An honors student at Athens Drive High School, Monica Matthai had her heart set on becoming an orthodontist, a safe and fitting choice for her academic talents.

That was until she made her first dress in a clothing design class under the school's career- technical education program. Matthai was hooked by the needle and thread and the thought of seeing her creations come to life on a fashion runway.

Goodbye, dental school. The 18-year-old senior recently was awarded a $48,000 scholarship to study fashion management at N.C. State University.

"I've always liked clothes, but I had never seen it more than just shopping," Matthai said. "I never thought fashion would be my career."

Matthai is the poster child CTE educators love to tout as proof of the transformation of courses that used to wear the "vocational education" label and catered to students bound for blue-collar jobs instead of college. Think metal shop, auto mechanics or carpentry.

Over the past decade or so, though, courses under the CTE umbrella have been revamped, tailored to the modern workplace that demands workers with a higher degree of technical savvy.

Such courses include bioscience, finance, television production, computer programming and, in Matthai's case, clothing design. CTE supporters argue that such courses are vital to today's economy, in which an auto mechanic needs to master computer diagnostics.

"Most people recognize that maintaining a car isn't something that can be done under a tree anymore," said state Superintendent June Atkinson. "It requires complex equipment and a very high reading level, and CTE prepares students for that kind of career path."

But CTE courses have been frequently threatened by proposed budget cuts from President Bush, including a recommendation this year to slash more than $1 billion from the programs. Federal money is used to pay for teacher salaries, professional development and equipment such as computers and sewing machines to run the programs.

North Carolina could lose more than $30 million in federal support. About $23 million goes to public schools and nearly $12 million goes to job training for community colleges, which also custom-fit their courses to the technical skills demanded by local employers.

Instead of continued federal support for CTE, Bush wants to channel the money toward boosting academic achievement under the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind law, a favorite education initiative of the president.

In the past, Congress has rejected Bush's cuts and restored money to CTE programs -- a likely blueprint for this year's budget struggles. So far, both the House and Senate have rejected Bush's cuts to education, including money for CTE programs.

Corrine Hirsch, a press secretary in the Office of Budget and Management, which advises the president on budget matters, said the Bush administration thinks No Child Left Behind would prepare students for the workplace and improve student success in schools better than CTE courses. Putting more money into No Child "will help improve academic achievement and graduation rates for at-risk high school students, many of whom are CTE students," Hirsch said in an e-mail message.

But supporters of CTE courses disagree. They argue that money for their courses is important because they give students hands-on experiences and entice students to see the practical relevance of academic classes such as math and English.

"[These courses] oftentimes engage students and it's where the core academics come alive," said Stephen DeWitt, senior director of public policy for the Association of Career and Technical Education.

They say these courses are adding college-bound students such as Matthai to classroom rosters. Educators are even trying to ditch the term vocational education, sometimes still used to describe the classes.

In the old days, students learned how to bake a cake, repair a car engine or otherwise prepare for a job straight out of high school. But now, the sophisticated but practical CTE classes are where many students figure out what they'd like to study in college. Before taking the clothing design class, Matthai didn't even know how to sew.

Under the career-technical program, school districts across the state have partnered with community colleges to offer students courses. Students can earn college credit or certifications.

Supporters contend that CTE courses such as finance, engineering and business technology go hand-in-hand with academic courses in providing students with a solid education that prepares them for work.

In CTE classrooms across Wake County, where more than 64,000 students are taking a class this year, computers line the walls in the furniture and cabinet- making courses. Athens Drive teacher Allen Rasmussen said he encourages students to take geometry before signing up for the course. In the class, computers are used to help students design with wood. Next door, high-tech sewing machines are capable of using downloaded patterns for students to follow while they embroider shirts and dresses.

Roughly 70 percent of high school students wind up taking a CTE course before graduation. Matthai, who had her schedule full of honors courses, took the clothing construction and design course to get a break from her rigorous course load.

North Carolina offers more than 140 CTE courses.

Recently at Athens Drive, the sound of sewing machines hummed through the room where students were putting the final touches on dresses. Across campus, a group of students crowded around a camera in the school's broadcasting and filming class taping the school's daily newscast.

"CTE is another way of learning," said senior Mary Eggleston. "You get some reassurance that the math you're learning you're going to use again."

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