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Career Clusters™ Institute Recap: CTE and the Common Core State Standards Implementation

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

The National Career Clusters™ Institute is an annual summer event that offers a range of seminars and workshops highlighting model CTE programs across the country that are aligned to the National Career Clusters Framework ™. This blog series provides a recap of the broad range of information shared over the course of the event, which took place June 18 – 20 in Washington, DC.

Margaret Reed Millar of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) described at the National Career Clusters™  Institute work taking place through the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative and the State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS), and how Career Technical Education (CTE) is a part of the CCSS implementation.

Millar discussed the tendency for U.S. education to cover content that is “a mile wide and an inch deep.” The CCSS, a set of high quality academic expectations adopted by 45 states, are helping states focus on fewer concepts in greater depth to provide students with a richer, more meaningful education. Millar stressed the importance of communication between districts, teacher colleges, and business and industry to ensure that students are college and career ready upon graduating high school.

A variety of digital resources are available to support CCSS implementation including;

NASDCTEc President and State Director Dr. Patrick Ainsworth also discussed work taking place in California to incorporate CTE into CCSS implementation. Ainsworth described how CTE is a central part of education reform in California; CTE is represented on every CCSS committee, and has its own section in the state’s CCSS implementation plan.

Currently, California’s CTE standards are being aligned to the CCSS. Ainsworth described CTE standards as a tool to foster the career readiness of all students and to develop a highly skilled and educated workforce which contributes to economic prosperity. He also suggested that incorporating CTE in CCSS implementation requires an emphasis on teams and groups, and on using technology to demonstrate learning and mastery.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst

By Kara in National Career Clusters Institute
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NASDCTEc Unveils Common Standards for Career Technical Education

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

Career Technical Education (CTE) State Directors unveiled the Common Career Technical Core (CCTC), a shared set of high-quality CTE standards. The CCTC is a state-led initiative to ensure that CTE programs are consistent and high-quality across our nation.

“Career Technical Education State Directors have put to action their vision for all CTE programs to meet consistent and rigorous standards by coordinating the development of the Common Career Technical Core,” said Dr. Patrick Ainsworth, President of the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium and CTE State Director.

“The CCTC, which was developed with input from education and industry experts, will help to ensure that our nation’s students are poised to meet the education and workforce demands of the global economy.”

States may voluntarily adopt the CCTC, which will complement and support other comprehensive college and career ready standards, such as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts and mathematics.

Over the course of the next year, NASDCTEc will launch an initiative to coordinate a comprehensive gap analysis to compare each state’s current course-level standards against the CCTC program-level standards to determine alignment. The gap analysis will be conducted by a team of third-party experts to ensure quality and consistency across the states.

DOWNLOAD the CCTC Standards here. 

Erin Uy, Communications & Marketing Manager

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Erin in Common Career Technical Core
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CTE in the News: Standards Exist for Career and Technical Education

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

Students deserve access to CTE programs that educate and train to high standards and industry demands, and now is the time to support the adoption of a next set of CTE standards that will allow for more opportunities for students and our nation, said Dean Folkers NASDCTEc/NCTEF Deputy Executive Director in a recent editorial featured in Education Week (available only to Education Week subscribers). The editorial is featured in Education Week’s June 13, 2012 print edition.

“I agree with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who said that the largest federal career and technical education, or CTE, program “must be transformed if it is to live up to its potential,” he said.

“State CTE directors across the nation are taking action. We have united around a vision and developed the Common Career Technical Core, a shared set of standards that meet a quality benchmark for CTE programs, which will be released June 19.”

Forty-two states, the District of Columbia, and Palau supported the development of the CCTC, which will help to answer our need for consistent, rigorous standards that are essential to preparing students for college and careers, he noted.

Learn more about the CCTC, which will be unveiled at the National Career Clusters ™ Institute June 19:

Erin Uy, Communications & Marketing Manager

 

By Erin in Common Career Technical Core
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NASDCTEc Collects More than 1,700 Reviews of Common CTE Standards, Moving Development Forward

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

More  than 1,700 reviews  of the Common Career Technical Core (CCTC), a shared set of rigorous, high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) standards, were submitted during the recent public comment phase. Input on the CCTC was collected from a broad range of CTE stakeholders, including educators, administrators, and business and industry representatives.

“Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders believed it was critical to engage leading experts in the education, industry and technical fields to help develop and validate CTE standards that truly reflect the timely education and workforce needs of today’s global economy,“ Dr. Dean Folkers, Deputy Executive Director of the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc).

“The robust participation by a broad range of CTE stakeholders demonstrates the desire to develop standards that prepare our students for the future.”

NASDCTEc is coordinating the CCTC initiative. Forty-two states, Washington, DC and Palau participated in the development of the CCTC.

The development of the CCTC was a multi-step process that incorporated input at various stages from approximately 3,500 individuals representing K-12 education, business and industry and higher education from across the nation.  The public comment period ran from April 30 – May 11, 2012 and was an opportunity for CTE stakeholders to participate in the development of the CCTC.

The final standards are slated for public release at the National Career Clusters ™ Institute  on June 19, 2012. Click here and learn more about the CCTC online or visit www.careertech.org.

By Erin in Common Career Technical Core
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Eight More States Receive NCLB Waivers

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

The U.S. Department of Education this week announced that eight additional states will receive waivers for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements, so long as they implement college and career ready standards and reform their accountability systems. Waivers were given to Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island. These states join 10 others – Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee – in receiving a waiver. States receiving waivers no longer have to meet 2014 performance targets set by NCLB but must set new performance targets for improving student achievement and closing achievement gaps.

For more information, visit the Department’s waiver webpage.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

By Nancy in Public Policy
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WEBINAR: Common Core State Standards & Career and Technical Education: Bridging the Divide between College and Career Readiness

Friday, May 25th, 2012

Join the discussion regarding a blueprint for increased engagement between state education leaders and the career and technical education (CTE) community at a webinar Tuesday, May 29, 3 p.m. ET.

A new report, Common Core State Standards & Career and Technical Education: Bridging the Divide between College and Career Readiness, was developed in partnership with the National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) and the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE).

With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards by 46 states and the District of Columbia, there is a tremendous opportunity to rethink the role of literacy and mathematics not only within academic classes but also within CTE courses and pathways and encourage more collaboration and integration between educators across disciplines.

Webinar details

Join us: Tuesday, May 29, 3 p.m. ET.

Please dial: (877) 880-7678 and use conference ID # 83092176

Access the webinar slides:  https://intercall.webex.com/intercall/j.php?ED=193862832&UID=485751397&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D

By Erin in Webinars
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Benefits of Early Career Mapping for All Students

Friday, May 25th, 2012

In a recent webinar from Education Week, “Improving Student Engagement through Early Career Mapping,” experts discussed the benefits of personalized learning tools to helping students create pathways to their long-term goals.

View the webinar here.

Personalized learning plans provide students with opportunities to identify postsecondary goals, explore college and career options, and develop skills necessary for regulated learning. These tools help drive students’ self and career exploration, and career planning and management. Learning plans are linked to improved motivation and engagement, improved understanding of postsecondary options, and greater alignment between course selection and career goals.

In their vision for CTE, State Directors of CTE support policies that require all students to have a personalized learning plan that clearly maps out a comprehensive strategy to achieve their education and career goals. This strategy is ingrained in CTE, where students are given opportunities to explore myriad career possibilities and have access to comprehensive career planning that empowers them to plan and prepare for career and educational choices.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst

 

By Kara in Resources
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New District-Level Race to the Top Competition Announced

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

The U.S. Department of Education today announced the proposed criteria for a new district-level Race to the Top grant program. Like the original Race to the Top grants, the district-level completion will revolve around four reform areas: higher standards, data-driven decision making, greater support for teachers, and turning around low-performing schools. School districts may compete for a piece of the $400 million pot by showing how their plans for individualized classroom instruction will help close achievement gaps and prepare all students for college and career.

“With this competition, we are inviting districts to show us how they can personalize education for a set of students in their schools.  We need to take classroom learning beyond a one-size-fits-all model and bring it into the 21st century,” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said.

School districts or groups of districts serving at least 2,500 students with 40 percent or more qualifying for free or reduced price lunch are eligible to apply. Awards will range from $15 million to $25 million, depending on the population of students served.

You may submit comments by June 8 on the district-level Race to the Top program here. The Department has stated that it plans to release the application in July, and that it will be due in October. Grant awards will be announced no later than Dec. 31, 2012.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

 

By Nancy in Public Policy
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Webinar: The Role of CTE in Preparing Students to Compete in the Twenty-First-Century Economy

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

Join NASDCTEc Executive Director Kimberly Green in a webinar hosted by the Coalition for a College- and Career-Ready America to discuss the role CTE will play in preparing students for the nation’s global economy.

The Coalition for a College- and Career-Ready America
Invites You to Attend a Webinar on

The Role of Career and Technical Education in Preparing Students to Compete in the
Twenty-First-Century Economy

Thursday, May 31, 2012
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (ET)

Panelists
Brenda Dann-Messier, EdD, Assistant Secretary, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education
Kimberly Green, Executive Director, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium
Sydney Rogers, Executive Director, Alignment Nashville
Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

Today’s global economy demands a better-educated and more highly-skilled workforce. In communities across the country, career and technical education (CTE) programs are making a difference in meeting that demand by engaging students in authentic learning with real-world application, preparing them for further study and a career, and helping to fill jobs. Yet too many CTE programs are not results driven and lack the relevance and rigor students need to prepare for lifelong learning and a successful career.

In April 2012, the Obama administration released a blueprint for reauthorizing the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, which is the largest federal program targeted to high schools. The proposal calls for a transformation of CTE around four core principles: effective alignment between CTE programs and labor market needs; collaboration among secondary schools, institutions of higher education, employers, and industry partners to improve the quality of programming; accountability for improving academic outcomes; and systemic reform of state policy to support innovation at the local level.

Join the Coalition for a College- and Career-Ready America on Thursday, May 31, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (ET) for a webinar featuring CTE and other education experts who will discuss the proposed blueprint, the appropriate role of federal policy in supporting high-quality CTE and what it takes—at the local level—to create programs that expand opportunity for students to be successful in college and a career while also strengthening the nation’s economy. Webinar panelists will also address questions submitted by viewers from across the country.

Register and submit questions for the webinar online at http://media.all4ed.org/registration-may-31-2012.

Please direct questions concerning the webinar to alliance@all4ed.org.

NOTE: If you are unable to watch the webinar live, an archived version will be available athttp://www.collegeandcareerreadyamerica.org/ usually one or two days after the event airs.

By Erin in News, Webinars
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CTE in the News: Learning that Works

Friday, May 11th, 2012

Across the nation, Career Technical Education (CTE) programs have evolved from their former job-tracking model, and are now demonstrating significant outcomes in students’ academic achievement and work preparation, according to a recent TIME Magazine article.

Programs in states like Arizona are smashing the old image of CTE. About 27 percent of Arizona students opt for the tech-ed path; those students are more likely to score higher on the state’s aptitude tests, graduate from high school and go on to higher education than those who do not, the article said. For example, in East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa, 98.5 percent of whose students graduate from high school.

However, decision makers who could increase access to quality CTE programs are still unaware or not convinced of CTE’s value, said some advocates.  John Huppenthal, Arizona State Education Superintendent, said CTE is a “tough sell to the state’s education establishment.”

“It doesn’t have the prestige of a college-prep course,” he says, “and it costs a lot more than two-dimensional education to do it right.”

It is clear that shifting perception of CTE is still much needed despite the progress made in sending students to college, providing access to valuable postsecondary credentials and preparing them for high-demand jobs. Highlighting CTE programs that send the message that CTE is learning that works, needs to be heard.

Do you have a CTE program that works? Add your program to NASDCTEc’s CTE Success Map.

Erin Uy, Communications & Marketing Manager

By Erin in News
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