Four-time UW-Stout Polytechnic graduate Britta Rotering is helping reshape how students prepare for their futures. As supervisor of career and technical education (CTE) for the School District of La Crosse, she oversees career pathways, dual-credit opportunities, youth apprenticeships that connect students with paid workplace experiences and the district's four academies, including La Crosse Polytechnic School. Under her leadership, the district has expanded career pathways, grown industry partnerships and created new opportunities for students to become future-ready.
Her passion for career and technical education began early. "As a middle school student, I took my first CTE course and fell madly in love," Rotering said. "That was where everything clicked."
By high school, she knew she wanted a career that combined teaching, service and career-focused learning. When a teacher told her about UW-Stout Polytechnic's family and consumer science education program, she scheduled a campus visit. "Even though it was pouring rain during my campus tour, I knew I had found home," she recalled.
Rotering attended UW-Stout Polytechnic while serving in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, balancing military commitments with her studies. She went on to earn four degrees from the university: a bachelor's degree in family and consumer science education, a master's degree in education, an Educational Specialist degree in career and technical education and a Doctor of Education in career and technical education leadership.
One of the most memorable chapters of her educational journey came during her deployment, where she continued coursework toward her master's degree. "Stout did everything they could to work with me," she said. "I had VCR tapes mailed to me and I hand-wrote papers in a notebook. I completed coursework whenever I had downtime. That connection to learning helped me stay focused and gave me something to work toward."
After 16 years as a teacher, Rotering moved into administration, where she could expand opportunities for students on a larger scale. Today, she oversees a wide range of initiatives designed to help students explore careers, earn college credit and gain real-world experience before graduation.
One of her proudest accomplishments has been expanding opportunities across all 16 career pathways in the district. Those pathways include stacked coursework, dual-credit options, work-based learning experiences, career and technical student organizations and industry-recognized credentials. Rotering also serves as coordinator for the La Crosse Youth Apprenticeship Consortium, which placed more than 100 students in paid apprenticeship experiences last year. "I get to build strong career pathways for students, families and community members," Rotering said. "The goal is to help students become future-ready."
Her work has also transformed opportunities in areas that previously had little or no presence in the district. When Rotering arrived in La Crosse, the district had no agriscience program and students interested in agriculture had limited or no in-district pathways. By creating a staffed program with three educators, supporting FFA chapters and adding a greenhouse, Rotering built an agriscience program from the ground up, expanding it into multiple student opportunities where students can earn leadership experience and gain hands-on skills in a facility that mirrors real-world environments.
Rotering also supports La Crosse Polytechnic School, a project-based learning environment where students explore interdisciplinary challenges and discover new passions. In her role overseeing career and technical education, she works in partnership with the school’s principal to align programming with the broader polytechnic philosophy that shaped her own education at UW-Stout Polytechnic.
Throughout her career, Rotering has carried Stout's polytechnic philosophy with her. She credits faculty members such as Diane Klemme, Urs Haltinner and Deanna Schultz for shaping her approach to leadership and lifelong learning.
"I can't think of one professional accomplishment that wouldn't have been possible without UW-Stout Polytechnic," she said. "Stout prepared me, supported me and encouraged me through every stage of my career."
Whether she is developing new career pathways, mentoring educators or helping students discover their future, Rotering carries the lessons of UW-Stout Polytechnic with her every day.
"Stout is home," she said. "It's the place that helped me become who I am.
