Welcome to CHAT-CTE: Finally, PD That’s Personal

If you’re a CTE teacher, you already know the truth:

Most professional development isn’t built for us.

We don’t teach in rows.

We don’t lecture for 50 minutes.

We don’t spend our day pointing at slides.

We run shops, kitchens, labs, salons, garages, studios, greenhouses, and classrooms full of students who learn by doing.

And for years, CTE teachers have been left to figure things out on their own — curriculum, safety, equipment, paperwork, advisory committees, certifications, behavior, everything.

That’s why CHAT-CTE exists.

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Why I Started This Hub

After 23 years in the classroom and a whole lot of time mentoring new CTE teachers, one pattern kept repeating:

CTE teachers want clarity, real resources, and support they can actually use.

Not another binder.

Not another workshop that has nothing to do with tools, equipment, or skills training.

Not another hour of PD where you walk out thinking, “That was great… for someone else.”

I decided it was time to build something different — something for us.

CHAT-CTE is the beginning of that work:

A place where CTE teachers get practical tools, hands-on PD, and simple systems for curriculum, safety, lesson planning, classroom management, and now… AI.

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What You’ll Find Here

This hub is designed to help you save time, cut the noise, and get straight to what you need.

✔ Free Templates and Tools

Safety talk generators, lesson builders, unit planners, advisory templates — real tools you’ll use tomorrow.

✔ The Shop Talk Podcast

Teacher-to-teacher conversations that are honest, practical, and built around the work you actually do.

✔ AI Tools for CTE Teachers

Prompts, worksheets, and guides that show you how AI can make your teaching easier — not more complicated.

✔ PD That Feels Human

No jargon.

No hoops.

No perfect-plan fantasy world.

Just real support for real classrooms.

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Why AI Is Part of This Mission

Let’s be clear: AI isn’t here to replace teachers.

But it can absolutely take weight off your shoulders.

Whether you’re building a safety talk, rewriting a lesson, summarizing a unit, creating a rubric, or prepping a student script — AI can help you move from overwhelmed to organized in minutes.

And CTE teachers deserve that.

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Where We’re Going Next

This hub is just the start.

In the months ahead, you’ll see:

More free tools

More templates

More AI-powered worksheets

A growing library of PD resources

Early versions of the CHAT-CTE Toolbox App

Practical courses for new and veteran CTE teachers

My long-term goal?

To build the PD system I wish existed my entire career — one built on clarity, trust, and teacher-first design.

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If You’re New Here… Welcome.

Take a minute to explore.

Download a tool.

Try a worksheet.

Listen to an episode.

Or just say hello.

This space was built for teachers who fix, create, build, weld, mix, wire, troubleshoot, style, cook, design, and teach the next generation of makers and doers.

You’re not alone anymore.

Keep creating—because this is finally PD that's personal.