There is a resurging interest in career and technical education (CTE) from business leaders, policymakers and educators who have discovered, and in some cases rediscovered, the benefits of authentic applied learning embedded in career pathways that combine a robust mixture of relationships, relevance and rigor. Despite the growing interest, many policymakers, parents, employers and the community at large--even many educators--continue to view CTE as a second-tier program for those students who are not realizing success in the traditional, first-tier high school program. The authors, in their current work developing new program designs for CTE, are trying to change that perception and create CTE programs that have substantial implications for all students in all high schools, and perhaps for those even in middle schools. They believe that their designs can contribute to a much needed re-branding of CTE as a first-tier program of choice, while also serving as a catalyst for fundamental secondary school redesign. In this article, they provide some suggestions for specific innovations that are a good bit outside the CTE mainstream, innovations that they believe are absolutely essential if 21st century CTE programs are to serve a substantially larger number of students and help them achieve success as citizens, parents and workers.