ACTE Postsecondary CTE Summit 2026

Workforce education is evolving, and the educators and leaders charged with preparing today's learners are being asked to do more with less, serve broader populations, and close persistent equity gaps, all without a clear roadmap. 


This session introduces the POWER Framework (Personalized Opportunities in Workforce Education Readiness), an eight-pillar instructional model grounded in culturally responsive teaching principles and developed through qualitative research with postsecondary CTE educators, students, and leaders across Central New York.


Participants will get an accessible, practitioner-friendly overview of the framework's eight pillars, from learner identity and contextualized curriculum design to student voice and institutional capacity, and explore how each pillar directly addresses the equity and engagement challenges showing up in their own training spaces and post-secondary CTE institutions. Real-world application examples and a brief self-assessment will help attendees see where their practice already aligns with POWER principles and where high-leverage growth opportunities exist.