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should they change their career goal. Students are not locked into one trade pathway. They can choose a career of interest today and move to another the following year. The Career and Technical programs provide students with interest options that result in them having a higher graduation rate than similar students not enrolled in CTE. The Research Report, Career and Technical Education in Arkansas’s K-12 Schools, quoted the U.S. Department of Education, in an annual report on state CTE performance, “CTE concentrators in all states have “Concentrators (students attending career & technical classes) are 21 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school than otherwise identical students higher graduation rates than all students generally.” The recent Thomas B. Fordham Institute report that examined CTE students in Arkansas found that in this state, “Concentrators are 21 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school than otherwise identical students (with similar demographics, eighth grade test scores, and number of CTE courses taken) who do not concentrate.” The report also found that concentrators are more likely to be employed, more likely to be enrolled in a two-year college and

HVACR Goes to High School

The Arkansas Department of Career Education oversees the state’s career and technical education in its high schools and career centers. We are working with ARCareerEd to explore possibilities of offering HVACR courses to high school students in preparation of further education at the post-secondary level, in addition to our efforts in the establishment of an apprenticeship program. According to Kim Roberson, ARCareerEd Program Advisor, “HVACR skills are in high demand around our state and we believe the industry can provide our high school students with numerous opportunities for a bright future.” HVACR is part of the Agriculture and Construction cluster for CTE classification. We desire to add HVACR classes to the state’s high schools and its career centers as an optional pathway to a future career in the industry. Students in the state’s current career and technical programs emphasize on challenging student minds while providing opportunities to design and build with their hands in areas such as robotics, electronics, welding and more. This is tech education on steroids. Many skills are basic to several programs of study. A student can begin on one path, gaining knowledge that can seamlessly be applied to another program of study