A former colleague and someone I had the good fortune and chance to hire and work alongside during my time as assistant principal in the NYCDOE, now leads the department we once shared. She recently sent me a summer assignment that builds on work we started together years ago. I think it’s a great counterpoint to the developing conversation happening now in the CTE arena. CTE isn’t just about meeting pathway requirements toward acquiring a technical endorsement, it’s about building a lived experience. Independent reading deepens that experience. A well-chosen book, grounded (or not) in a student’s program of study, doesn’t replace the shop floor — it adds dimension to it. But as Da Vinci’s notebook doodles and errand notes remind us, curiosity isn’t linear. Reading widely can strengthen the very habits that make great builders, creators, and technicians.
Recently, I’ve introduced this idea of an independent reading assignment to three of the teachers in my CTE department. This is a new conversation here — very different from the work they are used to. Still, the early response has been encouraging. Each teacher I’ve spoken to has shown a real openness to the idea — if not full-on enthusiasm. No one questioned whether CTE students could handle it. Instead, they started imagining how it might work: which books might connect, how reflection could look, and what it might mean for students to see their technical field through a different lens.
Years ago, as a school leader in the humanities world, I was part of a team that designed a summer assignment that asked students to read a book or article connected to the grade level content they were entering that fall and reflect on it through a structured journal. Over time, we came to see it as a pretty sophisticated model. We linked PDF versions of each text — whether a full-length book or article — that were freely available to ensure access for all students. Everything was housed on our department website. Members of our team also took on the task of identifying texts that might better support students with disabilities or English language learners, though nothing was made explicit. Every student was encouraged to make their own choice. Teachers also made it clear that they were available as a resource. Students weren’t left to navigate the assignment on their own but they were encouraged to explore. Every title had been read by a teacher beforehand, so guidance, when sought, came from a place of genuine familiarity.
Like any good project, I expect this one to go through several iterations — both before it’s introduced to students and, hopefully, as it grows over time. When we first launched our summer reading model back in the NYCDOE, it wasn’t perfect. It even triggered a wave of calls from the Queens Public Library. Because we hadn’t yet linked PDFs for all the texts — and because of the size of our grade levels — students were checking out the same books in such high numbers that the shelves couldn’t keep up. That kind of unexpected friction also taught us that something was indeed working but that we might have needed a course correction. .
This time, the project already feels different. A few of our CTE teachers are imagining ways to build toward a culminating moment — possibly during National Reading Month in March. That never existed in our earlier version, where the work was often handed in quietly at the start of the school year. This time, there’s the potential for something more visible, more communal, and more aligned with the kind of pride our students take in what they create.
I’ve never believed that being “hands-on” means being “non-academic.” Our students show us every day that technical skill and intellectual depth are not opposites — they’re partners. This reading project is just one small way to affirm that. It says to students: your curiosity matters, your voice matters, and what you build — physically or intellectually — belongs in the classroom and beyond. If we get it right, the result won’t just be better writing or stronger comprehension. It’ll help students to see themselves as thinkers in their field.
