Archive for September, 2009

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ED Stakeholders Forum: ESEA Reauthorization

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

The U.S. Department of Education hosted its monthly Education Stakeholders Forum this morning.  Today’s meeting was the Department’s kick off for getting ESEA reauthorization started.  The next several forums will focus on specific issued related to reauthorization.

Secretary Arne Duncan spoke about the urgency surrounding reauthorization and why we can’t wait: the United States lags behind other countries in terms of math and science achievement and college completion;   twenty-seven percent of students drop out of school each year; 17-year olds are performing at the same levels in math and reading on the NAEP test as they were in the 1970’s.  The Secretary succinctly put it this way: “We want to be first in the world again and to get there we cannot waste a minute. Every year counts. Every class counts. Every child counts.”

As for next steps, the Department plans on getting input from stakeholders at these forums and from parents, students and teachers during the Secretary’s Listening and Learning Tour.  Based on this feedback, and in conjunction with the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over ESEA (Senate HELP and House Ed and Labor), the Department will draft a proposal for reauthorization.

During the Q&A portion of the meeting, Carmel Martin, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development said that the four pillars of reform in Race to the Top will be carried forward in ESEA, but that they will not be the bulk of ESEA – it covers much more than Race to the Top.

By Nancy in Legislation
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Dual Enrollment Advocacy Tool

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Postsecondary access is a major focus of the President’s education agenda – he has called on every American to commit at least one year of college or career training.  Dual enrollment is one way to give high school students a head start on their postsecondary goals.  It is important for lawmakers to see the connection between CTE and postsecondary access.

Check out our latest leave behind about dual enrollment and CTE that we will use to inform legislators and their staff on the Hill about the link between CTE and postsecondary success.  You can access a copy of it here.  This leave behind explains the different forms of dual enrollment, the benefits of dual enrollment, and gives a sampling of dual enrollment programs in the states.

Please feel free to use this document to inform policymakers and legislators in your state about the benefits of CTE!

By Nancy in NASDCTEc Resources
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Recording of September 23 Webinar on Programs of Study

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
You can now access the recording of September 23 webinar Exploring the New Landscape: Supporting the design and Implementation of Programs of Study, webinar 4 of 4 in the Program of Study webinar series.
Description of webinar
:
Making it real! Why do we even need programs of study? To help ensure that students are able to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be college and career ready. This webinar wraps up the series with an in-depth look at the additional supporting components of essential to implementing rigorous, useful programs of study, such as career guidance and academic achievement, professional development, and more.
Access recording now.

By Ramona in NASDCTEc Announcements

Duncan Stresses the Importance of CTE

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Earlier this month, the Vice President’s Middle Class Task Force held a town hall meeting on college affordability and accessibility at Syracuse University.  During the Q&A portion of the meeting, a business representative from a local carpenters union brought up “vocational” training and apprenticeships.  His point was that in the broad national discussion of college, we must not forget about technical training as an option for postsecondary education.

Secretary Duncan responded by giving his interpretation of postsecondary: something beyond high school.  This includes 4 year universities, 2 year community colleges, a trade, or “vocational-technical” training.  While the Secretary did not use the term CTE, and opted instead for “vocational,” it seemed from the context that he was talking about what is being done in CTE programs every day: “As a country, we need to prepare a lot more students to be successful in careers, a lot more students to be successful in college.  When talking about college ready, career ready, we’re really trying to do both.”  He said that in the 1960s this country did a good job of preparing students in “vocational-technical” training, but that we lost our way over the last few decades in terms of getting students to think about careers.

In conjunction with that town hall meeting, the Taskforce released a staff report addressing the barriers to higher education.  The report found that some of the biggest obstacles to postsecondary access and completion are socioeconomic status, lack of information (related to opportunities and financial aid), and student loan debt.  It should be noted that the Taskforce defines “college degree” as including certificates and two-year degrees.  You can read a copy of the report here.

By Nancy in Public Policy
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Facing the CTE Teacher Shortage webinar

Friday, September 18th, 2009

NASDCTEc hosted Facing the CTE Teacher Shortage, a webinar which highlighted state examples from Alabama, California and Oregon that are employing effective strategies for addressing the teacher shortage in CTE.  Presenters included:

  • Gwen Crawford, Education Specialist for Career and Technical Education Teacher Certification, Teacher Mentoring, and New Teacher Institute at the Alabama Department of Education
  • Dr. Lloyd McCabe, Policy Consultant in the Office of the Director at the Secondary, Career, and Adult Learning Division of the California Department of Education
  • Susanne Daggett, Human Resource Systems Educational Specialist at the Oregon Department of Education

If you missed it, don’t worry!  You can access an archived version of the webinar here.  A PDF version of the Power Point slides is here.

By Nancy in NASDCTEc Resources
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House passes Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Yesterday afternoon the House voted 253 to 171 to pass H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009.  The bill includes the American Graduation Initiative which will provide funding for community colleges and area CTE schools to create innovative and effective programs that lead to the completion of a post-secondary degree, certificate or industry-recognized credential.  The bill also provides funding for secondary and postsecondary schools to use for modernization, renovation and repair of their facilities.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is scheduled to draft a companion bill this fall.  While no language has been released yet, they are planning to have a bill introduced before the October 15 reconciliation deadline.

By Nancy in Legislation
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The Role of STEM Education in the Growing Green Collar Economy

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Community colleges, K-12 schools, institutions of higher education and the federal government are working in a variety of ways to develop career and educational opportunities in STEM fields and the new green economy.  NASDCTEc co-sponsored a luncheon yesterday for Hill staffers entitled “The Role of STEM Education in the Growing ‘Green Collar’ Economy” that addressed these efforts.  The event was a collaboration between sponsors and the STEM Caucus, the CTE Caucus and the Community College Caucus.

Dr. William E. Kirwan, Chancellor of the University System of Maryland, was optimistic about the broad consensus in this country and around the world about the impact of climate change.  President Obama’s agenda reflects this as he makes math and science top priorities and focuses on green issues.  However, he is concerned about the pace at which we are moving relative to other G8 nations on climate change; there is a sense of urgency among those nations that the United States is lacking in his opinion.

Dr. Kathleen Schatzberg, President of Cape Cod Community College, stressed that community colleges are vital in providing individuals and employers with green and STEM credentials that are in demand.  Community colleges also work closely with other partners in the community to make sure that their efforts are broad and cost effective.  She signaled out dual enrollment as one effective way of getting students interested in the STEM fields before they enter college.

Dr. Patrick Konopnicki, Director of Technical and Career Education at Virginia Beach City Public Schools, reiterated Dr. Schatzberg’s point that partnerships are key and he urged CTE to partner with their city’s economic development board as he has done in Virginia Beach.  He also pointed out that CTE provides the basis for STEM jobs and as such Gov. Kaine has established the Governor’s Career and Technical Academies which will focus on STEM.  Virginia Beach has also incorporated sustainability into their strategic plan, requiring that students learn sustainability skills.  For example, the district will teach LEED concepts to all juniors in CAD and construction courses beginning this fall.

Deputy Assistant Secretary at OVAE, Glenn Cummings reflected on the federal government’s role in STEM education and green jobs, which includes their investment in community colleges and focus on sustainability.  He also highlighted the University Sustainability Program created by the 2008 Higher Education Act.  That program, which has not been funded, would provide grants to universities and colleges to develop programs and practices related to sustainability.

By Nancy in Public Policy
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Meeting with Office of Management and Budget

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

This week Kim Green and I (along with Steve DeWitt and Jamie Baxter from ACTE) had a positive meeting at the Office of Management and Budget to discuss future Perkins funding.  We met with David Rowe, the Education Branch Chief and Christine Leininger, the program examiner responsible for career technical education within the education branch.   These two people play a critical role in the White House budget development process as OMB is part of the Executive Office of the President. 

They are just beginning their work on NEXT year’s budget proposal.  Here is how the process works.  Starting this week each agency submits their initial budget request to OMB.  Over the course of the next two months or so OMB and the agency discuss priorities, goals of the Administration, and budget realities to come up with the request that will be included in the President’s budget for each department.  Around Thanksgiving OMB lets each department know what the President’s request will be.  In DC terms this is known as the “pass back”.  While there may be some tweaking of the numbers over the ensuing several weeks, essentially this is the FY 2011 budget proposal that will be introduced by the President the first week of February and considered by Congress.

We let Mr. Rowe and Ms. Leininger know about changes and innovations that are taking place as a result of Perkins IV and talked about how the goals of the programs align with many of the Obama Administration’s priorities.   While it was important that we got to share this type of information with them, what was encouraging is that they were both knowledgeable about CTE and asked many questions about how the money is being spent,  accountability, demographics of students and programs, data collection and the various priorities for Perkins state by state.

We are going to be cultivating our relationship with OMB, sharing information, data and resources. This was a good first step in building a very important, long term partnership.

By admin in Legislation, Meetings, Public Policy
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Luncheon to discuss NCLB reauthorization: more questions than answers

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

NCLB reauthorization:  When’s it going to happen?  What’s it going to look like?  How will the stimulus factor in?  No one knows for sure.

Today, I attended a luncheon hosted by Women in Government Relations that featured Gary Huggins of the Commission on NCLB at the Aspen Institute and Danica Petroshius, former Clinton Administration and HELP Committee staffer.  The focus of the luncheon was the reauthorization of NCLB (or ESEA as people are calling it again these days); the discussion centered on the work that the Commission did in 2007, the focus of their efforts now, the role that Race to the Top might play, and the timing of reauthorization.

In 2007, the Commission on NCLB hosted a series of hearings and issued a report based on those hearings that offered recommendations for strengthening NCLB.  The report covered areas such as accountability, data, highly qualified teachers, and school improvement.  This year the Commission plans to take the same approach – they will conduct hearings in the fall/winter and issue a report next spring on what needs to be done in the next reauthorization of ESEA.  Their areas of focus this time around include high schools, school improvement, teacher and principal effectiveness, accountability and innovation.

The Race to the Top funds are seen as the Administration’s vehicle for school reform and were referred to several times during the discussion as “shadow NCLB.”  People tend to think that either the President is content to further his reform agenda through Race to the Top without having to tackle reauthorization, or that the four pillars of reform in Race to the Top will be the foundation for the next iteration of ESEA.

As for timing, some in the group speculated that reauthorization would not be for another 2 to 3 years.  There are a variety of reasons for this, and we touched on just a few.  The key reason that reauthorization failed in 2007 was because there was no consensus around accountability and teacher effectiveness based on student achievement.  Since those issues have only grown bigger in the last two years, it seems unlikely that opposing sides want to take on NCLB; however they must be addressed in order for reauthorization to happen.  The passing of Senator Kennedy also seems to dim the chances for a bipartisan effort on these contentious issues.  And finally, healthcare is eating up time on the legislative calendar this session, thus making the reauthorization of NCLB unlikely in the near future.

By Nancy in Public Policy
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President Speaks to America’s Students

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

On September 8, coinciding with the first day of school for many American students, President Obama delivered a 17 minute address from  Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia.  The message he delivered to students was straightforward and clear; students need to work hard at school for the betterment of themselves and their country.

He encouraged students to set goals for themselves and follow through on those goals. He talked about how everyone has to be responsible for their actions related to having great schools and providing educational opportunity.  Teachers need to inspire students, parents need to help their children with their homework and encourage them to focus on school, government has a responsibility to set high standards and support schools.  However, he emphasized, that all of this effort won’t matter if individual students fail to fulfill their own responsibilities—to show up at school, listen to teachers and their parents, and put in the hard work necessary to succeed.

The President noted that everyone is good at something and that each student needs to find out what that is and work towards being the best they can at that skill.  That is a great message and something that we should keep in mind because we are part of that process.  The work that the CTE community is undertaking every day; at high schools, community colleges and area career centers, as well as in administration offices across the country, is providing students a lens to look through.  We are helping them to find out about themselves, to find out what they are good at and to help them determine the path they want to take in their schooling and their life.  While the President’s comments today focused on students, let us not forget the link we all have to the students and the efforts we are all making to put the programming and resources in place to help students succeed no matter their stage of education or life circumstances.

If you would like to view the President’s speech you can go to:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/A-Message-of-Hope-and-Responsibility-for-Americas-Students/

By admin in Uncategorized
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