and provide opportunities for university credit through the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. Arizona Department of Education credit is also available for all courses in this series. These credits enable a teacher to move from provisional to standard CTE certification.

The second series in the Arizona CTE Leadership Continuum is the Administrator Series. The Administrator Series is designed to provide CTE administrators—typically school district level CTE directors—with the skills they need to successfully lead the CTE enterprise within their school district. Both current and prospective CTE administrators are encouraged to participate in this series. The series has four components: professional growth, instructional design, and management and staff/student services. Through workshops offered at various conferences and local director meetings the series provides comprehensive training on the skills needed to successfully manage state and federal grants, to strengthen the quality of teaching and learning in CTE programs and to successfully navigate the host of leadership and management issues that confront school district administrators. Credit of this series is available through the University of Arizona.

The third series in the Arizona CTE Leadership Continuum is the Counselor Series. The Counselor Series is designed to provide information that will enable all counselors to help all students become college and career ready. Information and resources will support counselors as they navigate through Career and Technical Education by providing resources for professional development as well as links to valuable information.

The fourth series in the Arizona CTE Leadership Continuum is the Ambassador Series. The Ambassador Series is dedicated to educating stakeholders external to CTE about the value and importance of CTE. As a profession, we recognize that many individuals outside of CTE can affect the success of our enterprise. These include parents, students, school administrators, school board members, state officials and the general public. We believe that the opinions these people hold of CTE are our responsibility. Towards that end, we have an obligation to educate these individuals about CTE. Educating external stakeholders takes many forms. It certainly includes CTE presentations at education, parent and business conferences. It also includes CTE marketing and public relations efforts. Further, it includes in depth training for non-CTE educators such as school counselors who play such a pivotal role in student course selection. This series is currently under construction. In the months to follow it will include CTE presentations with handouts, a series of career development courses for counselors, public relations collateral material and more. These materials will be made available through the Arizona CTE Leadership Continuum landing page at www.acteaz.org.