Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Career Technical Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
MCPS CTE leaders outline Perkins plan, GoTech middle‑school labs and push to showcase programs to community
Summary
District CTE staff told the board they will seek Perkins funding and grants to expand career and technical education — including GoTech labs for middle schools, Jobs for Virginia Graduates job‑coach positions and exploration of EMT and firefighter pathways — and urged more public visibility for CTE successes.
The Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education received an update Tuesday on career and technical education programs, industry credentials recognized by the Virginia Department of Education and the district’s draft Perkins plan for 2025–26.
Megan Atkinson, MCPS administrator for CTE and business partnerships, told the board the state has reclassified high‑value industry credentials based on projected job growth; the district is aligning its credentials to that high‑demand list and the Perkins plan supports equipment and professional development for CTE teachers.
Atkinson said MCPS was awarded a Perkins allocation of $178,684.90 for the coming year and proposes to spend roughly $151,000 on equipment and about $16,000 on professional development, with the remainder for credentials. She said the final federal allocation number typically arrives in summer and the plan will be adjusted if the award changes.
Atkinson described several initiatives: a GoTech (Great Opportunities in Technology and Engineering) mobile lab that will visit the board office and can be used to upfit middle‑school technology education labs (roughly $140,000 in equipment per middle school if funded); a Jobs for Virginia Graduates job‑coach program to support students with barriers to employment; and exploratory discussions with local fire and rescue agencies about launching an EMT program in the schools. She also reported ongoing collaborations with the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and Onward NRV to align CTE offerings with local industry needs.
Board members repeatedly asked the administration to better publicize CTE programs and student outcomes. Miss Bond and others requested future presentations that highlight student participants, enrollment counts and outcomes (for example, how many students enter the workforce, industry certification pass rates and career‑tech student organization awards). Atkinson said the district will share award winners and national qualifiers later in the spring and is planning CTE signing events.
Several board members and the teachers’ union representative, Katie Seideman of the Montgomery County Education Association, said they support the proposed new positions in the budget — including special education and coordinator roles — and urged continued emphasis on compressed pay scales and recruitment and retention.
