Cincinnati Public Schools told the board on Jan. 22 that the district will intentionally build career and technical education (CTE) into middle‑grade programming to meet state expectations and help students connect to high‑school pathways.

“As we’re looking at making middle schools matter … in Ohio it is extremely important to have middle school career tech opportunities for our students, and that is written into our Ohio Revised Code,” an assistant superintendent in the Office of Secondary Education told the board.

District officials said they will review seventh‑ and eighth‑grade programming school‑by‑school and embed career‑tech standards so a middle‑grade course can count as a CTE course. The assistant superintendent said the department expects the model to have “a net $0 budget impact” by using existing staff and embedding standards rather than creating many new positions.

Officials also described targeted career‑tech fairs for middle‑grade students so they can see districtwide options and said the junior‑high rollout is intended to create clearer pathways into high‑school CTE programs.

Board members suggested expanding business and labor partnerships, and staff said the district will reengage business advisory council members and other partners. “Junior Achievement, Adopt‑a‑Class and using the business advisory committee are part of the conversation,” Vice President Bolton said. Board member Craig emphasized that local higher education and business partners could supply staff and program resources.

Less critical details: district staff framed the middle‑grade CTE work as part of the larger redesign and said next steps include school‑by‑school program alignment and outreach to principals and community partners.