Many high school seniors are now focusing on what they will do once they graduate – or how they don’t at all know what is to come.

LEWISTOWN — Slaughterhouses and butchers used to be scattered throughout the United States, numbering about 10,000 in 1967.

and about 85% of the American meatpacking industry is controlled by four companies: JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill and Smithfield. The other 15% of that market share is held in part by small and very small meat producers scattered across the country, including some in Montana.

have disappeared in the last 20 years, and a decades long University of Illinois study found the average length . Between inspections, startup costs and other factors, it’s not an easy business to get into or keep afloat. 

This is true for much of the agricultural industry, and many small businesses have disappeared as corporate America has exerted its will on farmers and ranchers. About 70% of the consumer’s dollar went to cattle producers in 1970, with the other 30% going to processors and retailers. Cattle producers now get about 30% of the consumer’s dollar, .

Additionally, about 98% of America’s beef . Beef processing co-ops have been created around the state in an effort to help give beef producers more options, but there’s another problem too — employees.

That’s the place some educators in Montana are looking to step in. Fergus High School in Lewistown, for example, has a robust agricultural education program. It’s also part of the Central Montana Career and Technology Education Academy, a public charter school to connect students with skills and knowledge needed to work in agriculture.

‘A dying art’

Logan Turner, one the teachers at Fergus High School, put it pointedly.

“Kids aren’t really getting into it,” he said. “Cutting meat is kind of a dying art.”

His goal has been, in part, to help change that trend. The technical academy seeks to bridge a gap of agricultural knowledge. Beyond meat cutting, classes at the school include farm business management, fabrication and science classes geared toward teaching about soil health among others.

Turner grew up on his family’s farm outside Missoula and quickly decided he wanted to be a teacher. There’s an urgency for him too, with worries, among them a feeling no one knows where their food comes from and the world’s growing population. 

“We’ve always been faced with this big issue as agriculturalists,” Turner said. “2050 is right around the corner, and there’s going to be two billion more people on the face of the planet, and how are we going to feed them all? I think it all starts with education and understanding … and so I felt like being an educator probably was the best way for me to contribute.”

Only about three percent of the food Montanans eat is produced in the state. There are options for eating local food, but they can sometimes be hard to find. 

Having kids learn about these could also help them enter the workforce with more ideas about what they want to do, which is one of the goals of the program. Orin Johnson, the Central Montana CTE Academy director, said they also want to get students as close as possible to certification in a variety of careers.

“Every kid doesn’t learn the same way,” Johnson said. “And some really do strive and need to be hands on, and it’s about finding a way to create opportunities that they can be hands on.”

Students at the school have shown interest and it’s included partnerships with Future Farmers of America and the Montana Farmers Union, which gave the meat processing program two grants totaling about $13,000 over the summer.

“We do a lot of meat processing at my house because my dad loves hunting, and so we do a lot of wild game,” said Shyanne Ricks, a student at the school who’s gone through the program. “And so doing the meats class really helps with seeing the whole process, not just wild game.”

Ricks, along with Tori Rindal, a freshman at the school, and the other Lewistown agricultural education teacher — Jared Long — went to and spoke about the program.

Rindal said she’s hoping to take the meats class next year. Long pointed out agricultural education is broad and students can take many different paths.

The program offers five pathways: welding, natural resource and conservation, meat processing, animal science and agricultural mechanics. There’s a variety of classes within those, both Long and Turner explained.

“The common misconception is that it’s just cows and plows,” Long said. “So that’s really our job, we feel like, is to open doors to kids that they might never have.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Daily Montanan maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Darrell Ehrlick for questions: info@dailymontanan.com.

PETERSBURG – Vernon Johns Middle School eighth grader Jonathan Phillips already knows he’s interested in a career in physics. With his interest in science, he was especially happy to witness the unveiling of his school’s new medical-focused classroom on Wednesday, a space made possible through a unique partnership between a Virginia health care system, an education nonprofit and Petersburg Public Schools.

“It seems like a very interesting learning opportunity,” he said.

Phillips was one of a handful of middle school students to attend a formal ribbon cutting for the classroom opening where they  were able to physically interact with various medical instruments and models. As he lingered near a model used for CPR practice, he noted how he’d taken a course and was excited at the prospect of “brushing up” on the life skill. Some other students expressed interest in phlebotamy, the specialty of drawing blood for testing or delivering intravenous medicines, while exploring the room.

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Phillips said the classroom may stir up his classmates’ curiosity about working in medical fields.

“I think some other people might have their interest piqued,” he said.

Petersburg superintendent Yolanda Brown said that the lab will be part of Vernon Johns Middle School’s “career investigation” courses, offering hands-on experience that will encourage students to further their studies in health care. The school also aims to include guest lecturers in the classroom from different healthcare specialties.

Next door, Petersburg High School,offers a curriculum for certified nursing assistant career paths, which students could explore and plan to pursue or that might inspire interest in other medical professions. As Virginia mirrors national trends in a of workers for critical health professions like various types of nurses and primary care providers, Petersburg’s new medical classroom can help inspire future professionals who could stem the tide.

“We thought that starting early, at least at middle school, introducing them to those careers, those tracks and what they might need for their ninth grade start of high school, would be a place to start,” said Communities in Schools Petersburg president Wanda Stewart.

Stewart’s organization is part of a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting local schools and students around the country. Communities in Schools Petersburg facilitated conversations with HCA Virginia Health System and the school division that led to a $25,000 grant that helped set up the classroom.

“We are excited about our students being able to learn in a way that is a little different from just normal classroom settings,” Stewart  said.

HCA awarded the grant to the school in order to inspire future health care workers, HCA associate vice president of academic affairs Yvette Dorsey explained at the unveiling.

A CPR training for students at Petersburg High added to the health-related learning Wednesday morning. The training stemmed from a collaboration between Petersburg schools, the local emergency services and health departments, and HCA.

With requiring public elementary and secondary schools to develop cardiac emergency response plans, the training was timely. The legislation was carried by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virignia Beach, in this year’s General Assembly session and, after passing the legislature, was signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin March 24.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.

With the nation’s second largest school district now offering nearly 450  programs across 160 schools, Los Angeles Unified students are embracing CTE. 

More than 47,000 students have access to programs that range from internships and dual enrollment courses to clubs, electives and required classes aligned with core academic subjects. 

Earlier this month, hundreds of high schoolers demonstrated new skills at the California Endowment Center, from horticulture to computer programming, while middle school students toured booths and explored the programs they could soon join.

“I want to go into landscaping, designing people’s yards,” said senior Serenity Flores, who takes a horticulture class at Sylmar Charter High School. “And this class kind of brought me around to that.”

District data shows these offerings are growing fast. The number of paid student interns more than doubled, rising from just over 700 in 2023–24 to more than 1,600 this school year.

Industry certifications have also grown in popularity. Students earned more than 6,000 credentials in 2023-24, a 60% increase from the previous year, in areas like Microsoft Office, food handling and CPR.

One reason for the increase is the rise of Linked Learning, a California-based program that blends academics with career exploration and college credit.

The  began in 2009 as a pilot in nine school districts. Today, it’s grown to more than 50 districts. In LAUSD,  participated during the 2023–24 school year.

Romero’s school, Hilda Solis High School in Boyle Heights, is one of many that offers a .

“I really enjoy it because it shows that I’m capable of doing things like this,” said Ivan Romero, who is enrolled in the school’s engineering design class.

To meet rising demand, the district announced a two-year pilot program in 2024 to trai new CTE teachers. LAUSD officials  was to address the growing need for skilled educators in CTE programs. 

The pilot will support 25 new CTE teachers per year and pair each with a mentor. 

According to a U.S. Department of Education study, students who took two or more CTE courses had a 94% graduation rate, compared to 86% for those who didn’t. Employers are also on board, with 96% viewing CTE applicants favorably.

Many of these students are graduating high school with certifications or finished college courses. 

“Basically, when they graduate, they can start working,” said an LAUSD spokesman. “The emphasis on it is, when they get out of college, they’re ready to go to work.”

Although most students said the courses help build on their college plans or inform them of higher education choices, some have chosen blue-collar and trade programs as an alternative.  

Sergio Garcia, a senior at Banning High School, gets to learn how to put out fires and do CPR from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Other students said they had never thought of becoming a firefighter before being introduced to the course. Now they can expect to have certifications and be working for fire departments straight out of high school. 

Some educators say all students, not just the ones in blue-collar programs, should have that opportunity. Darryl Sher, who teaches the robotics club at LACES Magnet School, said students are often told college is the only route. CTE programs show otherwise.

“Most of them are going to college, but they could get jobs in tech right out of high school,” Sher said.

Even if the majority of students plan to go to college, or need a degree to pursue their ultimate career goals, there are plenty of programs to help students earn money right out of high school. 

“Some have automotive programs, some have food safety courses,” Frank said, highlighting auto repair and customer service jobs as starting industries for many students. “They can get a job and do something that can support their college education.” 

This article is part of a collaboration between The 74 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

FutureEd analyzed speeches from 41 governors to identify states’ education agendas for the coming year, highlighting common themes, bipartisan commitments and partisan divides. Across party lines, governors remained committed to investing in public education, with many proposing increased K-12 funding and efforts to modernize school finance formulas to better support high-need students. Alongside these general financial commitments, governors prioritized strengthening the teaching profession, addressing youth mental health, restricting cellphone use and expanding career pathways for high schoolers. 

Still, few governors proposed new steps to directly improve student learning. Some emphasized efforts to raise academic standards and strengthen accountability, topics absent in recent years. But this year’s speeches largely sidelined new curriculum initiatives, perhaps because many states have enacted reforms in that area — particularly in literacy — in recent years. Mentions of academic acceleration programs that were widely supported during the pandemic but now face an uncertain future as federal ESSER funds expire were also rare. These include high-dosage tutoring, afterschool and summer enrichment. Some governors argued that their school choice initiatives would improve student outcomes. 

School choice remained a key point of division, with several Republican governors advocating for more private options that Democrats opposed. Ideological divides also resurfaced on race and gender — topics largely absent from speeches in recent years — as a few Republicans called for banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, restricting transgender participation in sports and opposing what they described as “indoctrination” and “woke agendas” in education.

Here is a summary of the major education proposals in the governors’ addresses (click on each state in the interactive maps below): 

Student Well-Being

One of the most popular topics this year was student well-being, with a focus on mental health, technology use, school meals and safety. While youth mental health remains a top concern — highlighted by 15 governors — many are shifting from traditional investments in counseling and school-based services to restrictions on cellphones and social media.

Concerns over technology’s impact on student mental health are growing. As Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted in her annual address, “Suicide rates among teens have tripled, self-harm among girls has risen by nearly 200%, and depression among teenagers has increased by 150%. The culprit is clear: unrestricted access to phones and social media.” Huckabee Sanders and the leaders of at least 12 other states, mostly Republican-led, proposed bans on phones in schools, with most citing mental and behavioral health concerns. Governors also pushed for stronger internet safety measures and social media restrictions.

In New York, Democrat Kathy Hochul has taken a different approach with her “Unplug and Play” initiative, which expands outdoor and extracurricular opportunities to reduce children’s reliance on social media. She also called for shielding students from the risks posed by artificial intelligence. 

While cell phone and social media restrictions have gained some bipartisan traction, major investments in school-based mental health are largely a Democratic priority this year. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, for example, proposed nearly $300 million to expand mental health services, including suicide-prevention programs and educator training.

To address students’ nutritional needs, Democratic governors in Maine, Kansas, New York and Wisconsin proposed expanding free school meals. On the Republican side, Huckabee Sanders introduced the Buy Local Act to encourage schools to purchase their food in state and proposed using medical marijuana revenue for meal funding, and North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong pledged to expand his state’s Farm-to-School program. 

Governors from six states — Indiana, Georgia, Texas, Missouri, New Mexico and South Carolina — proposed school safety efforts. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun plans to establish an Office of School Safety, Gov. Henry McMaster wants to fund school resource officers in every South Carolina school and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is pursuing legislation requiring regular safety planning meetings and incident reporting.

School Choice

School choice remains a key topic this year, with 15 governors addressing the issue. While initiatives to let families use public money for private schooling dominated the discussion, several governors proposed expanding public-school choice, sometimes alongside private-school initiatives.

Proposals largely followed party lines. Nine Republican governors advocated for expanding education savings accounts and other private school-choice initiatives. McMaster aims to pass new ESA legislation and allocate $30 million after the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the state’s previous program unconstitutional.

Braun seeks to make private school choice available to every student in Indiana, while Kehoe proposes adding $50 million in state funding to supplement a tax credit-funded ESA program. Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin is requesting $50 million for “Opportunity Scholarships” for low-income families, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is renewing his push for a long-debated universal school choice measure. 

In the wake of widespread criticism of Arizona’s costly education savings account program and its lack of transparency on spending and student performance, some Republicans emphasized stronger oversight and protections for public school funding in their proposals. Idaho’s Brad Little stressed the need for a “fair, responsible, transparent and accountable” approach that prioritizes families in need without diverting funds from public schools. Governors in South Dakota and Virginia also emphasized safeguarding public school resources.

Meanwhile, three Democratic governors — Arizona’s Katie Hobbs, Kansas’s Laura Kelly and Kentucky’s Andy Beshear — expressed opposition to using public funds for private education. Hobbs is once again seeking to add guardrails to Arizona’s universal ESA program, which was enacted by her Republican predecessor. These include setting income caps and ensuring transparency in spending. Kelly and Beshear vowed to block new private school choice initiatives.

At the same time, six governors from both parties are pushing to expand public-school choice. Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis voiced support for giving parents more options and making it easier for high-quality and innovative schools to open.

Republicans Joe Lombardo of Nevada and Kehoe supported allowing students to attend public schools outside their assigned attendance zone. Armstrong proposed a new policy that would allow charters to open in North Dakota.

Higher Education

Fifteen governors outlined higher education priorities focused on affordability, workforce alignment and alternative pathways. McMaster pledged to freeze in-state tuition for a sixth year and is seeking $80 million in financial aid to ensure all eligible students receive state assistance. Hochul proposed free community college for New York students entering high-demand fields like advanced manufacturing, education and health care.

Several states are expanding access through alternative postsecondary pathways. Huckabee Sanders launched the ACCESS initiative, which, among other things, will expand scholarships to include associate degrees and non-degree programs, and fund college credits for high school students. Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee plans to fund dual enrollment, allowing high school students to earn college credit. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is similarly focused on adding more dual-enrollment and “stackable” credentials. 

Huckabee Sanders and Abbott proposed banning DEI programs and preventing “indoctrination” from professors. “We must purge it from every corner of our schools and return the focus to merit,” said Abbott of the state’s public universities.

Early Education and Child Care

Thirteen governors highlighted early childhood education and care, focusing on expanding access, improving affordability and addressing workforce challenges.

Democratic governors in New York, New Mexico and Kentucky promoted universal early childhood programs. Arizona Democrat Hobbs was among five state leaders from both parties who prioritized affordability, proposing the Working Families Child Care Act to lower the cost of care by two-thirds. Kehoe, a Republican, proposed a $10 million grant program to foster partnerships among Missouri employers, community organizations and child-care providers to expand access through collaborative solutions.

In Iowa, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds introduced a continuum-of-care initiative to integrate preschool and child-care services, offering grants to providers that coordinate resources like shared staffing and transportation.

Several state leaders also addressed child care workforce shortages. Gov. Bill Lee proposed expanding eligibility for Tennessee’s WAGES program that provides early childhood educators with annual salary supplements of up to $7,800 based on their education level, while Reynolds launched a statewide fund to encourage donations from individuals and businesses to support child care worker wages.

Workforce Development and Career Education

Twelve governors highlighted workforce development and career education, focusing on expanding high school career training, strengthening industry partnerships and aligning postsecondary programs with workforce needs. More than half of these efforts target K-12 students.

Several states are prioritizing career training in high schools. In Indiana, Braun plans to expand partnerships between employers and high schools, while Connecticut’s Lamont is expanding the state’s youth service corps, offering students internships or paid apprenticeships at local businesses. Lee seeks to double participation in Tennessee’s Youth Employment Program, making it year-round to provide meaningful work experience, particularly for underserved communities. Kehoe wants a $1 million investment to expand high school career counseling and launched the Governor’s Workforce of the Future Challenge to improve coordination among K-12 schools, businesses and colleges. Youngkin is expanding “lab school” partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities specializing in health care, coding, space, maritime industries and teaching.

Other governors are focusing on postsecondary workforce training. McMaster is requesting $95 million in lottery funds for Workforce Industry Needs Scholarships through South Carolina’s technical college system. Lee has proposed the Tennessee Works Scholarship, which would cover tuition, fees and essential resources for students at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology. And McKee introduced Ready to Build, a career and technical education program at the Community College of Rhode Island, designed to create a pre-apprenticeship pathway into building trades jobs.

The Teaching Profession

A dozen governors discussed initiatives to improve the teaching profession, with most emphasizing higher teacher pay. Eight — primarily Republicans — proposed salary increases. McMaster accelerated the state’s plan to set a $50,000 minimum salary, moving the target from 2026 to this year. Braun aims to raise the minimum salary in Indiana by $5,000, bringing it to $45,000. 

At least two states are prioritizing pay increases for top-performing teachers. Abbott seeks to boost average teacher pay to a “record high” while expanding the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment program, which allows top educators to earn six-figure salaries. Similarly, Nevada’s Lombardo plans to reward high-performing teachers through the Excellence in Education Fund under the Nevada Accountability in Education Act. Beshear was the only Democrat to mention teacher pay.

Democrats Lamont and Wes Moore of Maryland proposed expanding affordable, debt-free pathways into teaching through apprenticeships and other means. 

Student Learning 

Only 10 governors discussed curriculum and instruction initiatives for the upcoming year. Among them, Reynolds proposed one of the few major policy pushes: a comprehensive math bill aimed at identifying struggling students, providing personalized support and strengthening instruction through evidence-based professional development and high-quality teacher preparation.

Lombardo proposed the Nevada Accountability in Education Act, a comprehensive initiative that would, among other things, demand “stricter accountability, equity and excellence”, focus on literacy and direct resources to struggling schools. He didn’t detail how he planned to increase accountability for student results. 

Nevada is one of seven states, along with Oregon, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan and Massachusetts, prioritizing standards and accountability this year. Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek committed to making school and district accountability a central focus of her 2025 agenda, proposing to increase transparency through a statewide, publicly accessible student information system, while Mississippi Republican Tate Reeves proposed raising academic standards and overhauling the state’s school grading system. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has proposed the Students, Metrics and Results with Transparency (SMART) plan, which would direct investments toward underperforming schools and improve transparency to better inform parents about student performance.

In Massachusetts, which recently eliminated its graduation assessment requirement, Democrat Maura Healey called for a Statewide Graduation Requirement Council to establish a new high standard. “Students, families and employers need to know what a diploma represents,” she stated. 

Additionally, three Democratic governors emphasized investments in expanded learning time. McKee proposed $2.5 million in grants for out-of-school learning in Rhode Island, Kotek aims to continue funding summer programs and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wants to expand summer literacy initiatives. 

Meghan Gallagher of The 74 developed the interactive maps. FutureEd Research Associate Tony Tao contributed to this analysis.