February is National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month - a public awareness campaign that takes place each February to celebrate the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across the country.  7.8 million high school students are part of a CTE program which integrates academics with a rigorous and relevant curriculum.  In Virginia, there are 17 CTE career clusters representing 83 career pathways.  CTE is good for students, good for businesses and good for communities.

Chantilly High School proudly offers CTE courses in the content areas of Business & Information Technology, Marketing, and Technology & Engineering.  Each content area supports a Career & Technical Education Student Organization (CTSO) including DECA, An Association of Marketing Students, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and Technology Student Association (TSA).  Each week for the month of February, we will share information about our programs and student organizations including student success stories and encourage our community to learn more about the programs we offer via the CHS social media accounts.

Career and Technical Education, or CTE, is education that directly prepares students for high-wage, high-demand careers.  Chantilly HS CTE covers many different fields including programming, cyber security, accounting, business law and management, engineering, architecture, entrepreneurship, sports marketing, STEM, and many more, as described in ACTE’s What is CTE? Page.  CTE encompasses project-based learning with hands-on activities along with earning course-related certifications including Microsoft Office,  VA Workplace Readiness, W!SE, National Retail Federation Customer Service, Revit, Inventor, and more.  Some CHS CTE courses offer dual-enrollment and work-based learning opportunities for students.  CTE has significant positive impacts on students’ academic achievement, employability skills and college readiness.

Chantilly High School’s CTE Program strives for students to develop and learn college readiness skills including problem-solving, project management, research, math, communication, teamwork, time management, and critical thinking skills during high school. To learn more about courses and clubs offered, view the CHS Curriculum Fair site videos related to Business & Information Technology, Marketing, and Technology & Engineering.  Chantilly CTE Teachers, “Celebrate Today” with our students so that they will “Own Tomorrow!”