Leo Gordon
VP for CTE High Schools
Marcus was a sophomore at a Brooklyn public school. Smart kid. But sitting in a traditional classroom wasn’t working for him. He wasn’t failing because he couldn’t learn; he was failing because nothing he was learning felt connected to anything real.
Then he walked into a CTE program.
Six months later, he was working alongside engineers, learning how advanced manufacturing equipment actually operates. By senior year, he had a job offer waiting.
Marcus isn’t an exception. He’s what happens when the right door opens at the right time.
And that’s exactly what the UFT is fighting to make possible for more kids like him.
Manufacturing now involves factories with robotics, artificial intelligence systems and precision technology, and workers who know how to run them are needed. Skilled trades are short-staffed by almost historic lows. Electricians, HVAC technicians, health care workers — the demand is growing.
For New York City’s approximately 1 million public school students, a strong CTE program is a sure pathway to economic stability. But for too long, our CTE programs were treated like a backup plan, the place kids were sent when someone decided college wasn’t for them. That was wrong then and it’s wrong now, and the UFT is working hard to change that narrative.
The UFT partnered with Micron Technology and the American Federation of Teachers to build new narratives, with members directly involved in designing training programs. The result? Over a million dollars distributed to schools across New York State. New equipment. Professional development for teachers. Real learning experiences for students.
This is what it looks like when a union has a seat at the table and makes sure any deal benefits kids.
The UFT brought the World Economic Forum’s Smart Start curriculum into CTE to bring global standards into NYC classrooms. The curriculum focuses on the skills employers everywhere are demanding: critical thinking, communication, working with others, adapting to change. These aren’t soft skills. They’re survival skills in a fast-moving economy.
The AI disruption is here, and we are not talking about it nearly enough. How do we support teachers and move them from AI literacy to fluency?
One answer is the UFT’s AI Ambassadors program, built with Pursuit as a workforce development partner. We coordinate with CTE teachers who are ready to lead. We turn educators into developers of AI tools. These ambassadors will be the people other educators, as well as the city Department of Education, will turn to for guidance and growth.
For decades, CTE programs were viewed as a fallback in education circles — a space students of color and low-income students were pushed into not because it was the best path, but because someone decided it was good enough “for them.”
That was wrong, and the UFT’s position is clear: CTE is a first-choice option. It’s open to every student who wants it.
CTE teachers are doing some of the most important work in public education right now. The students in your classroom aren’t just learning a trade. They’re building a future that wasn’t guaranteed to them.
And the UFT is working to make sure you have the resources and the recognition to do it well.