2026 K-ACTE Career Tech Summit

KSDE will share important information and updates regarding School Improvement, Career and Technical Education, Individual Plan of Study and Work-Based Learning. Cluster review recommendations will be presented.

Please note: No food or drink can be taken into this meeting space.

Learn how to move beyond traditional course catalogs to create a more intentional, student-driven enrollment experience. This session will demonstrate how Iola High School successfully increased buy-in for CTE pathways by merging a new interest-based recommendation system with a redesigned community engagement model. Participants will walk away with actionable strategies for facilitating deeper career conversations between students and parents, ensuring that every course choice is a purposeful step toward a clear future goal.

As the landscape of education continues to evolve, Kansas leaders in Career and Technical Education (CTE) must stay ahead of the curve in creating impactful, future-ready programs. This Business meeting / session will provide an opportunity to network with others and explore best practices, emerging trends, and strategies that foster innovation and leadership in CTE. All are encouraged to come and participate to learn more!

This high-energy presentation delves into the synergy between Career and Technical Education (CTE) and the ADHD brain. While neurodivergent individuals often face underemployment due to a lack of engagement in traditional academic settings, CTE offers a game-changing alternative. By prioritizing hands-on learning and industry-recognized credentials, CTE paves the way to high-wage, high-demand careers that align with neurodiverse strengths.
Attendees will explore recent research on access and supports, learn strategies for guiding students through career clusters and pathways, and discover effective methods for student leadership and work-based learning. This session is highly interactive, featuring an Executive Function Match-Up activity, collaborative sharing of educational methods, and a competitive quiz game with prizes!

Please note: No food or drink can be taken into this meeting space.

Have an idea you’re excited about but no clue where to start? Big events can feel overwhelming, and small projects can feel like they don’t matter—but every action can create lasting impact. In this session, we’ll explore practical strategies for moving from idea to implementation, whether you’re hosting an event, planning a project, or launching a new initiative. I’ll share collaboration-focused approaches I’ve used to start new events this year, and you’ll have time to map out concrete next steps for your own impactful initiative.

Advisory boards are required for most CTE programs—but too often they function as compliance checkboxes rather than strategic workforce partners. This session will explore how secondary and postsecondary CTE leaders can transform advisory boards from routine meetings into meaningful collaborations that drive program innovation, strengthen workforce alignment, and create direct student opportunities.
 
Drawing from practical experience in rural community college CTE leadership and high school level CTE programs, participants will learn how to recruit the right members, structure high-impact meetings, leverage labor market data, and turn advisory conversations into actionable outcomes. The session will provide ready-to-use strategies, templates, and implementation ideas that can be adapted to both high school and community college programs.
 
If your advisory board feels stagnant—or if you're ready to elevate it to the next level—this session will provide practical, replicable tools to make it happen.