FACTE Annual Conference & Trade Show Continuous Excellence Supporting CTE Professional Development

Every year FLATE joins efforts with key partners to continue supporting Career and Technical Education professional opportunities in Florida.

The 57th FACTE annual conference and trade show, held July 17-19, 2023 in Orlando, Florida, was a success, hosting 600+ participants, 40 vendors, and more than 130 parallel sessions representing all areas of CTE education. The Florida Association for Career and Technical Education (FACTE), the Florida Association for Industrial and Technical Educators (FAITE), and the Florida Career Pathways Network (FCPN) partnered with FLATE to provide a pre-conference and a full multi-session day. The Trade Show and sessions were filled with opportunities to see the latest materials, equipment, and services, share best practices, and build relationships among the CTE community around the state.

The pre-conference activities with FAITE included a tour of the National Center for Simulation (NCS), SIMETRI a hi-tec simulation company delivering innovative products and services, and the Modeling Simulation Production Program at the Orange Technical College in Orlando.

The well-attended conference sessions, presented in partnership with FAITE, included Advisory Committee Best Practices, Which CTSO is right for your students (DECA, SkillsUSA, TSA, FBLA), Dual Enrollment-Three Schools Strategies, the 2023 FLATE Best Practices Award Winners Panel, and Department of Education engineering and technology education cluster updates (manufacturing; transportation, distribution, and logistics).

In addition, FLATE presented a session, under the FCPN session strand, about Visualizing Data Trends for CTE Grads and Occupations.   

At FACTE one of the most popular and well-attended presentations is the FLATE 2023 Best Practice Award Winners Panel. This year's panel had the honor of a visit from Chancellor Kevin O’Farrell, Division of Career & Adult Education, Florida Department of Education, who used the opportunity to congratulate the winners for their outstanding best practices and significant contributions in support of STEM, engineering technology, and industrial/manufacturing education in Florida. 

Thank you so much to the FACTE team for such a great event and for hosting FLATE Awards. FLATE will continue to partner with FACTE, FAITE, and FCPN to provide professional development and support CTE education for Florida students, teachers, and business partners.

Professional development opportunities are posted on our FLATE wiki site. You can always check there for additional updates by clicking on the Professional Development icon as well as explore any previous workshops and PD events offered by FLATE and its partners.


2023 FLATE Award Winners Recognized at the FACTE Annual Awards Brunch

From left to right:

• Ernie Friend, Executive Director for FLATE
• Orville L. Dothage, 2023 Distinguished Manufacturing Partner
• Kevin M. Davenport, 2023 Distinguished Manufacturing Secondary Educator-of-the-Year
• Greg Lewis, Distinguished Manufacturing Post-Secondary Educator-of-the-Year
• Kevin O’Farrell, Chancellor for the Division of Career & Adult Education, Florida Department of Education

Special thanks to the awards sponsor DC Jaeger for its generous contribution.