Posts Tagged ‘Public Policy’

Welcome Marie Falcone to Advance CTE!

Tuesday, November 21st, 2023

My name is Marie Falcone and I am incredibly excited to join the Advance CTE team as a Policy Associate. In my role on the Data and Research team, I will support and contribute to Advance CTE’s data quality and initiatives to promote data-driven decision-making among state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders and within the organization.

I completed my undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and participated in a public policy minor program in collaboration with the Washington, DC-based Brookings Institution. Through the program, I worked on policy advocacy and research relevant to the Mountain West region at my university’s think-tank, specifically in education policy. After interning at the Brown Center on Education Policy, I was confident that educational research and its impact on learner outcomes was the space I wanted to be in for years to come.

Emboldened and excited by the work, I moved to Washington, D.C. to complete a master’s in education policy studies at The George Washington University. Throughout this experience, I worked on a research evaluation team for a federal grant and in Fairfax County Public School’s Office of Research and Strategic Improvement, helping to produce the district’s annual Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III data report. I am thrilled to continue my journey in educational research at Advance CTE to support learners in career and growth opportunities through CTE!

I was born and raised in Las Vegas, home to some of my favorite hikes and the best hockey team. I am a big reader, love running and always look for new places to eat in DC!

By Layla Alagic in Our Staff
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Looking Back to Look Forward and the Implications for Career Technical Education

Thursday, May 11th, 2023

Earlier this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation hosted a webinar to release their new report, The Future of Data, Assessments, and Accountability in K-12 Education, which offers a comprehensive analysis of the landmark education policies of the past two decades, from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

The event featured a discussion among Maya Martin Cadogan (Founder & Executive Director, Parents Amplifying Voices in Education), Dr. Ivan Duran (Superintendent, Highline Public Schools), Dr. Dan Goldhaber (Director, CALDER American Institutes for Research) and Dr. Chris Steward (Chief Executive Officer, brightbeam), on the report’s findings and future implications for the role of federal policy in the K-12 education system. The panelists also reflected on the perspectives and data they felt were absent from the report and the opportunities to leverage lessons learned.

Key Takeaways 

 

Next Steps for State CTE Leaders 

As states are considering their next round of Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) State Determined Levels of Performance, or perhaps broader changes to Perkins V plans, consider the following actions:

The full report, Looking Back to Look Forward: Quantitative and Qualitative Reviews of the Past 20 Years of K-12 Education Assessment and Accountability Policy can be found online and through Advance CTE’s Learning that Works Resource Center. You can also find the webinar recording on YouTube.

Dr. Laura Maldonado, Senior Research Associate and Amy Hodge, Policy Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in Achieving Equitable and Inclusive CTE
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New Skills ready network Site Highlight Blog: Nashville Pilot Projects

Monday, February 13th, 2023

This post is part of a blog series highlighting promising practices from the New Skills ready network (NSrn), an initiative of JPMorgan Chase & Co. For more information about the initiative, please see the bottom of this post.

The Nashville, Tennessee site of the New Skills ready network (NSrn) is focused on implementing best practices to strengthen implementation of the funding across the initiative. Advance CTE State Policy Manager Dr. Tunisha Hobson interviewed Daryl Curry, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Education and Workforce Partnerships, and Jennifer McFerron, Vice President of Education and Talent Development, about their pilot project initiative. This initiative was pursued to ensure learners have transparent secondary and postsecondary pathways that align to one another and high-demand, high-wage careers that meet labor market needs; enhance learning by defining and implementing best practice work-based learning models and student experiences in secondary and postsecondary; and, increasing the number of historically underrepresented students who successfully enroll and persist in postsecondary education. 

Overview of the Pilot Projects 

The guiding team of the Nashville site led a Design Sprint process with the support of a consulting firm to develop a strategy for distributing funding across the initiative, with the foundation of the four priorities of the New Skills ready network serving as a guiding light, particularly bolstering access to high-quality career pathways for learners of marginalized communities. Out of that process emerged a proposal that would distribute up to $10,000 to individual pilot projects that engage both Metro Nashville Public Schools and  two-year and/or four-year postsecondary partners. The collaborative approach to the pilot project process allows an opportunity to continuously refine norms while providing greater depth to the initiative. 

The eight pilot projects are led by a variety of stakeholders in the Nashville site team with implementation support from  College and Career Readiness Coaches employed by the city in year two of this work who bolster existing career advising and transition supports. Additionally, an increased partnership between the guiding team and Middle Tennessee State University as the four-year partner was a critical component of success. 

Jennifer McFerron stated, “the pilots are an area where our guiding team drove the strategy and implementation plan for these projects. They indicated that what our partners really needed was time and space for deep collaboration and support to identify what they need and to succeed in getting there.”

Pilot Project Highlights 

The projects were designed to meet partner needs for effective collaboration and implementation vital to the success of the NSrn initiative. Of the eight pilot projects, there are four that have significantly expanded the success of the initiative: Healthcare Futures, IT Apprenticeships, Work-Based Learning Family Career Launch and You Choose/Tú Escoges. These projects direct resources in various ways to support learner development in career pathways and their families. 

From Pilot Projects to Sustainability 

Darryl Curry stated, “The Design Sprint was great in that it not only provided additional resources, but also gave our partners an opportunity to dream of the possibilities together. With the successes that we have seen within the pilot projects, the challenge going forward will be sustaining and strengthening those relationships, all the while building on and embedding these offerings and opportunities into how we support both our students and families.”

The relationships developed among the Nashville site guiding team since 2021 allowed for the pilot projects to be both strategic and sustainable beyond the duration of the NSrn initiative. Although the projects are different in scope, the intentional design cultivated employer partnerships, family engagement and support of actualizing durable skills for learners. In order to sustain multiple pilot projects, three actionable steps should be taken: continue to refine norms and processes, value support given by convenors and facilitators experienced in providing guidance on design sprints such as these pilot projects, and inviting the perspectives of employer and community partners. 

Learn more about Nashville’s progress in the New Skills ready network initiative in their 2021-2022 site snapshot.  

Dr. Tunisha Hobson, State Policy Manager 

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Lawmakers Return to Capitol Hill as Cardona Lays Out Vision for U.S. Department of Education

Friday, January 27th, 2023

Over the last two weeks, lawmakers have continued to make important decisions regarding their respective chambers. Elsewhere, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona delivered a major speech outlining his plans for the department in the coming year, while a slate of Presidential Scholars has been released. 

118th Congress Continues to Take Shape

Earlier this week, both the House and the Senate reconvened after recessing for the recent Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Lawmakers in the House continued to make important decisions related to committee assignments this week, which will have lasting impacts on Career Technical Education (CTE) funding and policymaking for at least the next two years. Of particular note, House Republicans announced that Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) will lead the House Appropriations’ Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS-ED) Subcommittee—the entity that determines the budgets for the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL), including related programs. In addition, Republicans have named new members to this committee, as have Democrats recently, but both parties have yet to assign members to specific subcommittees, including Labor-HHS-ED. 

Elsewhere, House Republican Leadership announced that the newly renamed House Education and Workforce Committee will be smaller in size than previous Congresses. Led by Chair Virginia Foxx (R-VA), leadership announced assignments to this committee, which has oversight over CTE policymaking. The full roster of Education and Workforce Republicans will include a mix of new and familiar faces in the new Congress. House Democrats have yet to provide a list of members who will be on the committee this year, although leadership recently confirmed that Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) will serve as Ranking Member. 

In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released Democratic committee roster assignments, including for the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) and Appropriations Committees– the entities with responsibility for CTE policymaking and funding oversight respectively. Of note, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will chair the HELP committee, replacing longtime Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) who will be leading the Appropriations Committee in the new Congress. In addition, Sen. Markey (D-MA) will be joining the HELP Committee this Congress, filling a vacancy left by Sen. Rosen (D-NV) who has been assigned elsewhere. Republicans have yet to announce similar committee assignments.  A needed “organizing resolution” is the next step in this process within the upper chamber, but Senators have not yet moved forward with this procedural requirement which is part of this delay. 

 As Congress works to organize, Advance CTE will continue to monitor these developments and engage with policymakers as the new 118th Congress continues to take shape. 

Secretary Cardona Lays out ED Priorities and Visits CTE Center

In a major speech on Tuesday, January 24, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona outlined his vision for the U.S. Department of Education for the coming year. The speech entitled, “Raise the Bar: Lead the World” highlighted several priority areas for the Department this year including efforts to boost academic excellence, improve learning conditions, and create more pathways to opportunities for learners.

Significantly, the speech highlighted the importance of CTE saying, in part, “We must challenge our myopic view that emphasizing the importance of career pathways is about limiting students, or the view that it’s four-year-college or bust. Advancing career pathways in high schools is about more options for students, not less. What it does is prepare them for the careers of today with options, and in some cases, their employer will pay for their future education. If we do this well, our graduates will be able to compete on a global stage. It’s my intention to Raise the Bar so we can lead the world in advanced career and technical education.” The full remarks can be found here

Following this speech further into the week, Secretary Cardona made a visit to Francis Tuttle Technology Center– an area technical center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma which has been featured in Congress previously– to tour the facility and highlight the importance of increasing access to CTE pathways programs. More on this visit can be found here.  

ED Announces 2023 Presidential Scholars Slate of Candidates

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education announced 5,000 learners who were named candidates to become U.S. Presidential Scholars—an initiative that annually recognizes 161 high school seniors for academic, technical and artistic achievements. As a reminder, in 2015 this program was expanded to include recognition of high-achieving CTE learners. A panel of educators and experts will review these candidate nominations and, using a variety of criteria including transcripts, test scores and portfolios of work, narrow down the list to approximately 600 semifinalists later this spring. Ultimately, the commission will select the final 161 U.S. Presidential Scholars for the upcoming 59th cohort in the program’s history, expected to be announced this upcoming May. More information on the program can be found here.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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Exploring Area Technical Centers: Elevating ATCs in a National Economic Recovery

Wednesday, March 10th, 2021

The transformative workforce changes resulting from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic have made it more urgent than ever for states to have a comprehensive strategy for reskilling and upskilling that unites stakeholders across education, workforce development and economic development. Advance CTE has been vocal that investment in secondary and postsecondary Career Technical Education (CTE) is critical to a national recovery strategy. 

ATC Positioning in the Workforce Development System 

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many things in our way of life, including the education or training path most Americans will pursue to return to work. A typical economic recovery would have millions of Americans flocking to traditional higher education programs but instead, in this post-pandemic economic recovery, the majority of Americans say they will seek non-degree and skill-based education and training programs to reskill or upskill their way back to a good job.

Area technical centers (ATCs) should be part of this solution – helping more Americans secure non-degree credentials of value. Our national analysis found that in the states where ATCs serve an adult population, these institutions provide short-term credentials and programs below the level of an associate’s degree, and  are uniquely positioned to be nimble and responsive to changing workforce needs. Further, these institutions are accessible, by design serving a region, and low-cost, with few or no barriers to admission for adult learners and affordable tuition rates as low as $2.00 per seat hour. ATCs can and should be better leveraged to serve those who have been disproportionately impacted by job losses associated with the pandemic, particularly Black and Latinx workers, workers with a high school education or less, and female workers.  

Leveraging Federal Funding 

Funding matters, and in states that have leveraged federal funds, we see ATCs being key players in meeting the state’s short- and long-term workforce priorities.  

For example, all of Ohio’s Ohio technical colleges (OTCs) and selected programs in Delaware’s ATCs are eligible training providers under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Many ATCs are eligible for federal financial aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, including institutions in Florida, Ohio and Utah most commonly accredited by the Council on Occupational Education.

Some states have utilized 2020 federal stimulus funding to reinforce their ATCs as valuable institutions in an economic recovery. Delaware leveraged $10 million of its federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic relief funding to support its Forward Delaware initiative, a set of rapid training and credentialing programs focused on in-demand occupations and skills in the state. Florida’s governor designated Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) funds provided through the CARES Act to award grants to its ATCs, known as technical colleges, to establish or enhance rapid credentialing programs that lead to a short-term certificate or industry-recognized certification as part of its statewide Get There campaign. 

Utilizing ATCs in Statewide Workforce Training Programs 

ATCs have strong connections to their local communities and employers by design and often offer customized training programs to meet those needs. 

To recover from the devastation of the coronavirus will require persistence, creativity and leveraging all public assets to ensure a full and equitable economic recovery. States should be learning from one another – what worked and what didn’t  – and leveraging their public assets, including ATCs to every learner with the opportunity to access a career pathway that leads to sustained, living-wage employment in an in-demand field. 

To find the ATCs in your state and to access the full report and additional resources, please visit www.areatechnicalcenters.org . To read other posts in this series, please check out our Medium post that breaks down the major findings, and our blog post on leveraging ATCs to advance state postsecondary attainment goals. 

By Stacy Whitehouse in COVID-19 and CTE
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State of CTE: CTE Instructors in Perkins V State Plans

Thursday, January 14th, 2021

In October 2020, Advance CTE released “The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities,” which examines how states have leveraged the development of the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) state plans to expand quality and increase equity within their Career Technical Education (CTE) systems. 

Attracting and retaining qualified and diverse CTE instructors remains one of the most persistent challenges facing states. Last year, ACTE held a Teach CTE Summit to more closely examine teacher pipeline challenges, surfacing numerous key issues and recommendations. According to previous Advance CTE research on this issue, 86 percent of State Directors reported a moderate or severe CTE teacher shortage in at least one Career Cluster at the secondary level, and a further 60 percent indicated the same at the postsecondary level. 

The underlying causes for these shortages most often relate to the difficulties CTE programs have in competing with the private sector for the same pool of qualified instructors, along with the fact that many universities have closed their CTE teacher preparation programs in recent years. As is the case in other sectors of the economy, the CTE teacher workforce is also aging rapidly.

At the same time, the demands on CTE instructors are rigorous. CTE instructors need strong technical knowledge and industry expertise, effective classroom management and pedagogical skills, and cultural competency to support and engage each learner on an individual basis.

Without a qualified pool of CTE professionals, one that is responsive to the needs of each learner, our country cannot effectively educate learners and prepare the future workforce. Attracting, retaining and fully developing a strong cadre of CTE professionals is therefore a crucial ingredient CTE systems need for success, and this need is reflected throughout states’ Perkins V plans.

Based on Advance CTE’s analysis of state Perkins V plans:

Key Innovations

The Work Ahead

One area of future work is ensuring that the CTE instructor workforce is representative of the learners they serve. Only five states included any explicit recruitment activities focused on diversifying the CTE teaching field in their Perkins V plans.

Recruiting, developing and retaining qualified teachers and faculty are critical for CTE programs to be successful. As noted previously, instructors are among the most important in-school factors that contribute to the success of learners. No single policy or strategy will fully address the challenges facing states with regards to this issue. Some of these challenges have to do with issues outside the realm of CTE, such as broader terms negotiated by labor and management (e.g., teacher/faculty pay scales or tenure requirements), lack of teacher preparation programs at universities, and accreditation requirements or limitations. Only through a coordinated set of approaches can states begin to make progress on this critically important topic. Through the Perkins V planning process, states have certainly started to make significant progress in this area.

Resources

Christina Koch, Policy Associate
Alisha Hyslop, Senior Director of Public Policy, Association for Career and Technical Education
Catherine Imperatore, Research Manager, Association for Career and Technical Education

 

By admin in Uncategorized
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The State of CTE: Advancing Quality Credentials Through Perkins V

Friday, January 8th, 2021

In October, Advance CTE released “The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities” which examines how states have leveraged the development of the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) state plans to expand quality and increase equity within their CTE systems. One finding of this report is the emerging state focus on credentials of value.

Perkins V introduces a new secondary program quality indicator as one method available to states to ensure program quality. States can choose from three options — work-based learning, recognized postsecondary credentials (credentials of value) and postsecondary credit attainment (dual enrollment and articulation) — all of which are components of a high-quality CTE program of study, in addition to other critical elements like rigorous standards, quality assessments and alignment to high-skill, high-wage and in-demand career opportunities. States’ increasing focus on credentials shows up in many aspects of their Perkins V plans, as shown in the chart below. That should come as little surprise. Credentials that are valued in the labor market can serve as an important component of any quality CTE program. They serve as anchors for the exit and re-entry points within CTE programs and career pathways, providing learners with a valuable way to signal their knowledge and skills to prospective employers and other postsecondary educational institutions. 

The commitment to expanding credentials shows up in many aspects of state Perkins V plans, based on Advance CTE’s analysis: 

Which Credentials States Promote Matters

Despite their popularity, credentials are not all created equally. As ExcelinEd found in its research, states are in very different places in terms of the ways that they identify, align, prioritize and measure credentials of value earned by learners across secondary and postsecondary systems. Consider that prior to Perkins V state plan approval:

While these findings show that all states can improve their policies related to credentials of value, Perkins V offers states a platform to increase their focus on credentials of value as a critical component of high-quality CTE programs of study that lead to high-skill, high-wage and in-demand careers. 

State Innovations

The Work Ahead

It is promising that states have included various references to credentials of value in their Perkins V plans. To help ensure they address core issues of quality and alignment, Credentials Matter offers six high-level recommendations for all states to develop statewide systems and processes that prioritize high-value credentials. 

States should be lauded for making plans to include and improve access to industry credentials as part of comprehensive CTE offerings. Their next step is to execute on the implementation strategies that will ensure these offerings pay dividends to learners and families, while maintaining a steadfast commitment to quality and equity. 

Resources

Christina Koch, Policy Associate
Melissa Canney, Innovation Policy Director, ExcelinEd

By admin in Uncategorized
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Endorsements, Electives & More: CTE & State Graduation Requirements

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015

With Career Technical Education (CTE) in the spotlight and a priority among state leaders across the country, high school graduation requirements are a common leverage point for policies that aim to increase assess to, incentivize participation and recognize success in CTE programs of study.

In 2013 and 2014 alone, 23 different states made adjustments to their high school graduation requirements with some direct impact on Career Technical Education (CTE) course taking or credentials. It should come as no surprise that the requirements look very different from state to state.

NASDCTEc’s newest policy brief, Endorsements, Electives & More: CTE & State Graduation Requirements, explores common approaches to offering or requiring CTE courses and assessments within a statewide set of graduation requirements, offers illustrative examples of state-level policies and elevates implementation issues for consideration.

So what did we find?

Regardless of the approach, some common implementation considerations emerged, such as having processes in place for ensuring equality of rigor and quality across pathways and assessments; providing flexibility to allow students to engage in CTE programs of study without having to give up other areas of interests, such as the arts, foreign languages or other academic courses; ensuring students have the opportunity to take the full range of courses that will prepare them for college and careers; and publicly reporting the percentage of students earning the various endorsements to understand their value.

Read the full report to learn more about state graduation requirements and see how your requirements compare.

Kate Blosveren Kreamer, Associate Executive Director

 

By Kate Blosveren Kreamer in Public Policy, Publications, Resources
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CTE & Upward Mobility

Thursday, December 4th, 2014

Earlier this week, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute hosted a day-long conference on “Education for Upward Mobility.” Over the course of the day, researchers, writers and thought leaders shared reflections on how education can move students out of poverty – and how lack of a quality education essentially shuts the door on economic success.

What was perhaps most remarkable is that no matter what topic each presenter and panel covered was that the conversation kept coming back to the role of Career Technical Education (CTE) in breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Tamar Jacoby from Opportunity America, Bob Lerman from the Urban Institute, and Bob Schwartz from Harvard University were on hand to talk about industry credentials and certifications, apprenticeships and Pathways to Prosperity, respectively, but many of their peers also championed CTE, work-based learning, career academies and related efforts.

We encourage you to check out all of the associated papers here, watch the panels here and scroll through very lively Twitter feed here.

Kate Blosveren, Associate Executive Director

By Kate Blosveren Kreamer in Uncategorized
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Webinar Recording is now available for Sustaining Career Pathways: Funding, Policy, & Professional Development

Friday, February 21st, 2014

This webinar is the fourth in the Youth and Adult Pathways (YAP) series, Sustaining Career Pathways: Funding, Policy, & Professional Development, focused on sustaining your career pathways programs through funding, policy and professional development.  Subject matter expert lead was Debbie Mills. Event themes included:
·         Overview of Funding-public, private, and profit
·         Career Pathway Funding Team
·         Constructing a Plan for Career Pathway Success and Sustainability
·         Policy Implications
·         Professional Development in a Career Pathways System

The webinar recording is now available at http://youtu.be/sRP-0Vd7BqA

All materials will be available for download at:  https://community.lincs.ed.gov/group/career-pathways

More about the YAP Event Series

The YAP Event Series is designed to bring together professionals with a shared interest in connecting youth and adult learners with career pathways.  Presenters are experts in their fields, and events are designed to enhance your knowledge and give you usable information in each area.  While the live webinar is the central event, each topic is presented as a month-long “microgroup” within the Career Pathways community on the LINCS site and will include ongoing engagement and discussion before and after the live events.  

Ramona Schescke, Member Services Manager

By admin in Webinars
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