Some high-school students in Michigan are preparing for future careers in the insurance industry. Students recently spent a day touring local insurance companies.

A high school in Alaska is seeking to expand students' access to career and technical education programs by eliminating some requirements for admission. Rather than weighing applications based on grades and other factors, the school will institute a lottery system.

High-school students in Oregon are learning math concepts such as volume, height, width and quadratic equations through an aquaponics project where they raise fish and grow fresh vegetables. The students have sold some of their vegetables and are gearing up to add a larger system, so they can distribute more vegetables to the community.

Clarion University of Pennsylvania will offer nursing classes at the Somerset County Education Center beginning next fall, pending approval from the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing and an accreditation group. The university is constructing labs and classrooms in the center.

A new guide from the Education Commission of the States shows that remedial placement policies differ across states and university systems, with 19 using multiple measures, while 21 states have required minimum scores for students to be considered college-ready. The report comes as other systems, such as the California State University System, are replacing remedial courses with credit-bearing classes.

Steele Stephens and his father, Rob Stephens, recently opened the Mission Aviation flight school at Montana's Laurel Municipal Airport. The pair realized the area needed a flight school when Steele Stephens set out to become an instructor and had trouble finding a place to learn: "Rocky Mountain College has great training, but you have to be a part of their school," he said.

The emergence of autonomous trucking will mean that managers of rail, port and warehouse operations will need to adjust their scheduling and facilities to keep goods moving 24/7, write Aisha Chottani, Greg Hastings, John Murnane and Florian Neuhaus of McKinsey. Also, smaller trucking companies might become unable to compete with larger ones because of costs, and vehicle manufacturers might offer autonomous transport as a service, they write.

Construction costs have risen significantly in recent years. As a result, multiple startups are trying to perfect off-site building techniques, and some are turning to 3D printing as a way to reduce labor expenditures.

ACTE will be profiling new Members of Congress and their CTE- and workforce-related backgrounds. This week, new members from Arizona and California are featured. Read more.

ACTE's Achieve 100 Award showcases an institution's dedication and commitment to CTE. Schools/institutions that have achieved 100% membership across their CTE staff and faculty will receive this distinguished award. All faculty members must be active ACTE members as of Dec. 30. Fill out the online application by Jan. 15 to participate and recognize your educators! Learn more.