Assembly Resolution No. 560

BY: M. of A. Tague

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
February 2022, as Career and Technical Education
Month in the State of New York

WHEREAS, New York State's commitment to education is unparalleled;
and

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize and
pay tribute to those organizations which are committed to enhancing the
quality of education in the State of New York, and which enable our
schools to offer excellent educational programs in the most efficient
manner; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim February 2022, as Career
and Technical Education Month in the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, is 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; and

WHEREAS, CTE is highly-specific, highly-versatile and is truly
unique from traditional educational curriculum; practice, hands-on
experience, and application tests make up the bulk of CTE, which is
important since CTE careers require workers to have experience in their
field before starting a career; and

WHEREAS, CTE is the practice of teaching specific career skills to
students in middle school, high school, and post-secondary institutions;
CTE is split into 16 career clusters which apply to different
high-demand careers: health science; business; sales; finance;
information technology; science, technology, engineering, and math;
manufacturing; logistics; hospitality; government; law; agriculture;
human services; construction; training; and arts, audio/visual
technology, and communications; and

WHEREAS, Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) are
public organizations that were created by the New York State Legislature
in 1948, to provide shared educational programs and services to school
districts; and

WHEREAS, Today, BOCES offers its students hundreds of programs and
services designed to support the entire educational process; once a path
for those who were only seeking vocational skills, career and technical
education is now a pathway for students looking to build career skills,
get a start on their college education or simply learn a life skill
which will allow them to pay for college; and

WHEREAS, More than 70 percent of high school students who attend
BOCES' Career and Technical School programs pursue higher education,

while many others directly enter the workforce with a highly technical
skill set; and

WHEREAS, Our Nation's economy is booming, and Americans are
thriving; to ensure our country's workforce remains the best in the
world, it is imperative we equip students and workers with the skills
necessary to fill the jobs our economy is creating at an incredible pace
and to enable them to reap the benefits of successful careers; and

WHEREAS, CTE Month is a great time to recognize and celebrate CTE
achievements and accomplishments nationwide, and to draw attention to
the importance of career and technical education in building a stronger
American workforce; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim February 2022, as Career
and Technical Education Month in the State of New York; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.