Pre-Conference Tours & Workshops

IN-PERSON REGISTRATION


In-Person Tours

COMBO Tour – Visit the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and College of Southern Nevada
The Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Wednesday, Nov. 30
9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
$85
SOLD OUT

Climb aboard one of our special access shuttle buses as we transport you to the heart of "America's Racing Showplace." Feel the 20-degree-high banks as you cruise along the NASCAR-sanctioned speedway at speeds of 70 miles per hour! During this 90-minute tour, attendees will have the opportunity to experience our nine other tracks, including the NHRA-sanctioned, four-lane quarter-mile drag strip and the Dirt Track that hosts the World of Outlaws, NASCAR K&N Pro Series and IMCA Modifieds. As you enter the epicenter of America's Racing Showplace, you'll be treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the speedway infield, luxury suites and the world-famous Neon Garage, which features the NASCAR garages, inspection bays and victory lane.

Following the Speedway tour, you will experience collegiate life at the College of Southern Nevada and pause for lunch in the Student Union with the opportunity to tour the following programs after lunch:
  • Automotive Technologies
  • Diesel Technologies
  • Collision Repair
  • Culinary Arts/Gaming
  • Planetarium
  • Computing and Information Technologies
  • Engineering Technology
  • Media Technologies
HyperLoop Experience
Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 1:00 p.m.
Total tour time: 1 ½ hours
$75
SOLD OUT

Visit the new HyperLoop beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), an underground system revolutionizing transit and consisting of two vehicular tunnels each measuring about 0.8 mile in length. This exciting tour includes a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of this new infrastructure and warehouse with the opportunity to travel in the all-electric Tesla vehicles, currently staffed with drivers with future plans for the cars to operate autonomously. The tunnel system includes three passenger stations (located at the back of South 2, the front of the LVCC, and the front of the West Hall) that connect the existing convention center campus to the 1.4 million square foot West Hall expansion. Travel time across the sprawling campus via the Tesla-powered HyperLoop is less than two minutes (currently a 25-minute walk.)

Mandalay Bay Tour 
Wednesday, Nov. 30
8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
$75
SOLD OUT

Join us for an exclusive tour to see the inner-workings of the Mandalay Bay and explore the following career pathway possibilities:
  • Agricultural and natural resources, including animal care positions at Shark Reef Aquarium:
    • Biologist/Educator: Designs, creates and implements program specific curriculum that is used for training manuals of staff, education programs for school tours, animal encounter experiences, and community liaison.
    • Naturalist: Responsible for both public and animal safety for the aquarium.  
    • Tour Guide: Creates support for management training of staff, leads school programs and assists leadership team with the successful operation of the habitat.
    • Aquarist: Maintains and tests water quality, prepares daily diets and feedings, diagnosis and medical treatments for specimens. 
  • Business and marketing, including convention and sales positions for convention center or hotel:
    • Convention Services Manager:  Oversees operations of events and meetings for property convention space. 
    • Events Director
    • Hotel Sales Director
    • Meeting and Operations Manager/Director
  • Information and media technologies, including events center management:
    • Arena Conversion
    • Entertainment Productions
    • Tech/AV
  • Skilled and technical sciences, including facilities department management:
    • Maintenance Engineer
    • Fire Control Maintenance Dispatcher
    • Carpenter
    • Electronic Tech
    • Painter
UNLV's CTE & Learning Spaces Tour
Wednesday, Nov. 30
1:00-4:00 p.m.
$75

Join us for a tour of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where you will have the opportunity to visit with UNLV faculty and learn about its myriad CTE programs. You'll get to check-out UNLV's hands-on learning spaces and see how this R1 and minority-serving institution approaches student needs and business partners in this community.  This opportunity is limited to 40 participants.

In-Person Workshops

Admin 101
Michelle Conner, Timothy Burdette, Donna Rain O'Dell
Wednesday, Nov., 30
8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
$150

This interactive and highly engaging workshop is designed specifically for new K-12 CTE directors. The presentation will be aligned with the Quality CTE Program of Study Framework with each item in the framework to be addressed. We will discuss how this ties to Perkins V requirements, especially the CLNA. Finally, we will also address how to get buy-in from site administrators, guidance counselors and other stakeholders that support CTE. Participants will walk away with a variety of templates and examples that they can take and modify for use in their own districts.


CTSOs: Putting Together the Puzzle Pieces
Rachael Mann
Wednesday, Nov. 30
8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
$150

A lot goes into leading a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO), and this workshop will help attendees connect the pieces. Whether you are a new advisor or administrator, or a veteran looking for a refresher course or new ideas to implement, this workshop has something for everyone. This training provides an overview of the basics as well as tips for the trade. This fast-paced session will include how to integrate CTSOs into the curriculum, management tools and CTSO competition readiness resources, and will touch on the elements of the ACTE High-quality CTE Framework. Attendees will receive a link to a full collection of CTSO resources such as how to train an officer team, public speaking guides, recruitment and marketing tools, and more to make CTSOs less puzzling. 
 

CTE: Making It Work for Students with Disabilities
Marta Osuna and Emily Sherwood
Wednesday, Nov. 30
1:00-5:00 p.m.
$150

Career and technical education (CTE) programming supports the development of foundational professional and technical skills to achieve employment in specific career pathways. CTE is open to every student and is a resource to align students’ aptitudes and interests with postsecondary goals. However, how does this work when students have physical, learning, emotional, and/or cognitive challenges that may conflict with the skill requirements of different CTE courses? This hands-on workshop will take a design-thinking approach to analyze your programs and develop strategies that can work with many students. While there are constraints that are unnavigable, there are strategies to assist your ability to problem-solve in creating accessible programming options for students with different challenges. We will discuss how adults can advocate at the state, local, and school level, as well as appropriate accommodations, supports, promising practices, and alternative options to maintain the integrity of CTE programming while including students with different abilities. You will walk away with resources and tools to support a more diverse and inclusive classroom for students.


Craft a System-Wide Special Pop/Non-Trad Vision (IAED) 
Wednesday, Nov. 30
9:00-11:00 a.m.
$150

Bring your team! No matter how supported they are, a single teacher, administrator, or guidance counselor cannot move the needle on the recruitment and retention of special populations and nontraditional learners. Instead, what is needed to truly make an impact is a systematic and collaborative approach that informs and engages the entire school community. But, when will you have time to work together and craft a shared vision, set goals, or refine a game plan? Led by a former CTE director, a guidance counselor and a CTE teacher, this pre-conference will help you to develop a shared understanding of how CTE benefits specific populations of students and why it is important to focus on the recruitment and retention of special pops/nontrad students. Participating teams will use an interactive protocol to guide the development of goals, and identify potential barriers and measures for success. By the end of the session, all attendees will understand the importance of Universal Design for Learning and will leave with a clear implementation strategy. 

Creating a Culturally Inclusive Educational Environment for Underserved Populations
Dr. Roger Cleveland
Wednesday, Nov. 30
1:00-4:00 p.m.
$150
During this session, we will develop a common framework and vocabulary to talk about diversity, equity and inclusion in schools. The presenter will unpack the various aspects of cultural responsiveness and how it shapes our interactions and perceptions in the classroom. The session will also provide strategies to create inclusive practices for underserved populations, such as students with disabilities, students from diverse backgrounds, and gender identity. Participants will also participate in a cultural inclusive assessment exercise.

Deliver Engaging Instruction for All Students
Heather Singmaster
Wednesday, Nov. 30
1:00-4:00 p.m.
$150

It can be challenging to make every student feel included, connected, and engaged in their learning. This interactive session will share strategies to better support learning engagement and course completion of your students by: 1) creating inclusive learning environments to support all students; 2) connecting learning with real-world contexts to relate to students’ different backgrounds and life experiences; and 3) associating class content from different career clusters with global competence and employability skills.

Designing a Career Pathways System 
Wednesday, Nov. 30
Hans Meeder and team
1:00-5:00 p.m.
$150

To develop a local or regional Pathways System, leaders from education, business and community-based organizations come together to explore and build common vision and action strategies for career-connected learning. During this special pre-conference workshop, Hans Meeder and team members from the National Center for College and Career Transitions (NC3T.com) will help you understand the essential tools and processes to get a pathways initiative started or re-booted. During the workshop, Mr. Meeder will introduce the six key components of a pathways system and walk through the 12-step process utilized in NC3T’s newly published Pathways System Decision Guide. The Design Guide addresses steps to: 
  • Identify local assets and gaps and assess regional workforce needs 
  • Form a community-wide leadership structure 
  • Create shared vision, mission and goals 
  • Develop a series of high-quality pathway programs of study
  • Engage the business community 
  • Develop an actionable phase-by-phase plan for implementation  
This workshop builds upon the information covered in the morning workshop on integrating Career Development and Work-based Learning, but attendance at the morning workshop is not required for the afternoon workshop. Attendees also receive a copy of the Power and Promise of Pathways, a value of $21. 

Engineering Explosive Growth in Retention, Performance & Community Partnerships
Mark Perna
Wednesday, Nov. 30
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
$225

To thrive today, young people need a dynamic competitive advantage in their education and career journey. And yet in this shifting landscape, it’s more challenging than ever to engage, retain and graduate students. We must adapt our models for this new normal—and in this exciting workshop, performance expert and bestselling author Mark C. Perna will show you how. You’ll experience the latest tools, tactics and truths to attract and retain more of the right students, in the right programs, for the right reasons. With Mark’s insights, you’ll craft a dynamic narrative to change the way people think about education. Young people need their education to deliver the single most important competitive advantage in the modern workforce: the unstoppable synergy of academic knowledge, technical competency, and professional skills. This is your opportunity to tell that story like it’s never been told before—making CTE the most sought-after piece of the education puzzle. In this workshop, Mark delivers key insights on how the younger generations think, what makes them tick and how they make decisions. By understanding what motivates young people, you can show them why education matters, help them set goals, and inspire them to achieve at a higher level. Finally, Mark will recharge your professional passion by showing the truly profound difference you can make every day.

High Quality CTE Needs High Quality Curriculum: A New Look at the CTE Curriculum Process 
Wednesday, Nov. 30
8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
$185 

CTE curriculum development and design can be a daunting task, especially with all the factors that need to be considered: technical content, academic connections, standards, certifications, and above all, the students. This interactive workshop will dive into a new curriculum resource which addresses all of these items and focus on considerations for the diverse landscape of CTE learners as a component of curriculum development. Whether you are an early career CTE teacher or a CTE veteran, come learn ways to enhance your curriculum and maximize your learners’ skills acquisition. Participants will receive the new book: Curriculum Design & Development in Career & Technical Education. 

Integrating Your Career Development and Work-Based Learning Strategies 
Wednesday, Nov. 30
8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
$150

In this workshop, participants will learn strategies for planning an integrated delivery of Career Development and Work-based Learning in both middle school and high school.  Hans Meeder and other team members from the National Center for College and Career Transitions, will explain the four key phases of Career Development in grades 6 through 12, as well as the most prevalent in-school and out-of-school strategies that make work-based learning with business and industry engagement.  Finally, you begin working with tools to plan an integrated approach for Career Development and Work-based Learning for grades 6-12.   
 
Plan to come with team members who are responsible for both career development and work-based learning. 

Pathways That Work: Creating Seamless K12-Postsecondary Transitions
Wednesday, Nov. 30
1:00-4:00 p.m.
$150

Guided pathways have been an integral part of the K12 to college to career conversation for a number of years. As much as educators have worked to create seamless transitions for students, obstacles and opportunity gaps mean that high-wage technical career opportunities are still in high-need. Participants in this workshop will explore the Guided Pathways framework, examine Guided Pathways best practice examples, and review, build on and/or develop an institutional Guided Pathways plan.

Pioneers in Skirts Nevada Theatrical Premiere Screening
Wednesday, Nov. 30
1:00-4:00 p.m.
$50

Filmmaker Meet & Greet!

Buses take you to the Galaxy Theaters – then enjoy popcorn, beverage, and sweet treats as you watch the award-winning feature documentary, Pioneers in Skirts, with the filmmakers!!

For attendees looking to improve upon the gender makeup of CTE programs, watch Pioneers in Skirts to see how it can be a powerful, instructional, and motivational tool in the classroom. Winner of the Best Documentary for Change at the 2021 Paris International Film Festival, Pioneers in Skirts is an entertaining and relatable film about the obstacles that get in the way of pioneering ambition. The film addresses the stereotyping and sexism that can chip away at a woman, hurt her potential, and make her feel like she must re-think her dreams.

When students watch Pioneers in Skirts, they experience the perspectives of people who are outside of their current world view – and as they process what they have seen, they also have an opportunity to self-reflect about their own lives and how they feel about it. When teachers watch the film, they see how they need to change the environment in the classroom, too.

ABOUT THE FILM: In an inspiring portrait of perseverance and determination, Pioneers in Skirts filmmakers Ashley Maria and Lea-Ann Berst follow the journeys of 3 unforgettable girls on a robotics team, their fathers, and Lily, a young mother who is in line for a promotion. Using Ashley’s own story as a female director in Hollywood as the through line – they speak with fellow pioneering women and topic experts who have solutions to share.

Screening all over the world in schools, companies and communities – including at ACTE in 2021 – this event is offered as a stand-alone option as well as a precursor to the filmmakers’ December 1 workshop – Fostering Meaningful Discussion – an educator’s film discussion guide.

Join us for the Pioneers in Skirts Nevada theatrical premiere screening – with the filmmakers November 30th, 2022, at Galaxy Theaters in Boulevard Mall!

For more information about Pioneers in Skirts, and to watch the movie trailer, visit www.pioneersinskirts.com.

State Leadership Training Program
Wednesday, Nov. 30
8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
$25

The State Leadership Training Program’s goal is to provide current and prospective state leaders with leadership training in addition to specific instruction in association management. The program of work for the training is based on the criteria for effective leadership, defined by the Quality Association Standards (QAS), an annual benchmark for state associations to evaluate their programs, services and organization. The QAS covers the key aspects of association management, ranging from finances and bylaws, to programs and marketing. By using the QAS as the structure for the program, participants become familiar with the essentials of association management and are able to apply the concepts they learn to their own state association. The instruction is facilitated by subject matter experts from ACTE’s state associations, staff or partners.

Transforming Business and CTE Partnerships with a Step-by-step Approach 
Wednesday, Nov. 30
8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
$150 

Led by Paula Chaon, Ford NGL Coach, based in St. Johns, Florida, and Kristin Wingfield, Business Engagement Coordinator, based in Louisville,  Kentucky, this workshop will cover the best strategies, tips, and resources for building stronger business and CTE partnerships start with the right blueprint, using a step-by-step approach. Sign up for this interactive workshop where you will get what you need to transform your current partnerships. You will hear from district leaders about innovative ways they are engaging their business partners with their students and teachers. And you will walk away with tools and resources connected to Ford NGL’s Powerful Partnership Blueprint - an approach to take your partnerships to the next level.

Back to Top