Jan Holland plays a key role in state career and technical education governance here in Texas. Now she’s getting a chance to do the same at the national level.
Holland, the cosmetology teacher at Nacogdoches High School, was selected to attend the National Policy Seminar hosted by ACTE, the Association for Career and Technical Education, the largest national education association in the U.S. and dedicated to advancing programs that prepare students for careers.
Holland will make the trip to the nation’s capital in March where she will meet with other CTE advocates and leaders from around the country. They will also meet with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to advocate for all things related to CTE, including funding.
Holland serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Industrial Vocational Association, or TIVA. She’s the president-elect on the board of TIVA, the professional organization for Career and Technical Educators certified in Trade & Industrial Education. TIVA exists to ensure the impact of CTE programs in Texas schools.
Holland has been the cosmetology teacher at NHS since 2012 after owning and operating her own salon for 25 years.
“This is a big thing,” she said. “And it’s a big deal for our district.”
It’s important to attract the attention of lawmakers who control the purse strings at the federal level, Holland said. Oftentimes, members of Congress may not be familiar with Perkins Funding, the federal act that provides annual funding of $1.4 billion for CTE education each year and will be an important topic of conversation, she said.
“That money we receive from Perkins Funding not only provides for CTE, 49 percent of it goes back into salaries around the campus,” Holland said.
In September, two of Holland’s students attended a leadership conference in Washington. “(The National Policy Seminar) is an adult version of that,” she said.