Oregon ACTE Fall Newsletter

Each year, Oregon ACTE recognizes leaders in CTE through our excellence awards. Winners move on to the regional, and from there, possibly the national level. If you know of someone who deserves recognition for their great work in CTE, you can nominate them HERE. Nominations close December 20th, and winners will be recognized at our annual conference, this year in Pendleton in April. You can view more/learn about guidelines HERE.

Here are the categories for this year:

Teacher of the Year: This award recognizes the finest career and technical teachers at the middle/secondary school level who have demonstrated innovation in the classroom, commitment to their students and dedication to the improvement of CTE in their institutions and communities.

Administrator of the Year: This award recognizes administrative CTE professionals at the school, district, county, state or federal level who have demonstrated leadership in ensuring teacher and student success and have made significant contributions toward innovative, unique and effective career and technical education programs.

Postsecondary Professional of the Year: This award recognizes the finest career and technical professionals at the postsecondary level who have instructed and educated students involved in career and technical education pathways, demonstrated innovation in the classroom, and exhibited dedication to the improvement of CTE in their institutions and communities.

Counseling & Career Development Professional Award
This award recognizes school counselors and career development professionals who have demonstrated commitment to connecting students with opportunities for success, shown innovation in career exploration and development, and have advocated for CTE as a viable option for all students.

New Teacher of the Year
This award recognizes new CTE teachers who have made significant contributions toward innovative and unique career and technical education programs and shown a professional commitment early in their careers.

Once again, here is the Nomination link!

Oregon ACTE wants to recognize your outstanding program successes throughout the state. When you submit information about your program, it may be published in this newsletter, AND, it will automatically be entered as a candidate for the Oregon ACTE Outstanding Program Award. This award will be given at the Oregon ACTE conference, and will include a $1000 donation to the program. You can enter your submission HERE.

We are excited about our ACTE Conference Pendleton tour options for Wednesday, April 14th. When you register for the conference, you can also register for one of these tours:

1. Pendleton UAS Range — DRONETOWN, USA
2. The Maker’s Tour: Pendleton Woolen Mills, Downtown Pendleton Makers
3. Tamastslikt Cultural Institute
4. CTUIR: Culture, Education & Workforce
5. Construction & Engineering, Wildhorse Resort
6. Hospitality, Wildhorse Resort/Pendleton Underground
7. Community Health/Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center

You can also choose this great option:

Ready or Not

Wednesday, April 14, 2027 | 8:00 AM–12:00 PM | Pendleton Conference Center

Step into the action with "Ready or Not," an immersive business simulation where educators, local business professionals, and students work side-by-side to run competing companies and experience the real-world challenges of business. Make decisions, solve problems, manage resources, respond to the unexpected, and see firsthand how Ready or Not brings business, manufacturing, entrepreneurship, employability skills, and workforce readiness to life. Whether you teach in a business classroom, a manufacturing lab, or another CTE program, you’ll leave with a fresh perspective on how students can practice the skills employers value most.

How does your session help us prepare for the future?

The future of CTE is being shaped right now. We are looking for engaging, practical sessions that help educators, leaders, and industry partners understand what is changing and take meaningful action.

Consider how your session connects to the future of learning, CTE, careers, industry partnerships, technology, or education. We are especially interested in sessions that explore:

• Emerging trends, technologies, and skills shaping the workforce
• Innovative approaches to teaching and learning
• Preparing students for careers that are changing faster than our programs
• Stronger connections between education, industry, and communities
• New or evolving approaches to career-connected learning and work-based learning
• Using technology, AI, and other tools with purpose
• Rethinking programs, pathways, credentials, or partnerships to meet future needs
• Building educator capacity to navigate change
• Strategies that expand access and opportunity for all students
• Practical ideas that educators can take back and put to work immediately

Tell us what you are doing now that helps prepare students, educators, programs, or communities for what comes next.

What We're Looking For

We want sessions that are practical, relevant, engaging, and future-focused. You do not have to predict the future. Show us how you are preparing for it.

Great proposals will:

• Give participants something they can use
• Share a practice, strategy, partnership, tool, or lesson learned
• Connect the work to the changing needs of students and/or industry
• Create opportunities for participants to engage, collaborate, or apply their learning
• Leave participants with a clear next step

*Instructions to submit: Click the “Start proposal” button and log into your account. If this is your first time logging into Whova, please create an account. Watch the tutorial video for more details on how to use the Submission Portal.

Your First Three Masterclasses Are Ready!

The first three masterclass keynotes are now available:

· April Rinne — Flux: Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change

· Dr. Al Solano — Getting Unstuck by Changing and Improving Culture

· Dr. Dale Marsden — Hope for Tomorrow’s Talent

How to Access the Masterclasses

You can access the Leadership Track through the Catapult Learning Platform: Catapult Learning Platform

Login: Your email address

Once you are logged in:

1. Select Program from the navigation toolbar on the left-hand side.

2. Select Oregon ACTE.

3. Select OR-ACTE [26-27] Future Ready Leadership Track.

Fireside Chats

The Fireside Chats connected to the first three masterclasses have also been scheduled:

· October 8 at 3:00 PM PT — Dr. Al Solano

· November 18 at 3:00 PM PT — April Rinne

· November 20 at 9:00 AM PT — Dr. Dale Marsden

The Fireside Chats can also be accessed through the Catapult platform within the Oregon ACTE Leadership Track program.

• Date: Thursday December 3rd
• Time: 6-9pm
• Cost: $20 per person

When registering please use your personal email address so you can be billed and make payments electronically.

Oregon ACTE is putting CTE learning into action as we prepare for the 2027 Oregon ACTE State Conference in Pendleton. Students from four Oregon high school design CTE programs are collaborating to create digital and print materials that will help bring this year’s conference to life.

Students from Warrenton High School, Wilsonville High School, West Linn High School, and the Center for Applied Learning and Community Impact (CALCI) are contributing their creativity and design skills to social media, conference outreach, and materials attendees will see during the conference.

The partnership gives students an opportunity to work on an authentic project for a real client, collaborate beyond their own schools, and see their designs used to promote a statewide event serving hundreds of CTE educators.

Watch Oregon ACTE’s social media in the coming months to see their work.