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Posts Tagged ‘ECMC Foundation’

Advancing Equity in CTE: Administrative Policy Review – An Assessment of Equitable Practices

Wednesday, August 16th, 2023

This is the final blog in a four-part series on the Postsecondary State Career Technical Education Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation (The Fellowship)

Overview  

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V*) includes provisions focused on providing access to and success in Career Technical Education (CTE) programs for members of special populations and subgroups, including major racial ethnic groups in each state. States are fulfilling these requirements in various ways. Below are a few examples of how states are applying an equity-minded lens to administrative policies and practices to improve CTE ecosystems by emphasizing equitable access to and learner performance in CTE programs. 

Ohio

Administration of a CTE program with an equity lens begins with ensuring all learners have meaningful access to and substantial engagement in high-quality CTE programming which requires making these actions a priority. Ohio has created and applied equity-minded leadership principles within several initiatives, leveraging funds and resources to provide local administrators with supports to develop and sustain equitable practices and policies. 

Indiana 

The application of equity-minded principles isn’t a one-time occurrence. It requires an ongoing systematic review of policies, practices and data to determine the effectiveness of the mitigating or transformational strategies being applied. Indiana engaged in this process by conducting a review of the CTE equity labs being offered in their state and using additional resources to measure goal attainment and to provide additional supports to local leaders. 

The state’s CTE team participated in equity lab debriefing sessions to improve their messaging on equity and access, awareness of using inclusive language and overall effectiveness of equity labs currently being offered with the assistance of the Great Lakes Equity Center. This work coincided with Indiana’s participation in the CTE Opportunity Gap Analysis Train-the-Trainer Workshop offered by Advance CTE. The workshop’s six months of community of practice monthly sessions conducted with nine states included completing one in-state workshop with workshop specific resources designed to support state leaders in examining their current policies and practices.

What’s Next

This blog series is a precursor to a forthcoming state CTE leadership pipeline toolkit due to be released in Fall 2023. The toolkit will provide a “plug and play” roadmap for states to use to create their own initiative to strengthen and diversify an equity-minded state leadership pipeline. The toolkit will draw upon Advance CTE’s experiences with facilitating the Fellowship and lift up vetted resources and techniques for states to apply. 

For additional support, check out Advance CTE’s resource Engaging Representatives of Learners with Special Population Status Through Perkins V.

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

Dr. Kevin Johnson, Senior Advisor 

View previous blogs in this series:

Blog 1: Advancing Equity in CTE: Making the Case for Diverse Leadership Pipelines in Career Technical Education

Blog 2: Advancing Equity in CTE: A Review on the Current State of CTE Leadership Programs

Blog 3: Advancing Equity in CTE: The Equity-Minded Leadership Framework

 

By Layla Alagic in Advancing Equity in CTE
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Advancing Equity in CTE: Elevating the Knowledge of a New Generation of Leaders

Tuesday, August 8th, 2023

Advance CTE is excited to introduce a collection of briefs that feature the original research conducted by select Fellows from our inaugural cohort of The Postsecondary State Career Technical Education (CTE) Leaders Fellowship – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation (Fellowship). These briefs cover different topics within the CTE landscape and alignment with Advance CTE’s CTE Without Limits’ principles for advancing equitable, high-quality CTE programs for every learner. 

The Fellowship strives to address the growing shortage of state postsecondary CTE leadership by closing racial representation gaps and removing equity barriers to leadership advancement. Through individualized supports, intentional networks and a real-world fellowship project, Advance CTE-ECMCF Fellows gain the skills and network to pursue leadership positions and advance high-quality, equitable state postsecondary CTE systems. The Real-World Project is a capstone of the Fellowship. By highlighting selected projects and citing Fellows’ research as contributions to the national CTE landscape, we aspire to elevate a new generation of CTE leaders. 

The first brief, Career and Technical Education and the Justice System: State Strategies to Improve Outcomes for Justice-Involved Learners in CTE Programs, features research from Fellows alumni Richard Crosby and Janelle Washington.

High-quality education opportunities for justice-involved learners have demonstrated a strong economic return; a study produced by the RAND Corporation found that, for every $1 invested in prison education programs, there is a $4-5 reduction in incarceration costs during the first three years post-release of a prisoner. Despite these benefits, only seven states are currently opting to allocate the maximum allowable amount of state leadership set-aside funds to improving outcomes for this population of learners. This brief offers actionable recommendations for state leaders to address systemic barriers through changes to funding, administrative and program quality policies to have a long-term and lasting reduction impact on recidivism.

 

The second brief, a Policy Review of the Impact of House Bill 444 on Career and Technical Agricultural Education Dual Enrollment at Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Institutions, highlights the research of Fellowship alumni Dr. Kristin Corkhill.

Dual enrollment is a popular education initiative that has contributed to increased postsecondary enrollment across the Technical College System of Georgia. These programs represent early opportunities for learners to gain industry-aligned skills and develop confidence and awareness of how to be successful in postsecondary programs and generate a highly skilled workforce pipeline to continue to grow the state’s economy. This brief offers recommendations for state leaders on how to continue to support improved enrollment trends.

 

The third brief, Non-Traditional Learner Participation in Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Programs features research by Fellowship alumni Jean Claude Mbomeda.

The non-traditional gender occupational divide weakens state economies by decreasing economic productivity and reducing diversity in decision-making. By creating gender parity in which “women participate in the labor force at the same rate as men, work the same number of hours as men, and are employed at the same levels as men across sectors,” the United States would see an estimated $4.3 trillion increase in the gross domestic product in 2025.1 Check out this brief to learn ways that state leaders can strengthen policies to ensure equitable access and outcomes for every learner and better meet the needs of the state’s economy and labor market. 

These briefs are the first part of the larger Building a Diverse Leadership Pipeline series, set to be released later this year, that aims to increase leadership stability and achieve more demographically representative state CTE leadership, by providing resources, tools and examples to help state leaders establish a talent pipeline and provide training, mentorship and opportunities for aspiring CTE leaders.

Amy Hodge, Membership & Policy Associate

By Layla Alagic in Advancing Equity in CTE
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ECMCF Fellow Feature: Kayla Brossett

Thursday, June 29th, 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 Kayla Brossett (LA) is passionate about expanding access to high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for every learner, and creating strategic partnerships across industry groups to achieve this goal.

Tell me more about your journey to the Fellowship.

I discovered the Fellowship through my previous role with ECMC Foundation in their education solutions division. As a woman of color, I’m very passionate about finding ways to address the lack of racial diversity that I’ve observed in state leadership and throughout my own career as I’ve advanced to different leadership opportunities. I want to find ways to elevate women of color into important decision-making roles in CTE, especially since they are involved in the delivery of these programs. This demographic is underrepresented in workforce development and STEM, so the Fellowship provided an exciting opportunity to expand my network and connect with people who not only look like me, but share my passion for this work. 

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

Through the Fellowship, I’ve had the chance to learn and interact with my cohort and expand my knowledge of the work happening in other states. I’ve really enjoyed connecting with other Fellows who are also doing work around registered apprenticeships. It is fascinating to see how different cities, like Denver, are able to achieve high completion rates for African American women.

The panels have been informative and having this interactive component to the workshops has made connecting with the speakers to learn more about their work more accessible and more effective in developing my own understanding of the discussion topic.

I’ve also learned a lot through working with my coach and her perspective on my process for completing my real-world project has been invaluable. As a consultant that specializes in DEI work, she’s helped me apply an equity lens to the design of my work and iron out details to narrow my focus, and I think the impact will be much stronger for it. I’m focusing in on a more specific demographic of African American women in a certain age range and a certain economic class, and she encouraged me to make these changes because it will lead to more specific measures and higher-quality data collection.

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

I am excited to announce that I’ve recently launched my own workforce development firm, Brown Skilled Girl. The idea for this business stemmed from early work on my Real World Project which focuses on gathering data from 500 African-American women to inform interest in training and registered apprenticeship programs for the state of Louisiana. Brown Skilled Girl is a workforce development intermediary firm that aims to elevate African-American women into high-paying career pathways through data analysis, professional mentoring, registered apprenticeship programs, targeted core and soft skills training solutions, and strategic corporate partnerships. Our vision is to advance 1 million Black and Brown American women into diverse and future-ready careers paying a salary over $100,000 USD in 10 years. Our mission is to empower women of color to achieve their full potential by creating pathways to high-paying, fulfilling careers and ensuring that they receive the training and support they need to succeed.

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

I’ve learned a lot about the different funding streams involved with implementing CTE programs. Developing this knowledge will allow me to empower learners through the different opportunities for funding to return to school to earn their credentials and complete their program without debt. That is really powerful and certainly something that I will take with me into my work with Brown Skilled Girl.

I am very interested in working across states to build coalitions to drive strategic outcomes for learners. Prior to the Fellowship, I thought I had to solve all the problems at once, and now I have a more comprehensive view of the different pieces that need to come together to build these solutions. Maybe there is an issue with data use or quality, maybe the issue is due to low awareness, or maybe communication and marketing is the problem. By understanding the root cause, I feel more equipped to develop a plan and identify the right team need to solve specific problems.

I’m currently looking at how I can support companies in securing grants to support their ability to be apprenticeship partners. Registered apprenticeships have demonstrated strong outcomes for learners, particularly in IT.  Studies have shown that there are so many positive outcomes in their placement and their job advancement that I think that every student should have the opportunity to at least decide if that’s something that they want to enroll in.


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

I envision working within state government, and my goal is to create coherent connections between workforce development and economic development to increase the health and responsiveness of the state economy. I see an opportunity to broker partnerships with near-peer states, like Texas, to learn more about how Louisiana could emulate the systems that have been successful in increasing employment opportunities. People are a critical piece of this work and economic development needs to merge so that locals are being trained to assume these new jobs that will improve the economic outlook of the state as a whole. 

To connect with Kayla, email kaylabrossettrivers@gmail.com.

By Layla Alagic in Achieving Equitable and Inclusive CTE
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New Mini-Brief Series Highlights Progress Towards Cohesive, Learner-Centered Postsecondary Data Systems in Five States

Thursday, August 18th, 2022

Two years ago, Advance CTE launched the Advancing Postsecondary CTE Data Quality Initiative (PDI), supported by ECMC Foundation. Through the initiative, five grantees have received funding, technical assistance and access to a national peer learning network to:

1) Examine critical problems of practice and;

2) Implement innovative solutions to improve the quality, and use of postsecondary CTE data.

Grantee states and agencies include the: Alabama Community College System (ACCS); Delaware Department of Education; University of the District of Columbia Community College; Florida Department of Education, and; Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission.

By supporting states to improve their postsecondary Career Technical Education (CTE) data quality and use, Advance CTE is attending to a foundational commitment – actionable, transparent and trustworthy data – in Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education (CTE Without Limits). Each of the five foundational commitments are critical to states’ abilities to enact the Vision principles. Actionable, transparent and trustworthy data underlies a coordinated, learner-centered career preparation ecosystem. 

About the Briefs

In the coming months, Advance CTE will release a series of four briefs to share strategies put in place by the PDI states to advance postsecondary CTE data quality and use. The first brief explores how postsecondary CTE data can be used in support of state education and workforce goals, and features Alabama and Florida.

The second brief advances a theory of change for centering learners in postsecondary CTE data collection and use, featuring the District of Columbia and Oregon. The topics of briefs three and four will be fostering a positive culture of data use among CTE stakeholders and building a strong data infrastructure across systems and silos, respectively. 

Shared Challenges

As with many projects underway over the last two years, states’ implementation of their PDI action plans were challenged by staff-level capacity constraints due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, many of the grantees’ plans were validated by the context of the pandemic, which demonstrated the critical nature of effective – and data-driven – career preparation systems to meet states’ education and workforce goals. 

An evergreen challenge that the PDI states wrangle with is how best to build well-integrated data systems across the silos of state agencies and in collaboration with postsecondary institutions. Further, examining and implementing ways to more effectively communicate CTE data continues to be a priority. 

Common Strategies for Success

Despite these challenges, each of the grantees has demonstrated a commitment to improving postsecondary CTE data to improve learner outcomes. All five states have used stakeholder engagement processes to drive the development and use of new data elements or reports. And each has invested in professional development strategies to foster a strong culture of data use.

Visit the Learning that Works Resource Center to read the first two briefs and for additional data and accountability resources

Candace Williams, Data and Research Manager 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Publications, Resources
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The Postsecondary State CTE Leaders Fellowship is Where You Belong

Thursday, March 10th, 2022

The Postsecondary State CTE Leaders Fellowship at Advance CTE – Sponsored by ECMC Foundation is intended to build a talent pipeline of state-level postsecondary Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders fiercely committed to creating an accessible and racially just postsecondary state CTE system. Through the Fellowship, each Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellow will gain an understanding of effective policies and practices for improving postsecondary CTE outcomes and how to scale those policies and practices statewide. They will come to understand their strengths as a leader and how to leverage those strengths to influence their respective postsecondary state CTE systems to be more effective and equitable. Fellows will build confidence, visibility and a national network that they can rely on during and after the Fellowship. After completing the Fellowship, Fellows will be better positioned for postsecondary state CTE leadership roles such as State CTE Director, state-level leaders and institutional leaders. 

Does this sound like you? We hope so!

The application period for the 2022-2023 cohort is now open through 5 p.m. EDT on March 31, 2022. Before applying, read over our frequently asked questions (FAQs) and register to attend an information session to ask any questions in real-time. 

FAQs 

  1. How many Fellows will be selected for the 2022-2023 cohort? 

Fifteen Fellows will be selected for the 2022-2023 cohort. We have a goal for the majority of participating Fellows to be professionals of color.

  1. Do applicants need previous experience in postsecondary state CTE? 

No. Experience in postsecondary state CTE is not required. However, this Fellowship is not designed for those who are newly entering the CTE profession or exclusively seeking professional development to improve secondary dual enrollment programs. A strong background in delivering, supporting or designing CTE programs is required to be eligible to apply. This experience can cover a broad range of fields: 

  1. Is previous leadership experience required to apply? 

Current and aspiring postsecondary state CTE leaders are encouraged to apply. However, the Fellowship is not designed for those who are new to CTE or have limited years of service in CTE.

  1. When does the Fellowship begin and end? 

The Fellowship will begin September 2022 and will end November 2023. 

  1. In what format will Fellowship events be held? 

Workshops and coaching will be conducted virtually. Participants will be offered the opportunity to meet in person in Spring 2023 at Advance CTE’s annual meeting and will be required to meet in-person at the ECMC Foundation convening of Fellows held annually. Partial or full compensation for travel will be provided for all in-person events. 

  1. How much time will the Fellowship take?

Advance CTE anticipates that Fellows will spend up to 10 hours per month working on Fellowship-related responsibilities. The Fellowship’s curriculum includes eight, half-day virtual workshops that include pre-and post-work for each workshop. Fellows will be expected to work on a real-world project throughout the duration of the Fellowship. Additionally, Fellows will schedule monthly coaching sessions with their assigned coach.

  1. Who is providing input on the curriculum? 

A National Advisory Committee consisting of national organizations, state-level institutions and eight CTE leaders of color provide input on Fellowship curriculum, promotion, and recruitment and evaluation of outcome. The Fellowship is designed and facilitated by Advance CTE with support from Education Strategy Group (ESG) and draws upon national partners to enhance and support the curriculum design, content and delivery. 

  1. How long are the workshops? 

Each workshop will be conducted virtually, from 1 – 5 p.m. ET during the business week. Applicants will need to receive approval from their supervisor to participate in this Fellowship during work hours. 

Dr. Kevin Johnson, Senior Advisor

By admin in CTE Without Limits, Uncategorized
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