WELCOME TO ACTE NEBRASKA!

Rick Painter, 2024-2025 President

I am excited for the privilege to serve as the President of the Association for Career and Technical Education of Nebraska for 2024-2025.  For the past 21 years I have held many roles in education as a Family Consumer Science Teacher, Elementary, Middle, and High School Counselor, Curriculum Specialist, and District Coordinator of Secondary Counseling.  I am currently the Senior Director of Career Services and Support and Interim Senior Director of High School Programs for Avenue Scholars.  I have served on the ACTEN Board with roles as the division chair for the Counseling and Career Development Division, and the President Elect.  I received the ACTEN Counselor of the Year in 2022.

As we begin the 2024-25 school year, on behalf of the ACTEN Executive Board and myself, I want to thank each and every one of you for your commitment to excellence in Career and Technical Education (CTE), and for choosing ACTEN as your professional association. Our mission is to provide educational leadership in developing a competitive workforce and our vision is empowering educators to deliver high quality CTE programs that ensure all students are positioned for career success. 

Each of you play an important role in advocating for Career and Technical Education in Nebraska.  You are working with our students to enhance the skills students need for high wage, high demand, high skill careers.  I appreciate each of you and the work you are doing.  In order to recognize each of you for the work you do, I would love to see you apply for any of the following awards: Teacher of the Year, Outstanding Teacher by Division, Postsecondary Teacher of the Year, New Teacher of the Year, Administrator of the Year, Counselor of the Year, Teacher Educator of the Year, and Carl Perkins Community Service. Please go to this website to nominate a colleague or yourself for an award–Nebraska Awards – ACTEN (acteonline.org).

A priority for me this year will be to find strategies to increase our membership in ACTEN.  We have a valuable organization advocating for students across the state, and the more people we can have advocating, the better.  Let’s work together to find ways to increase our membership as we help educate more people about our mission.

Thank you for all you do for the students in Nebraska.

Rick Painter

2024-2025 President