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Winter and early spring are busy times for both teacher-coordinators and students. This is when many CTE students prepare for and attend Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) competitions and conferences. February is national CTE Month®, a great time to showcase CTE student successes!

February is CTE Month®. In February, CTE teachers and students plan and conduct activities to showcase the value of the CTE program and student successes. The beginning of the calendar year is a good time to introduce students to preparing personal income tax returns. Consider inviting a local tax preparer as a guest speaker.

In February and March, the teacher-coordinator and students plan and conduct an employer recognition program or activity. The activity may be

• combined with the CTE Month® awareness campaign;
• a celebration in cooperation with other CTE teachers and students; or
• part of a larger CTSO banquet and/or awards program to recognize employers and students.

Get Input and Ideas
Experienced CTE teachers recommend discussing ideas for employer recognition banquets with your advisory committee members and training sponsors first.

Depending on the size of your community, it may be preferable to thank your employers by running an ad in the local paper recognizing each company for its support.

Funding Sources
In planning your activity, keep in mind that federal funds cannot be used to pay for banquets or advertising. These types of expenses should be paid with state or local funds, or other non-federal sources.

Winter and spring months are particularly busy for students preparing for and participating in the regional, state, and national CTSO competitions.

Teachers can play a critical role in keeping students focused by assisting students with

• preparing for CTSO competitive events; and
• completing scholarship applications.

CTSOs are co-curricular opportunities for students to further develop their technical, academic and employability skills. State recognized CTSOs should check their activity calendars against important events found on the local education agency (LEA) calendar to avoid conflicts.

By late May most students will be completing the on-the-job training portion of the course. Before the end of school, TEA recommends that each student complete

• a summary of his or her work-based training records for the semester/year;
• an evaluation of his or her training sponsor (immediate supervisor); and
• an evaluation of the training station (work site).

For teacher-coordinators, the end of the school year marks the end of one year and the beginning of another. At the end of the school year, the teacher-coordinator

• closes out all records and grades for current year;
• updates his or her database of prospective and current employers; and
• updates the preliminary list of the students expected in the fall CTE program.