On April 22, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed paid a visit to the Cranston Area Career and Technical Center, or CACTC, and toured several of its hands-on career and technical education, or CTE, programs.

Reed has been a long-time supporter of career and technical education and has been instrumental in highlighting the need for continued federal funding for such programs across Rhode Island.

The visit to CACTC provided the senator with an up-close look at the work being done by the staff and students, as well as a chance to see how the programs are preparing current students for jobs of the future, including in high-demand trades such as welding.

Reed visited five of the 11 award-winning CTE programs housed on the Cranston High School West campus. Two additional CACTC programs are housed at Cranston High School East.

CACTC Director Zachary Farrell said he was grateful for the time Reed spent at the center as well as for his continued support at the federal level.

“We are very grateful to Sen. Reed, and our entire congressional delegation, for their continued support in the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Act, which provides much needed federal funding for career and technical education programs here in Cranston and across the state,” he said. “We are very thankful that he took the time to come and pay us a visit to see how those resources are put to good work on the ground. With the recent surge in the numbers of students enrolled in our CTE programs here in Cranston, we extended this invitation because we thought it was important for him to be able to come and make that connection with our students and teachers to see how his hard work in Washington, D.C., is validated by directly impacting the great work they do here every day.”

CACTC currently has students attending from nine districts across the state, which is a significant increase from recent years.

For more information about the CTE programs at CACTC, visit cpsed.net/cactc.