Posts Tagged ‘wisconsin’

Amplifying Learner Voice: How WisCORE Champions Equity Through Learner-Led Conversations

Wednesday, March 6th, 2024

Five states, including Wisconsin, took part in the Leveraging Learner Voice to Strengthen CTE technical assistance cohort hosted by Advance CTE and ACTE. Inspired by CTE Without Limits: a Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education, they’re using the With Learners, Not for Learners toolkit to involve learners in the design, delivery, and implementation of CTE programs and policies. This post focuses on Wisconsin’s “WisCORE” conference, where learners lead conversations and drive change in diversity, equity, and inclusion across the state’s technical colleges. For this post, Haley Wing, senior policy associate with Advance CTE, interviewed Colleen Larsen, education director for student success at Wisconsin Technical College System, a member of the Wisconsin state team for the Leveraging Learner Voice to Strengthen CTE technical assistance cohort and the coordinator for the state-wide WisCORE Conference planning and execution committee.

WisCORE: Where Learner Voices Spark Change in Race and Ethnicity Conversations

In October 2023, the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) convened learners, staff, and faculty from across the System for the Wisconsin Technical College System Conference on Race and Ethnicity (WisCORE), a transformative conference dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the system’s colleges.

The WisCORE conference facilitates collaboration among WTCS colleges, enabling shared effective DEI strategies and building system-wide capacity for creating more inclusive campuses. By emphasizing the voices and experiences of learners, employees, and community members, the conference ensures that DEI efforts are informed by the perspectives of those most impacted, leading to more equitable and sustainable practices.

The WisCORE event and the Wisconsin state team’s work in the Leveraging Learner Voice to Strengthen CTE technical assistance cohort align seamlessly with the principles of CTE Without Limits, ensuring that every learner feels welcomed, supported, and empowered to succeed within the career preparation ecosystem. The conference and its outcomes elevate learners’ voices, prioritizing inclusion and equity, while establishing accountability and continuous improvement processes.

Student Caucus from WiSCORE

LEARNER TESTIMONIAL

“WisCORE 2023 was my first experience, and it was a pleasant experience. Being able to attend and be involved meant a lot for me as a student. I got to hear other students share their personal stories and experiences within the college setting, as well as within their community. It was reassuring to hear students share similar thoughts and possible solutions on how colleges can improve on how they can create a welcoming space of diversity, equity, inclusion, self-advocacy, and cultural competency to better serve their student population. It’s nice to know that I was not the only student who wanted to advocate in those DEI areas and that the attendees, both staff and student, have a similar inspiration, which is to hear student voices for a sense of direction on how colleges can improve and better serve their students.”

Building Bridges, Brick by Brick: The Collaborative Journey to WisCORE

The idea for the WisCORE conference was borne out of multiple leaders and learners in the Wisconsin Technical College system attending The National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE). Attendees of this conference reported rave reviews, and the requests for additional participants from each technical college quickly increased. During the NCORE 2018 conference in Portland, Colleen attended with others from her state and requested a Wisconsin-dedicated room for their state team. During their debriefing and unpacking the learning from the conference, she asked, “What would you like to do to  bring this learning back to our state?”

From that conference room, the team, which included learners, staff and faculty, insisted that Wisconsin needed a dedicated convening to center belonging, connections and solutions to challenges learners frequently face. Leveraging a grant from Jobs For the Future centered on equity, the planning committee, which included learners, created the first WisCORE conference. Leveraging the demand from learners and support from faculty members, the collective advocacy across the state resulted in all 16 technical college presidents agreeing to submit $1,000 from each college budget to support the development and execution of the WisCORE conference. After the second conference, more faculty and learners took an interest in the event and requested that the conference occur annually, which the presidents agreed to support. This sustainable funding ensures the event is possible each year.

Grit and Grace: Lessons from WisCORE’s Road to Success

Planning and successfully executing an event like WisCORE comes with several benefits: learners are in the driver’s seat to lead meaningful change; faculty are made aware of learners’ experiences and opportunities to improve their supports in programs; and learner feedback and input are actualized in changes to policies, practices and more. Understanding these benefits is helpful when navigating the challenges and barriers that may come up when replicating a similar event. Colleen shared the following tips to support this work in Wisconsin and beyond:

LEARNER TESTIMONIAL

“I learned the value of advocating for yourself and for others and that there are many out there who are likely facing the issue like us. And how important it is for each individual to be responsible and respectful.”

Beyond Conversation, Beyond Collaboration: WisCORE’s Tangible Impact

As a result of the WisCORE conference, learners and faculty members across the state report the impact of the conference:

Looking Ahead: Amplifying Learner Voices Beyond the Conference Walls

As the Wisconsin team looks forward, they continue to leverage learner voice to strengthen CTE. In addition to their work with the WisCORE conference, the team continues to share and elevate promising practices and approaches related to their learner engagement work in the Leveraging Learner Voice to Strengthen CTE technical assistance cohort. With all learner engagement work across secondary and postsecondary systems, the team continues to center learners and their experiences, support learners as they engage to improve their educational experiences and create sustainable structures to help shift mindsets and practices as it relates to learner engagement work. 

For additional information about leveraging learner voice, please visit the following pages on the Advance CTE website:

Haley Wing, Senior Policy Associate, Advance CTE

By Layla Alagic in CTE Without Limits
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Lawmakers Celebrate CTE Month, Progress on FY24 Remains Uncertain | Legislative Update

Friday, February 16th, 2024

Over the last two weeks, lawmakers in the House and Senate have continued to formally recognize the importance of Career Technical Education (CTE) and celebrated February as CTE Month® in a number of ways. Elsewhere, appropriations leaders continue to work on federal funding measures, Advance CTE endorsed several new pieces of legislation and federal agencies released new equity plans. 

New Challenges Emerge in FY24 Funding Process

The Senate remained in session last weekend to pass a highly anticipated supplemental national security aid package. Following that action, the Senate adjourned and is not expected to return to Capitol Hill until February 26. Meanwhile, the House met for an abbreviated work period this week where Republican lawmakers impeached Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. This action in the House will trigger a trial in the Senate when lawmakers return later this month. Due to Senate rules that require addressing this issue upon their return, this upcoming trial may impact ongoing negotiations, largely occurring behind the scenes, on federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) spending, including the Labor-HHS-ED appropriations measure that funds the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V) and other programs administered and overseen by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL).

At this time, it remains unclear how lawmakers will ultimately move forward with FY24 appropriations legislation beyond the upcoming expiration dates of current funding rapidly approaching on March 1 and March 8. Reportedly, appropriations leaders are currently negotiating potential “policy riders” that some lawmakers are seeking to attach to these funding measures, including Labor-HHS-ED. House lawmakers are currently scheduled to return after a recess period on February 28, leaving only a few days to determine a pathway forward. As these efforts continue to take shape, Advance CTE is continuing to advocate for robust funding for Perkins V’s formula grant program.

CTE Month Continues With Co-Chair Appearances and a New Senate Resolution

Yesterday, House CTE Caucus co-chairs Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) made an appearance on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal program to talk about the importance of CTE and the role it plays in the wider economy. The two leaders fielded questions from viewers and spoke at length about their experiences with CTE, the importance of the federal investment made by Perkins V and highlighted the immense value CTE programs provide to learners, especially by providing multiple pathways to postsecondary education, training and careers. These lawmakers also introduced the Counseling for Career Choice Act, bipartisan legislation that would strengthen career counseling services available to K-12 students. Advance CTE was proud to endorse this legislation upon introduction. In addition, House Education and Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) provided floor remarks celebrating CTE month and emphasizing the important role CTE programs have in providing learners with valuable and durable skills. 

On the other side of the Capitol, Senate CTE Caucus co-chair Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Todd Young (R-IN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced and passed a bipartisan resolution recognizing February as CTE month within the chamber. “This month and every month, let’s work to expand access to CTE, including by passing my JOBS Act to allow students to use Pell Grants for job training programs, and build an economy that works for everyone,” Senator Kaine remarked upon its passage. 

Advance CTE applauds all of these lawmakers for their ongoing leadership on this issue and extends our community’s deep appreciation for continuing to elevate and highlight the significant importance of CTE this month and throughout the year.

Bipartisan Childcare CTE Bill Introduced

Earlier this week, Representatives Annie Kuster (D-NH), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Bonamici introduced the Early Childhood Workforce Advance Act. The legislation would provide new resources for CTE programs and aims to address significant workforce shortages in this critical sector of the economy. “The Early Childhood Workforce Advancement Act intentionally leverages CTE programs and ensures that these efforts are connected to ongoing state and local efforts to strengthen early educator workforce pipelines,” Advance CTE’s Executive Director Kate Kreamer shared upon the bill’s introduction. More information on the proposal can be found here.

ED Publishes Updated Equity Action Plan

At the beginning of the week, ED formally released its 2023 update to the Department’s existing “Equity Action Plan,” outlining new commitments to advance equity in education. ED identified five key focus areas: improving college access and completion rates for underserved students; ensuring equitable resources for learning recovery; expanding educational opportunities for justice-impacted individuals to improve outcomes; advancing equity in career and technical education; and increasing mental health resources in underserved communities. In the plan, ED notes that it hopes to improve data transparency with regards to Perkins V data, host a future webinar series on equity in CTE and propose broadened equity indicators as part of its priorities for potential legislative updates to Perkins V in the years ahead. Read the full plan here.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

By Layla Alagic in Public Policy
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ECMCF Fellow Feature: Jomarie Coloriano

Friday, October 27th, 2023

In September 2022, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the second cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE — ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories reflecting the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in Career Technical Education (CTE) that closes racial representation gaps and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement. 

This month, we’re excited to highlight two members of Advance CTE’s second cohort of Postsecondary State CTE Leaders Fellows. ECMCF Fellow Jomarie Coloriano (WI) is using her new position to design and implement policies that are already improving outcomes for learners in her community.

Tell me more about your journey to the Fellowship.

I would describe my journey to the Fellowship as a happy accident, but one that has been profoundly meaningful. An email about the Fellowship came across my inbox, and it was at a time in my life when I was seeking opportunities to further challenge myself within Career Technical Education (CTE). I went to the website to learn more about the experiences of the first cohort, but I didn’t think I’d had enough relevant experience to be a competitive candidate for the second cohort. I was elated when I received my offer to join the Fellowship, but was immediately anxious about balancing working full-time, my doctoral coursework and this Fellowship. Looking back now, I am so thankful that I took the leap to apply and accept my offer. Being able to connect with so many other professionals who share my passion for this work is proof that I am in the right place at the right time. Learning from national leaders during workshops or at convenings and having critical discussions within our own cohort of Fellows has been invaluable. I think it requires a lot of courage to show up for these conversations, especially for those who are doing this work in states hostile to topics of equity.

I’ve also been able to reflect on how my experience of balancing working full time, my doctoral coursework and navigating the Fellowship reflects the reality our learners have as well when we think about CTE. I know this work is important and answering the call to make an impact for learners should be considered as an issue of national [economic] security. Without a skilled workforce to meet the demands of a changing economy, we’re leaving gaps that will have an adverse impact on generations to come. 

What skills or areas have you experienced the most growth in the program? 

Prior to this Fellowship, I would classify myself as an “emerging data embracer” but I don’t think I was informed at the level that I needed to be. This Fellowship has provided the space and opportunity for me to develop the skills to approach data with an equity lens. Becoming data literate to inform our practices and our work is important as these skills allow us to present a more complete story, and without this, you would not have the entire picture of why we’re seeing certain programs and outcomes. An institution or program is only as strong as the learner with the greatest need, and we cannot allow ourselves to ignore these gaps. 

I also had the opportunity to identify other blind spots in my abilities through our workshops and working closely with my coach.

Have you been tapped for new or more advanced roles within your organization as a result of your experience in the Fellowship? 

I began the Fellowship as a student support specialist for the multicultural program. In this role, I handled case management for our first-generation college students, multicultural program students, and students from immigrant backgrounds whether they’re DACA or recent arrivals to the U.S. Through the Fellowship, I’ve built the confidence and become more informed about CTE and as a result, I applied and was selected to be the Director of Inclusive Excellence. In this role, I oversee the complete suite of student supports offered by my institution, expanding the populations of learners that I support to include veterans, single parents, non-traditional occupations and the mentoring program. Without the Fellowship, I don’t think I would have had the requisite skills to be invited into these spaces to have a larger impact.

I am more confident talking about policy and strategic implementation, identifying friction points for students and developing relationships with internal stakeholders across different departments. Within my institution, I co-led the development of a policy to support learners with limited English proficiency. From there, we went on the develop a language access plan which allowed us to provide accountability for the implementation of this policy. We worked closely with other departments across campus to better understand the climate for learners with limited language proficiency. This work has been fast-tracked after presenting our work to the Wisconsin Technical College System and we’ve received requests for other institutions wanting to replicate our work on their campuses as well as external nonprofit organizations looking to partner with us. 

How has your experience in the fellowship helped you explore new spaces or positions in postsecondary state CTE leadership? 

The Fellowship has afforded me the opportunity to look at CTE beyond my institution. The collaboration that happens across Wisconsin’s technical colleges is certainly a bright spot and having these touch points has allowed me to look at CTE through a regional lens and the Fellowship has provided a national context as well.

Embracing data literacy and being more data-informed in my approach to this work has shown me how to be a truth seeker and listen to the learners and constituents of our institution. This Fellowship has pushed me to ask more critical questions and challenge the status quo to understand how to find alternative solutions. I’m asking myself what it truly means to be an advocate for CTE and how to ensure our policies and practices align with this vision. 

How has the Fellowship expanded your network? 

The Fellowship has expanded my network in a number of meaningful ways. My relationship with my mentor has been incredible! At first, I was worried that it would feel transactional or based on checking a box for compliance’s sake, but Dr. Jeanne Arnold is amazing. As a mentor, she is highly supportive and highly encouraging, and our conversations are not limited to CTE. We’re looking at things in an intersectional way to understand how social work and social work policy impact CTE. I also appreciate the wealth of knowledge that is in the network of Fellows. This network with cross-functional dialogues allows us to look at problems in more complex ways and meeting members of the other ECMC Fellowships at the convening was very meaningful.

Have you discovered new opportunities for what a role in postsecondary CTE could look like/the responsibilities of such a position?

My new role as the Director of Inclusive Excellence is new to the college, and so I’m exploring how this position might evolve especially as I continue to build relationships with external partners. I want to consider the scope of this work beyond my institution to better understand how to bridge the gaps for the learner populations my office supports and help them navigate basic needs issues. 

My ideal role is one where I am able to shape policy and work closely with the implementation of that policy to ensure that it has the intended impact. My current position allows me to explore this space and I recently pitched an idea of developing a literacy program to our institutional research team. Last week was the launch of the project and I was pleased to see the number of people in attendance representing cross-functional areas. Our IR team developed the curriculum and the idea is that this would operate as a pop-up where folks can come and interact on demand. I really enjoy being at the college and being able to level set and bring everybody together to positively impact student success and have a sense of belonging and meaningful experiences. Through these efforts, we’re able to develop a common language to create impact and move it forward in sustainable ways.

You can contact Jomarie at colorianoj@gtc.edu.   

By Layla Alagic in Achieving Equitable and Inclusive CTE
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Fellowship Panel Illuminates Impact of Structures to Cultivate Diverse Leadership Pipelines

Thursday, October 26th, 2023

During Advance CTE’s 2023 Fall Meeting, four members of the second cohort of the 15-month Postsecondary State Career Technical Education Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation participated in a panel discussion to share their experiences and knowledge gained from the Fellowship, as well how state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders can remove barriers for diverse aspiring postsecondary leaders.

Jomarie Coloriano – Inclusive Excellence, Director | Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Wisconsin

 

Dr. Crystal Gardner – Program Director | Workforce Instruction, Workforce Research and Development | Houston Community College, Texas

 

Dr. Angela Lawhorne – Director of Career Education Programs & Workforce Partnerships | Virginia Community College System, Virginia

 

Caleb Perriton – Program Director | Trades and Technical Studies | Laramie County Community College, Wyoming

 

Fellows shared their reasons for applying to the Fellowship, which ranged from seeking out leadership opportunities to advance at their current institution to being forwarded the application by a colleague or a supervisor who believed and supported their leadership aspirations. A common theme shared by each was the desire to address a specific concern related to policy and processes within postsecondary Career Technical Education (CTE). The application for the Fellowship included a question on future goals and a challenge related to equity and a population of learners applicants wanted to research and develop an intervention for while completing the Fellowship. The Fellows pointed to the intentionality of explicitly requiring applicants to reflect on and consider CTE leadership opportunities and the inclusion of an equity-based real-world project made the decision to apply an easy choice. 

Fellows were also asked to share the key event or events that reinforced their decision to apply to the Fellowship, in other words – when they knew they made the right decision. Dr. Gardner shared that in CTE she rarely has an opportunity to work with or collaborate with other leaders of color across the nation and view the entire landscape of leadership possibilities in postsecondary CTE. The Fellowship offered an opportunity to build a network consisting of her peers, guest speakers invited to the Fellowship workshop and most importantly her coach whom she felt she was perfectly matched with based on their commonalities and interests. She recognized the level of thought the Advance CTE staff dedicated to finding the right mentor for each of the Fellows. Caleb discussed being paired with a postsecondary administrator with an automotive background and how the monthly coaching meetings inspired him to begin seeking the director position he currently holds at his institution. 

Each of the Fellows discussed the impact of their real-world project and the effect of completing the project has had on their current work and aspirations to continue climbing the postsecondary CTE leadership ladder. Dr Lawhorne’s project focused on improving access to justice-involved learners in Virginia and the state’s current efforts to expand, through the community college system, access to high-quality CTE programming. In the process of completing her project, an award of $70,000 was granted to support the project which allowed for the inclusion of other correctional facilities in the intervention strategy being implemented at a few select sites in the state. 

As part of Jomarie Coloriano’s project research on providing information on and access to wrap-around services for economically disadvantaged learners in her region of the Wisconsin Technical College System, she conducted a focus group which led to the identification of learner needs. This work led to an advancement to director as she continues to complete her doctoral program and the continuation of her research on increasing the postsecondary outcomes of economically disadvantaged learners. Jomarie shared during the panel discussion, “my mentor has really pushed me as a college student, first generation professional, now a doctoral student and pioneer for my family.”

This panel allowed CTE leaders to see the impact and influence of leadership development programs. Caleb shared with the state leaders that “there’s work that needs to be done in your state, and this Fellowship was the catalyst to complete a project that was needed in my community.” State and local CTE leaders can use Advance CTE’s new Building a Diverse CTE Leadership Pipeline Toolkit, to assess and build leadership development structures in their own institutions. The resource includes an overview of lessons learned from the Fellowship as well as a guidebook and accompanying workbook to assess and build leadership development structures. 

Dr. Kevin Johnson, Senior Advisor 

By Layla Alagic in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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States Make Progress in Strengthening Meaningful Learner Engagement in CTE

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2023

Career Technical Education (CTE) programs must be designed with learners, not simply for learners, to be responsive to their diverse needs at every stage of the CTE continuum. Being responsive to diverse learner needs can occur only if learners have direct and ongoing input into the design and delivery of CTE programs and experiences. This blog provides an overview of the Leveraging Learner Voice to Strengthen CTE Technical Assistance cohort; highlights the states in the cohort that are meaningfully engaging CTE learners to inform CTE programs and policies; and shares links to resources to support states in engaging CTE learners.

Over the past seven months, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) provided training, resources and coaching to help states identify opportunities to engage learners more meaningfully in the design and delivery of CTE programs and experiences. The cohort of states (Colorado, Delaware, New Hampshire, Oregon and Wisconsin), engaged in six 90-minute virtual sessions and individual coaching sessions to work through the Learner Voice Toolkit to develop and execute on strategies for leveraging learner voice in CTE policies and programs.

Over the course of the technical assistance sessions and coaching calls, each state team developed a comprehensive Action Plan to leverage meaningful learner engagement in the development of CTE programs and policies. The Action Plans are guiding the states’  actions over the next year to improve and systematize their learner engagement. 

Action Plan Development

The development of the Action Plan took place in stages. States first completed an organizational capacity assessment to understand the existing structures, policies, relationships and resources that can support the expansion of learner engagement practices. 

States then identified high-level goals in which they envisioned what meaningful learner engagement would look like in their states to support CTE program improvement, CTE policy development, learner supports, Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) process improvement with learner engagement and more. After identifying the goals, states mapped the actions that needed to be taken in order to achieve their goals. 

Through the development of each state’s Action Plan, states included learners’ feedback and input. States engaged learners in focus groups, interviews, surveys, advisory board meetings and more to capture their input and reflect their thoughts in the Action Plans. States in the cohort were supported by Advance CTE with a pool of funds to compensate learners for their time and expertise engaging with state agencies. Over the course of the Action Plan development phase, states in the cohort engaged more than 400 learners.

Early Areas of Success

Prioritizing learner engagement in the development of Action Plans is not a common practice, however, states in the technical assistance cohort are already seeing the value of more meaningfully engaging learners in CTE program development and improvement. 

Wisconsin learned from learners in their state the type of communication they prefer for engagements, the compensation rate they need to engage in events and meetings, the areas of CTE that student voices are most needed and the roles they are most interested in engaging in. 

New Hampshire leveraged the input from learners from their statewide survey to develop a toolkit for regional and local practitioners to improve learner engagement at their CTE centers. 

Colorado and Oregon engaged learners in a mix of focus groups and surveys to learn what they enjoy about CTE, challenges they experience in CTE programs and ways their state agency can do a better job of incorporating learner voice. Both states focused on engaging learners who were not typically included in focus groups or surveys to ensure they had a broad range of voices.

Delaware leveraged learners’ input and leadership and now has two simultaneous learner-led cohorts supporting the development of a new teacher preparation program of study and leadership training for Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) leaders. The learners leading the cohorts support the state agency and foster deeper engagement with their peers across their state to expand the reach of meaningful learner engagement. 

Looking Ahead

As the official cohort technical assistance sessions come to a close, states in the cohort will continue to engage in coaching sessions with Advance CTE and ACTE to actualize the goals they identified in their Action Plans. 

Additionally, Advance CTE will continue to hold space for state leaders to come together to discuss opportunities to improve meaningful learner engagement in CTE in Community of Practice sessions. These one-hour sessions will be held bimonthly from August 2023 through February 2024 and will be open to all states interested in learning more about meaningful learner engagement in CTE. To register to attend the Leveraging Learner Voice to Strengthen CTE Communities of Practice, please fill out the form on this page

Haley Wing, Senior Policy Associate, Advance CTE

By Layla Alagic in CTE Without Limits
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Legislative Update: House Advances FY24 Appropriations With Steep Cuts to Domestic Programs

Monday, July 17th, 2023

This week, lawmakers in the House advanced newly proposed funding legislation for the upcoming 2024 federal fiscal year (FY24). Elsewhere, Senators have introduced new data and research legislation that would improve career readiness opportunities for learners. 

House Appropriators Advance FY24 Labor-HHS-ED Legislation

Lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill recently for a busy three-week work period ahead of Congress’ annual August recess. Topping the agenda is the need to address annual appropriations legislation for FY24 . The recent passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), which outlines topline spending caps for FY24 and FY25 that aim to roughly freeze federal funding at current FY23 levels, was widely expected to provide lawmakers greater clarity regarding how to move forward with this process.

Shortly after the passage of the FRA, however, House Republican leadership announced plans to move forward with a series of spending bills that further reduce federal spending to FY22 funding levels, rather than FY23 levels of investment as required by the FRA. Shortly after this announcement, Senate leaders outlined plans for FY24 which align much more closely with the requirements of the FRA. In practical terms, these divergent approaches to FY24 appropriations are putting Congress on a likely path towards conflict over the direction of federal spending later this year.

In recent weeks, the House and Senate appropriations committees have advanced legislation for roughly half of the dozen individual spending bills that compose the federal budget. Late last week, Republican leaders on the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (Labor-HHS-ED) Appropriations Subcommittee unveiled the text of their proposed FY24 Labor-HHS-ED appropriations bill–annual legislation which provides funding for programs like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V).* This legislation proposes an overall cut of 28 percent to the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) budget when factoring existing appropriations that would be rescinded under the proposal and a 29 percent reduction in funding for the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) budget. Despite these significant proposed reductions in funding, the legislation proposes to level-fund Perkins V’s basic state formula grant program at existing FY23 levels. 

Concerningly, however, the bill would dramatically reduce and in some cases entirely eliminate a slew of education and workforce development programs overseen by ED and DOL that intersect with or otherwise complement CTE. For instance, Title I funding from the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) would be reduced by 80 percent, while core Title I funding for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) would be reduced by more than half of current funding levels. While Advance CTE appreciates Congress’ recognition of continuing to invest in Career Technical Education (CTE), these proposals would significantly disrupt the ability of schools, districts, and institutions to provide high quality learning opportunities for all students. In light of this, Advance CTE and partners issued a statement opposing this proposal and calling on the House to reverse course on this approach to FY24 funding. 

On Friday, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations Subcommittee marked up and advanced this legislation along party lines. Timing for comparable appropriations efforts in the Senate regarding their Labor-HHS-ED bill are still forthcoming. Regardless, both chambers will need to reconcile differences between these visions for FY24 funding in the coming weeks and months, before the formal start of FY24 on October 1. As these efforts continue to move forward, Advance CTE is closely monitoring the process and engaging with partners on Capitol Hill to ensure the funding needs of the CTE community are realized as part of the ongoing budget and appropriations process for FY24.

*As amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act

Senators Introduce CTE Data Bill 

Last Thursday, Senators Baldwin (D-WI), Young (R-IN), and Kaine (D-VA) introduced the Data for American Jobs Act (S. 2290). This legislation would make a series of updates to the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA) to increase the law’s focus on CTE and more closely align state data systems and related federal investments to increase data transparency and quality. “Achieving career success for every learner through CTE requires actionable, transparent and trustworthy data. Advance CTE is pleased to support the Data for American Jobs Act, which takes important steps to leverage national research efforts and resources to promote a better understanding of CTE and advances modernized and interconnected data infrastructure for states,” said Kate Kreamer, Advance CTE’s Executive Director, upon the introduction of the legislation. The legislation comes ahead of potential consideration of ESRA by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee expected later this Congress. 

P3 Pilot Applications Announced

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) issued a notice inviting applications for selection as a Performance Partnership Pilots for disconnected youth (P3). This pilot authority has been authorized by Congress since 2014 and is aimed at better supporting disconnected youth populations by allowing ED and other federal agencies to waive certain requirements of existing federal funding streams like ESSA, Perkins V, and other similar investments. In doing so, recipients of these funds can braid and blend federal resources more easily, allowing for greater coordination of services for these populations. More on the announcement, including how to apply, can be found here

Energy Department Announces School Infrastructure Funding

In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $178 million in new grant funding it has made available to local school districts in 22 states via the Renew America’s Schools grant program. This grant program was created as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden. The program aims to help schools and districts make improvements to facilities that improve energy efficiency and foster healthier learning environments. More information about the grants can be found here

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Impasse on Debt Ceiling Continues

Friday, May 12th, 2023

This week lawmakers continued to negotiate a pathway forward regarding the nation’s borrowing authority, while the House examined federal investments in workforce development and the Senate hosted U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to testify on the Biden Administration’s federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) budget request. Elsewhere, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced this year’s Presidential Scholars and circulated new guidance encouraging postsecondary institutions to assist in wider K-12 learning recovery efforts. 

Debt Ceiling Impasse Continues

Earlier this week, top Congressional leaders from both parties in the House and Senate met at the White House with President Biden to determine a pathway forward for increasing the nation’s statutory borrowing authority (known informally as the debt ceiling or debt limit). Recent estimates from the U.S. Treasury Department have indicated that the federal government will exhaust its current options by June 1 of this year. Failure to raise the debt ceiling would result in a national default on the nation’s existing debt obligations and would have devastating economic consequences.

Since the beginning of the year, House Republicans have demanded a litany of policy and spending concessions from Democrats and the Biden Administration in exchange for raising the debt limit. These concessions include significant and dramatic cuts to domestic discretionary program funding, including Career Technical Education (CTE) programs funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (as amended by the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act; Perkins V). Democrats in Congress and President Biden have maintained that the debt limit should be extended without preconditions to avoid a default and negotiate separately on these other issues unrelated to the nation’s borrowing authority. 

Unfortunately, the meeting that took place on Tuesday failed to provide a clear path forward beyond this current impasse. With the debt limit deadline fast approaching, lawmakers have directed their staff to begin behind-the-scenes negotiations on a potential compromise and are expected to reconvene sometime in the near future. This situation remains fluid and Advance CTE  will continue to closely monitor developments related to this situation and the potential impacts it may have on the CTE community. 

House Holds WIOA Hearing 

On Thursday, May 11, the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Higher Education and Workforce Subcommittee held a hearing titled “Examining America’s Workforce Challenges: Looking for Ways to Improve Skills Development.” The hearing featured testimony from an array of witnesses ranging from employers to workforce development leaders and other stakeholders who provided perspectives and recommendations regarding ways to update and improve the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The hearing is a likely precursor to further House Education and Workforce Committee consideration of this legislation and focused particular attention on aspects of current law that could be changed to improve training services and related activities supported by WIOA. In addition, the hearing also highlighted the importance of resourcing state workforce development and CTE systems to improve results and related outcomes for workers and learners. An archived webcast of the hearing, including witness testimony and opening statements, can be accessed here

Secretary Cardona Testifies on FY24 Budget in the Senate 

Also on Thursday, May 11, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) hosted U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, to testify on the Biden Administration’s FY24 budget request for his agency. During the hearing Labor-HHS-ED Subcommittee Chair, Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), questioned Secretary Cardona at length regarding CTE and the ways in which states, local education agencies and postsecondary institutions are using basic state grant funding from Perkins V to support high-quality CTE programs. During this line of questioning, Chair Baldwin noted that CTE learners graduate high school at higher rates than their non-CTE peers and also emphasized that they are more likely to go on to pursue further education and training. 

Notably, Secretary Cardona highlighted a number of CTE programs that he had recently visited that currently make use of existing Perkins V formula resources and noted how closely current Perkins V grant recipients, including employer partners, are collaborating to provide opportunities for learners. As shared previously, however, the Biden Administration is currently requesting $200 million in funding for the creation of a new competitive grant program– a proposal Advance CTE and others have shared significant concerns over. An archived webcast of the hearing, including Secretary Cardona’s testimony can be found here

Presidential Scholars Announced

This week the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars announced the 59th cohort of U.S. Presidential Scholars—an initiative that annually recognizes 161 high school seniors for academic, career and technical and artistic achievements. The selection process takes into consideration a number of criteria including transcripts and test scores. Each year, this program features 20 CTE scholars for their outstanding achievements and recognizes related accomplishments. A full list of scholars can be found here

ED Encourages Federal Work Study to Help With Learning Recovery

On Wednesday, May 10, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague letter to postsecondary and school district leaders regarding the federal work study program and wider efforts to support K-12 student populations recover from lost instructional time during the pandemic. The primary purpose of the letter was to encourage postsecondary institutions to use Federal Work Study funding—provided to institutions as part of the Higher Education Act— to support opportunities for enrolled students to serve as tutors, mentors and other supportive roles. Additionally, the letter encouraged the use of the funds to assist in the implementation of afterschool and out-of-school time programs aimed at helping students recover lost learning and instructional time due to the pandemic. The letter also highlighted other funding sources that can be used in support of similar efforts. 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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Getting to Know the 2022- 2024 Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellows Part 2

Thursday, November 17th, 2022

In September, Advance CTE and ECMC Foundation announced the second cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE—Sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The Advance CTE — ECMCF Fellows include representation across multiple demographic categories reflecting the Fellowship’s goal of intentionally building a postsecondary leadership pipeline for underserved populations in Career Technical Education (CTE)  that closes racial representation gaps and removes equity barriers to postsecondary leadership advancement.

This post continues our series to introduce each Fellow participating in the second cohort of emerging leaders from 14 states, including 12 professionals of color.

Kayla Brossett, Louisiana

Kayla Brossett has more than a decade of experience designing and managing strategic industry partnerships, with a specialty in workforce development, diversity, equity, inclusion, and student career services. Currently, she serves as the US Director of Employer Partnerships at the Wadhwani Foundation. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern State University and a master’s degree in communications from Grambling State University.

 

Jomarie Coloriano, Wisconsin 

Jomarie Coloriano’s professional experience is deeply influenced by her passion for social justice and systems reform. She has received multiple accolades for her work in diversity, equity, and inclusion and student support including being named the 2021 Gateway Technical College DEI Champion, the National Association of Student Personnel and the Administrators NOW 2020 Professional in Inclusion, Currently, she serves as a Multicultural Support Specialist at Gateway Technical College and an adjunct faculty member in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Protective and Human Services.  Jomarie is also a doctoral candidate in the Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service program at Cardinal Stritch University.

 

Yolanda Flores, Florida 

Yolanda Flores specializes in supporting and preparing refugee and migrant learner populations for secondary and postsecondary success. Her more than two decades of experience include an instructor, school administrator, grants coordinator, and special populations program administrator. Currently, she serves as Administrative Director for Postsecondary, Adult & Community Education for Collier County Public Schools. Flores earned a bachelor’s degree in social science education from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of South Florida.

 

Amy Hodge, Policy Associate 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Uncategorized
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2022 Advance Fall Meeting Recap – Forward Together: Supporting Every Learner

Friday, October 28th, 2022

Advance CTE’s 2022 Fall Meeting, held last week, included five breakout sessions that equipped state leaders to support every learner in CTE by tailoring support to meet unique and intersecting learner population needs. 

Keep reading for key takeaways and resources from each session shared by state CTE leaders and our Advance CTE-ECMC Fellows! 

Serving Middle Grades Learners through Career Supports

Career advising and development supports geared towards middle grades learners to improve access and achieve high-quality and equitable secondary CTE programs prove to be an early opportunity to develop an occupational identity and better build social capital. Ohio discussed the policy structures the state  has put into place to support learners in CTE programs before they enter high school, including funding mechanisms and alignment of middle grades programs of study. Michigan Advance CTE-ECMC Fellow Tony Warren shared how states and regions can broaden a middle schoolers mindset by focusing on the challenge they want to solve and helping develop a pathway to achieve a goal centered on their intrinsic motivations. Fellow Donald Walker provided local examples of carrying out state policy and practice at the Detroit School of the Arts showcased how one school is putting state policy into practice and action. 

Supporting CTE Learners in Rural Communities

Representatives from Montana and California shed light on the challenges and opportunities faced by CTE students who reside in rural areas of the United States. With a majority of Montana (46 out of 56 counties) being part of the frontier, the state has implemented the Hub & Spoke model for several programs. One such example is healthcare, which enabled a main campus to establish a healthcare program, complemented by satellite campuses through partnerships with local secondary and post-secondary institutions that offer limited services distributed across the other counties. 

Fellow Jean Claude Mbomeda shared California’s approach for reviewing disaggregated data to identify gaps in CTE programs in rural communities colleges in California, which was discussed as a necessary first step to unearth opportunities and develop supports for learners.  

Ensuring the Basic Needs of Postsecondary and Adult Learners are Met

An education consultant and a state leader from Wisconsin provided an overview of programs that support learners basic needs, while elevating that many programs still create barriers for learners to complete credentials. Immediate next steps that were shared included making integrated benefits applications for federal assistance programs available online and inviting benefits coordinators to provide services on campus. Wisconsin highlighted their steps to create  affinity groups with faculty and staff, with Dr. Colleen McCabe stating “To understand the effects of poverty, you have to explore learners’ multiple identities.”

Maximizing the CTE Experience for Learners with Disabilities

Maryland and Nebraska equipped attendees with state-level strategies to leverage Perkins state plans, the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) and interagency partnerships to provide sustainable support to learners with disabilities. With one in four Americans identifying as having a disability, discussions centered on viewing disability as a spectrum, both visible and hidden, and centering learners as people rather than just a population. Maryland shared practices for empowering local leaders to identify and act on opportunity gaps for learners with disabilities through and the CLNA. Nebraska emphasized the importance of developing consistent cross-agency routines, and highlighted their recent achievement of a tri-agency conference across, CTE, vocational rehabilitation and special education.

Equitably Serving CTE Learners in Correctional Education

With more than 30,000 youth being incarcerated in the United States each year in the juvenile justice system, Texas joined by Advance CTE-ECMC Fellows Richard Crosby and Janelle Washington discussed the differences in secondary and postsecondary CTE programs, as well as some of the intricacies of carceral justice-connected program designs. Texas highlighted barriers for this learner populations, including unfair placement testing that occurs days after sentencing and the availability of CTE programs that will not incentivize recidivism. The panelists shared that establishing meaningful and collaborative partnerships with correctional agencies and state CTE departments are paramount to creating better and more equitable programming opportunities for carceral students.

Here are additional resources to support every learner in CTE: 

Nithya Govindasamy, Senior Advisor 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Resources
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Legislative Update: Movement on the Nation’s Borrowing Authority, State ARP Plan Approval and New Senate Confirmations

Friday, December 10th, 2021

This week Congress moved closer to a pathway forward to increase the nation’s borrowing authority– a key next step in the lawmaker’s winter agenda. In addition, the next Inspector General (IG) for the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and chair for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was confirmed by the Senate while the Department approved another state American Rescue Plan (ARP) application and unveiled new priorities for discretionary grant programs. 

Congress Nears Agreement on Nation’s Debt Limit

For much of the past calendar year lawmakers in Congress have been mired in disagreement over whether and how to raise the nation’s borrowing authority. Often referred to as the “debt ceiling,” this is the allowable amount that the federal government is legally permitted to borrow to pay for expenses already incurred. While a short-term increase of the debt ceiling was narrowly passed earlier this fall, Congressional Republicans have been withholding their support for further action on this issue, arguing that Democrats should simply pass the measure without their support—a move made difficult by the Senate’s required 60 vote threshold to withstand a potential filibuster. Should Congress fail to increase or suspend this borrowing authority, the federal government would be forced to default on its existing debt obligations which would have a catastrophic impact on the economy.

On Thursday, December 9, lawmakers announced that they had reached agreement on a path forward on this issue. Lawmakers have crafted a narrow legislative package that would, among other items, temporarily suspend the Senate’s filibuster on a forthcoming bill that would increase the nation’s borrowing limit. By temporarily removing the ability to filibuster this forthcoming legislation, Senators will be able to advance the bill by a simple majority vote. While legislation to formally increase the debt limit has not yet been passed by Congress, this proposal is widely expected to be enacted into law ahead of the current December 15 deadline when current borrowing authority is expected to expire. 

ED Approves Wisconsin ARP Plan

Following the ARP passage earlier this spring, ED distributed two-thirds of this funding to states via a prescribed formula. ED held back the remainder of these funds until states and territories submitted plans detailing how they would make use of these resources to support students as they recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, December 6, ED approved one more of these plans, releasing these additional funds to the state of Wisconsin. Only a handful of additional states have their ARP plans awaiting approval. The most current status of all state ARP plans, including highlights of plans already approved, can be found here.

Congress Confirms Bruce as ED’s IG and Rosenworcel at FCC

Late last Friday, December 3, the Senate formally confirmed Sandra Bruce to be the next IG for the Department. Bruce was previously Deputy IG for a number of years prior to her formal nomination this past June. ED’s IG office is the primary entity responsible for investigating and identifying fraud, waste and abuse within ED funds, programs and operations. More on the announcement from the Department can be found here. In addition, the Senate voted 68 to 31 to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel’s re-appointment to the FCC, putting her in place to be the first permanent chair of the agency under President Biden. Rosenworcel will also be the first female chair in the 86-year history of the FCC.

ED Announces Priorities for Discretionary Funding

Earlier today, December 10, ED published the agency’s final supplemental priorities and definitions for discretionary grant programs in the Federal Register. These priorities will be used by ED to guide decisions in the future regarding specific policy areas and related needs as part of grant competitions. The Department adopted the following six final priorities for this purpose:

  1.  Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on Students, Educators, and Faculty;
  2.  Promoting Equity in Student Access to Educational Resources and Opportunities;
  3.  Supporting a Diverse Educator Workforce and Professional Growth to Strengthen Student Learning;
  4. Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs;
  5. Increasing Postsecondary Education Access, Affordability, Completion, and Post-Enrollment Success; and
  6. Strengthening Cross-Agency Coordination and Community Engagement to Advance Systemic Change.

 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By admin in COVID-19 and CTE
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