2026 K-ACTE Career Tech Summit

NOTE: Participants are encouraged to wear closed toed shoes and bring a water bottle. Highly recommend participants drive to the Horticultural sciences building on campus (it's a good 20 minutes walk from the Regnier Center out to the farm). Highly recommend driving to the farm rather than walking. Park in the JCCC Police Academy parking lot W1.

Join us for a tour of Johnson County Community College's Open Petal Farm. Tour four acres of specialty crop production, managed under production systems that encourage the biological health of the soil, and fueled by the campus' on site composting project. Open Petal Farm serves as a living laboratory for students in the Sustainable Agriculture Certificate Program to gain practical skills in crop production systems, and soil health practices. Visit the farm website at: https://growinggrowers.org/host-farms/jccc-open-petal-farm/

2026-2027 KSDE Ag Ed Program Updates -- overview of KSDE updates for the 26-27 school year and sharing resources for Ag Educators!

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.
 

Industry-recognized credentials are becoming increasingly important in Career and Technical Education programs as schools work to better prepare students for employment after graduation. This session will explore the value of the OSHA 10-Hour safety credential as a foundational certification for students entering a wide range of career pathways.


Participants will learn how OSHA 10 helps students develop a strong understanding of workplace safety while also reinforcing professional habits that employers expect. The session will highlight how safety training supports workforce readiness, increases student confidence, and provides students with a credential that is recognized across multiple industries including construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics.


Attendees will leave with practical ideas for implementing OSHA 10 within their programs and strategies for connecting safety training to broader workforce preparation goals.