ACTE's Region II Conference 2026

Schools and industry partners share the goal of preparing students for future careers, but collaboration is often limited to one-time events such as career days or guest speakers. While valuable, these experiences can lack consistency, scalability, and long-term impact. This session addresses that gap by sharing practical strategies to build structured, sustainable school–industry partnerships.


Participants will explore the concept of an outreach catalog—a simple, structured menu of engagement opportunities that helps both educators and industry partners participate more consistently and effectively. The session will also introduce “flipped field trips,” where industry experiences are brought directly into the classroom through hands-on, interactive activities rather than relying solely on student travel to worksites. These approaches increase access and expand engagement for more students.


Attendees will also learn how to design flexible, scalable activities that can be adapted based on time and setting while still reinforcing the same core skills. For example, one activity can be used in a brief career fair interaction, a short classroom visit, or a full class period experience. This flexible design ensures consistency in skill development while maximizing impact across environments. Participants will leave with practical tools to strengthen partnerships and immediately improve student engagement.

Designed for educators seeking actionable practices, this interactive session highlights the critical importance of supporting both content and language development for multilingual learners (MLs) in Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses. Participants will explore research-based instructional strategies specifically designed to increase student engagement while strengthening comprehension and communication skills. Emphasis will be placed on how intentional instructional moves can make rigorous CTE content more accessible, relevant, and engaging for MLs.


Strategies include scaffolding instruction to promote active participation, embedding structured peer learning to foster collaboration and language use, and integrating reading and writing supports that deepen understanding. The session will also focus on explicitly teaching technical vocabulary to help students confidently engage with industry-specific content.


Featuring authentic artifacts from CTE classrooms, this session provides concrete examples of these strategies in action. Through discussion and hands-on activities, such as a gallery walk, educators will reflect on their own contexts and leave with practical, classroom-ready approaches that enhance engagement and improve outcomes for multilingual learners in CTE settings.

Active listening isn’t just about being quiet, it’s about being curious, and this session shows teachers how to make that come alive in the classroom. Participants will explore fun, low-prep strategies that help teachers and students actually listen to each other (yes, it’s possible). Through interactive activities, teachers will learn how to uncover students’ learning styles while sneaking in essential EmployABILITY soft skills. This presentation replaces awkward lectures with movement, conversation, and moments students remember. Expect practical ideas you can use tomorrow—without groans, eye rolls, or extra grading.

This session explores strategies for strengthening student engagement through meaningful ownership of the Individual Learning Plan (ILP) embedded in an aligned advising framework for grades 6–12.  Grounded in Kentucky’s Postsecondary Advising Scope and Sequence and leveraging Futuriti, this work reflects the partnership between the Kentucky Advising Academy and Education Strategy Group, which supported the development of the state’s Postsecondary Advising Toolkit, Framework, and Scope and Sequence.


Educators will gain practical strategies designed to facilitate student ownership of career and postsecondary planning and decision-making within a comprehensive, aligned advising system that incorporates student-driven tools. The session will highlight strategies for connecting career exploration, postsecondary planning, financial literacy, and essential skills, while also aligning ILP engagement to Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways and credentials of value.


Attendees will leave with practical tools to better align student experiences with postsecondary and workforce goals—ultimately helping students gain purpose, direction, and a clearer vision for their future.

As states modernize their Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways to better align with workforce needs, public service and safety remains one of the most underdeveloped—and most urgently needed—career pipelines. ENGAGE is a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) designed to fill that gap by providing students with hands-on, career-aligned experiences and competitions in: 
Public Service- Government & Public Management, Applications of Law, Judicial and Legislative systems
Public Safety- Police, Fire, 911, CSI, National security, Cybersecurity, JROTC, and Civic Leadership.


This session introduces ENGAGE Youth in Government to educators, state leaders, nonprofit organizations, and workforce partners who may be unfamiliar with the model, while also offering practical guidance for states and organizations interested in launching ENGAGE in their own context. Participants will explore how ENGAGE functions as a CTSO and is uniquely aligned to Public Service and Safety career pathways. 


The session will highlight how ENGAGE integrates simulations, competitions, leadership development, and real-world industry partnerships to create a sustainable pipeline into public service and safety careers. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of ENGAGE’s structure, its alignment with modern CTE frameworks, and the steps required to pilot or scale the program at the local or state level