2026 K-ACTE Career Tech Summit

The Kansas Health Science Instructors Association Executive Board will meet to discuss affairs related to the affiliate.

KHSIA invites members to come celebrate our affiliate award winners and induction of officers!

Looking to expand or launch health science pathways in your district? Kansas' Rural Health Transformation Plan is rolling out new funding to help rural high schools add courses and certifications, strengthen instructional capacity, and develop health care pre-apprenticeship models with local employers. Walk away with practical steps, funding details, and partnership strategies you can implement immediately.

Most programs stop at graduation. We don't. Learn how Great Jobs KC uses a 5-pillar ecosystem (Intake to 1-Year Post-Employment Coaching) to achieve a 75% persistence rate and an average salary increase of 176%.


Using recent Mathematica Evaluation data to prove that tuition-free training is only half the battle. That providing on-going Scholar support through one-to-one coaching and robust community services leads to better outcomes and stronger employees. 


Takeaways: 
The "Scholar Advocate" framework: Moving beyond academic advising to life-barrier removal (transportation, tech, child care).

• Using data to track success, not just completion.
  
• Training in a holistic manner with mandatory life skill workshops leads to more well-rounded employee for area employers. 
  
• Strategies for building an "Employer Network Team" that guarantees a pipeline, not just a job board.
  

Including culture in health care is a teaching mindset that creates a positive and inclusive learning environment that includes students' culture allowing them to lean into their learning. You will receive lessons and visuals to take back to your classroom. 

This will be a great opportunity for members and award winners to network.

Learn about HOSA as an international and state level organization, how to start a chapter, learn how HOSA can impact and benefit your health science classroom, and more! 

Session Overview
 
 This interactive presentation will introduce participants to the University of Kansas School of Health Professions and the U-CHaMP program. The session is designed to increase awareness of health professions degree programs, highlight career pathways in healthcare, and actively engage participants through a hands-on career exploration activity.
 
 Participants will gain a better understanding of the variety of health professions careers available, the educational pathways required, and how U-CHaMP supports students pursuing careers in healthcare.
 

 Learning Objectives
 
 By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
 1. Describe the mission and goals of U-CHaMP and its role in supporting students interested in health professions.
 2. Identify degree programs offered through the KU School of Health Professions.
 3. Connect healthcare careers to real-world patient cases, job responsibilities, and required education.
 4. Actively explore health professions careers through an interactive matching activity.
 

 Presentation Format & Time Breakdown
 
 1. Welcome & Introduction (5 minutes)
 • Presenter introduction
 • Overview of session objectives

 
 2. Overview of U-CHaMP (10 minutes)
 • Mission and purpose of U-CHaMP
• How U-CHaMP prepares students for professional health programs
 
 3. KU School of Health Professions Overview (10 minutes)
 • Overview of the School of Health Professions
 • Introduction to select degree programs and career outcomes
 

 4. Interactive Career Exploration Activity (10–12 minutes)
 Participants will work individually or in small groups using a set of five cards:
 • Card 1: Healthcare career
 • Card 2: Job description
 • Card 3: Patient case
 • Card 4: Diagnosis
 • Card 5: Interesting fact about the career
• Card 6: Degree required
 
 Participants will match the cards correctly, encouraging critical thinking and discussion around how healthcare professionals work with patients and within care teams.
 
 5. Wrap-Up & Q&A (3–5 minutes)
 • Group discussion and reflections
 • Questions and next steps for students interested in health professions

This session provides an overview of recent updates to STEM and Health Science pathways, including alignment to industry needs and emerging occupations. Participants will learn about key revisions, rationale, and general pathway information.

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.