South Seattle College's Continuing Education offers flexible, affordable preparation classes for those working toward their Career & Technical Education Certification (CTE) in Washington State. Additionally, South’s program is an approved Plan II "Business and Industry" course of study for secondary teachers leading to the initial state teaching certificate by the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

South’s program is designed to give individuals independence in the program through classes arranged with the working professional in mind, as well as online classes that offer greater flexibility. Core classes are offered each quarter to meet the needs of prospective teachers, and teacher candidates may start any quarter of the year.

To learn more about South's CTE program, including what CTE is and a brief history, click here.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) is a planned program of courses|classes and learning experiences that begins with exploration of career options, supports basic academic and life skills, and enables achievement of high academic standards, leadership, preparation for industry-defined work, and advanced and continuing education.

In Washington State, CTE teachers are required to hold a CTE Teaching Certificate, issued in one of the specific CTE specialties upon completion of a Washington State Board of Education-approved program as well as documentation of 6,000 hours of paid occupational experience in the specific sub-category or specialty area.

South has two primary pathways for CTE teacher candidates:

1. Pathway for Professionals Coming from Business and Industry – designed for those new to teaching who have been working in an industry profession. These students take 10 required classes and Practicum/field experience.
   

2. Pathway for Experienced Certificated Professionals – a shorter course of study designed for those who already hold a teaching degree or credential from a college or university and have been teaching full-time in a classroom setting. Experienced Certificated students take 6 required classes and Practicum/ Field Experience.

To learn more about Certification Pathways, click here.

Course + Class sequences show you which courses|class you should take for your particular program and in which term or order you should take them. They help you plan your course|class schedule. The sequences are meant to be used as a guideline as there is more than one possible sequence for any given program.

At South, the five course categories are bold (above) and under each course category are the classes within it. To learn more about the Course + Class sequences listed below, including viewing a sample schedule and accessing a course|class planning worksheet, click here.

Experienced Career and Technical Education teachers and administrators hold both instructor and advisory board roles at South. Both the instructors and the advisory board continually look for ways to maintain relevance in instruction, integration of technology, and excellence in preparation to ensure CTE Educator's have the knowledge and skill for long-lasting person and professional satisfaction.

To meet our instructors and advisory board members, including reading their bios and learning which areas they teach in, click here.

The South CTE Library of documents and resources is a great was to help yourself learn more about the state requirements and South requirements. Additionally, we work to update the contents of this page regularly so you have a one-stop for the latest information. That said, we are human and so we may miss something - in that case, please let us know by sending us an email and a link to the page or document so we can update the contact for the group. We appreciate your engagement and communication for the greater good.

To learn more, click here.