Shannon Bohm, an architect and president of Schaefer Architecture in Wichita, is a firm believer in career and technical education. 

“Career and technical education offers a lot of opportunities for students,” Bohm said. “I wanted to be a part of that awareness and strengthen that.” 

Bohm is chair of the Kansas Advisory Committee for Career and Technical Education (KACCTE) for the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE). 

The purpose of KACCTE is to provide business and industry leaders with a unified voice to advocate and provide recommendations to KSDE, the Kansas Postsecondary Technical Education Authority, State Workforce Board and the Kansas Board of Regents for continuous improvement for CTE. 

The group of about 26 is comprised of business and industry leaders, a Kansas State Board of Education member, KSDE staff members and representatives from law and public safety, higher education, Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Department of Labor, Kansas Board of Regents and Kansas Technical Education Authority. 

KACCTE members meet about four times per year, and most recently convened Wednesday, Sept. 27, at the Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson St., in Topeka. Agenda items included presentations from representatives of finance and agriculture and a discussion on Senate Bill 123, which directs school districts to pay assessment fees for identified CTE credentials upon student request. 

Seven CTE Clusters also are being reviewed by KACCTE review committees. Any changes would be for the 2025-2026 school year. The clusters being reviewed are: 

• Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (eight pathways) 
• Architecture and Construction (one pathway) 
• Arts, AV and Communications (four pathways) 
• Education and Training (one pathway) 
• Engineering (three pathways) 
• Finance (one pathway) 
• Health and Bio Sciences (three pathways) 

Review committees are meeting at KSDE offices in the Landon State Office Building and at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Review committees for Architecture and Construction, Finance, and Engineering already have met and gave brief updates to the full KACCTE at the Sept. 27 meeting. The remaining review committees will meet in October and November. 

Ashley Esquibel, chief administrative officer for Envista Credit Union, and Liz Steffen, chief financial officer for Envista, gave a presentation on the not-for-profit financial cooperative, which has $500 million in total assets. 

Sharon Thielen, with Kansas Corn, gave a presentation on the organization and how it works with schools to bring agriculture into the classroom. 

CTE has changed drastically over the years. For example, Bohm said, at construction sites, job site superintendents are now walking around with iPads to look at drawings in 3D and using their cell phones to FaceTime architects with questions. 

“It can look a lot different,” she added. 

KACCTE is making a difference by giving input on CTE curriculum, Bohm said. 

“It should reflect what business and industry need,” Bohm said. “Teachers want to teach what business and industry need. They want to teach what is relevant.”