Cabarrus CTE director outlines growth, credentials and marketing push for 2025-26
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Summary
CTE director Melanie Ritter told the school board the district expanded credentials, industry partnerships and marketing this year and plans new outreach, a microsite and strengthened business advisory boards for 2025-26.
Melanie Ritter, director of Career and Technical Education for Cabarrus County Schools, presented a midyear and year-end review of the 2024-25 CTE program and described priorities for 2025-26 at the June 2 work session.
Ritter said the district—9s CTE programs conferred more than 6,200 industry credentials so far this year (a preliminary tally) and supported more than 80 student field trips and multiple work-based learning activities. "We have students who have earned over 6,200 credentials just this year alone," she said, adding that the number is preliminary because entry is ongoing.
Why it matters: the CTE program serves a large share of district students and is positioned to connect graduates directly to local industry and postsecondary pathways. Ritter said the district—9s duplicate CTE headcount is more than 20,000 and the unduplicated headcount is roughly 13,100, meaning a sizable portion of Cabarrus students take CTE courses.
Major highlights and next steps Ritter described: - Marketing and outreach: a partnership with Rhodes Branding and iCEV produced career-academy videos and other media; Ritter said the district will launch a CTE microsite and carry a community awareness campaign into fall recruitment. - Labor-market alignment: the CTE team is emphasizing pathways that link to local industry demand and postsecondary options ("enroll, enlist, employ"), and plans to better organize business advisory boards and partner onboarding. - Credentials and programs: the district expanded credentialing opportunities and said credential counts rose from the prior year; Ritter said federal Career Accelerator funding helped upgrade labs and simulators. - Teacher preparation: the district hosted professional development to give CTE instructors teaching supports (classroom practices, multilingual learners, vendor-based equipment training) and plans more targeted coaching and PLC work next year. - New directions: Ritter emphasized pre-apprenticeship work with ApprenticeshipNC to create pathways so students could enter apprenticeships immediately after graduation.
Board discussion focused on staffing and funding. Board member Sam Treadaway asked whether federal CTE funds (Perkins/other) remain secure; Ritter said they currently are and that the district has used recent federal funds for camps, lab upgrades and simulators. Board members praised the programs—9 scale and recent marketing materials; Ritter said the Rhodes Branding video features Cabarrus students and staff.
Ending: Ritter asked the board to approve a CNA-related assurance form for CNA programming (board members agreed). She said she will return next year with the two-year plan update.
