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Posts Tagged ‘Getting to Know’

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Welcome Kyllie Freeman as the new State CTE Director in Connecticut!

Wednesday, May 17th, 2023

The Connecticut State Department of Education has named Kyllie Freeman as the State Director of Career Technical Education. The Department oversees all secondary and postsecondary Career Technical Education (CTE) programs as well as CTE for justice-connected individuals and youth and pre-apprenticeship programs.

Kyllie discovered her passion for CTE in the classroom as a culinary instructor of 15 years and fondly recalls seeing her high school learners’ “faces [light up] when they made something” as they gained valuable skills in her classes. “Some [learners] hadn’t even washed a dish before.”

Originally a nutritionist major in college, Kyllie switched to culinary arts to continue a career connected to food and nutrition without the intense focus on math and science. During her teaching tenure, Kyllie worked on her district’s grant for the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) which led to her taking a Perkins Grant Manager role at the state level. Kyllie oversaw the Hospitality and Tourism and the Information Technology, Education and Training Clusters®, explaining “I wanted to keep supporting Perkins but in a different role. ”

In her new role as State Director, Kyllie is excited to increase partnerships, aligning school districts, community colleges and industry partners to increase accessibility to high-quality CTE and success for learners across Connecticut.

In the year ahead, Kyllie is focused on supporting districts by remapping CTE School Courses for the Exchange of Data (SCED) codes to better align with the National Career Clusters Framework®, giving districts more flexibility in how they award credit. Kyllie is excited to offer technical assistance to district administrators to facilitate this process.

Kyllie is also focused on helping learners know more about the college and career opportunities available to them through CTE. She plans to accomplish this by better aligning course selection with learner interests. Kyllie will also support learners by updating the Student Success Plan and embedding CTE into the plan for better alignment with the opportunities available to learners.

One of the biggest challenges for CTE in Connecticut, teacher recruitment and retention, is not unique to the state; it is a national issue. The availability of qualified teachers in a particular pathway dictates where certain courses can be offered, thereby limiting course offerings for learners where teachers are in short supply.

In addition to addressing the top challenge of CTE instructor recruitment and retention, an issue facing CTE programs nationwide, Kyllie would also like to help change the perception of who should be participating in CTE. This shift would raise awareness that learners should be focused on college and career readiness, not just readiness for college. “CTE is huge and so many [skills] are transferrable.”

Coming from a long line of restaurant owners, Kyllie loves cooking outside of her State Director role. While she will “cook anything,” Kyllie enjoys cooking Italian food the most. Outside of the kitchen, Kyllie enjoys kayaking.

Welcome Kyllie to Advance CTE!

Jodi Langellotti, Communications Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in Uncategorized
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Congratulations to Karl Ohrn, Minnesota’s New State CTE Director!

Monday, January 30th, 2023

The Minnesota State Board of Trustees recently named Karl Ohrn as the Systems Director of Career Technical Education for Minnesota State and the State Director for Career and Technical Education.

After struggling academically as an undergraduate at a liberal arts college and unsure of his future, Karl Ohrn joined the United States Air Force, ultimately serving 30 years. It was in the Air Force that Karl had his first exposure to Career Technical Education (CTE).

“I went through a course in logistics in the Air Force, and it made so much sense […] everything was focused toward performing a certain job or skill set. It all became very meaningful and useful and purposeful.” Karl’s experience with CTE through the Air Force made him feel more confident in his academic abilities and future. He shared, “[The] CTE environment really made more sense.”

Karl’s Air Force career provided him diverse experiences, ranging from medical logistics to a CTE program evaluator through the Community College of the Air Force to the Director of a Noncommissioned Officer’s (NCO) Academy. Karl retired from the Air Force in 2013 and became an Academic Coordinator with Northland Community and Technical College, where he evaluated CTE programs for their quality and viability. It was through his role at Northland that Karl first became involved with the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV).

Karl became a Perkins Consortium Coordinator at the postsecondary level where he worked with and got to know the state-level staff in Minnesota. In 2018 Karl was asked to become the Associate State Director of CTE and was appointed Interim State Director of CTE in 2021 after his predecessor retired. Karl was officially appointed Minnesota State Director of CTE in December 2022.

This year, Karl’s focus is determining whether Minnesota will update or create a new Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) state plan; he is excited to get all of the stakeholders involved and hopeful for a successful outcome. Now that his position is permanent, Karl is also looking forward to strengthening connections among his state CTE team members and increasing professional development offerings.

Karl earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Slippery Rock University and a master’s degree in strategic leadership from the University of Mary. He also completed an associate of applied science degree with the Community College of the Air Force in logistics management and technical instruction. In addition to his passion for CTE, Karl has extensive experience and knowledge of the consortium model and the integration of military personnel with civilian CTE.

When asked why he is passionate about CTE, Karl responded, “We’ve all seen students fail, whether [they are] in high school or college. You have to help people find their passion and sometimes what becomes their passion isn’t what it was when they started.”

Jodi Langellotti, Communications Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in Advance CTE State Director
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Getting to Know the 2022- 2024 Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellows Part 5

Wednesday, January 25th, 2023

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 is the final blog in this series which has introduced each Fellow participating in the second cohort of emerging leaders from 14 states, including 12 professionals of color.

Caleb Perriton – Wyoming

Caleb Perriton’s career began in the automotive industry as an international trainer prior to entering the world of postsecondary CTE. Currently, he serves as Program Director of the Trades & Technical Studies Pathway at Laramie County Community College. He is an ASE Certified Master Automotive Technician and earned a bachelor’s degree in automotive technology from Weber State University and master’s degree in business administration from the University of Wyoming.  

 

Luv’Tesha Robertson – Kentucky

Dr. Luv’Tesha Robertson is passionate about creating seamless transitions among secondary, postsecondary and workforce programs to foster learner success, particularly for learners of color.  She has over 15 years of experience in program quality, accountability, and learner transfer and retention initiatives at postsecondary institutions and the state level. Currently, Dr. Robertson serves as Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Adult Education at the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet. She earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in financial management, conflict resolution and leadership from Sullivan University and earned a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Eastern Kentucky University.

 

Daniel Sandoval – Colorado

Daniel Sandoval is passionate about cultivating self-reliance among learners and students from marginalized populations and has focused on serving immigrant, economically disadvantaged, racially underrepresented and linguistically diverse communities. His range of experience includes grant writing and administration, managing apprenticeship and credential attainment initiatives, and serving in leadership roles in postsecondary student services. Currently, Sandoval serves as the Director of Customized Training and Apprenticeships at Pickens Technical College and as a Psychology instructor at the Community College of Aurora. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English writing from Colorado Mesa University and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver. 

By Jodi Langellotti in Uncategorized
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Welcome Milo McMinn as the New State CTE Director in New Mexico!

Tuesday, January 24th, 2023

The New Mexico Public Education Department recently named Milo McMinn as its new Director of College and Career Readiness.

Milo path to finding his career passion began with experiences that we hope for all Career Technical Education (CTE) learners —- career exploration, robust high school CTE classes and work-based learning that led to a decades-long passion for education and providing more opportunities for students.

With an initial interest in law enforcement in high school, Milo did a police chief ride-along in 10th grade “and immediately realized that Law Enforcement was not for me,” he explained. In high school, he took family and consumer science classes and then had the opportunity to intern in a kindergarten classroom, where he discovered his passion for teaching. After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Education and Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction through New Mexico State University, he returned to his hometown of Grants, New Mexico to teach American History and coach high school football and tennis.

An offer to serve as a district data analysis coordinator for the Central Consolidated School
district in Shiprock exposed him to the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the
21st Century Act (Perkins V) funding and career pathways. That role led him to take on further leadership roles as founding principal and creator of Bond Wilson Technical Center, an Early College Academy CTE Center that worked to provide dual credit access for students with Navajo Technical University and local industry partners. Milo is passionate about building and expanding career pathways, industry relationships and programs of study across the state. Milo is particularly proud of his work in creating programs and experiences for districts in the state that have large Native populations and hopes to expand program offerings and funding streams to impact rural indigenous communities.

Through Milo’s new role as the State CTE Director, he hopes to expand and support CTE instructors and local leaders to help them leverage CTE to “do cool stuff for kids and create opportunities for engaging and relevant curricula.” His experience as a local administrator will be leveraged to remove barriers for more local education agencies (LEAs) and Native institutions to apply for Perkins V funding. Central to achieving both of these priorities is building more meaningful and trusting stakeholder engagement outside of the state plan process.

Finally, Milo strives for the ‘Land of Enchantment’ to lead the way on workforce and education and workforce innovation through CTE. One potential avenue is through his local and now state management of the Innovation Zone Grant, which funds professional development, guidance and technical assistance, and grant dollars to “re-imagine the high school experience” to include expanded work-based learning, project-based learning and CTE.

Outside of his role as State Director, Milo loves to play tennis with friends and family and be outdoors in New Mexico’s beautiful forests where he loves to camp and hunt each fall. Milo has two sons, an eighth grader, a fourth grader and two twin girls on the way expected in May. He jokes that he is very invested in New Mexico public education “as in four years he will have a senior in high school, a middle schooler, and two little girls in Pre-K.”

Please join us in welcoming Milo to his new role, and to Advance CTE!

Stacy Whitehouse, Communications Manager

By Jodi Langellotti in Advance CTE State Director
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Getting to Know the 2022- 2024 Advance CTE – ECMCF Fellows Part 4

Wednesday, January 18th, 2023

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.

Over the next several weeks, this blog series will introduce each Fellow participating in the second cohort of emerging leaders from 14 states, including 12 professionals of color.

Dr. Angela Lawhorne – Virginia

Dr. Angela Lawhorne has more than 15 years of experience supporting career development grants for two-year institutions and serving in regional and state leadership roles for workforce programs. Her passion for workforce development began during her service in the United States Air Force, where she supported diet therapy training programs. Currently, she serves as Director of Career Education Programs & Workforce Partnerships at the Virginia Community College System Office, adjunct Assistant Professor with Old Dominion University and Chair of the Southampton County Public Schools CTE Advisory Committee. Dr. Lawhorne holds an executive master’s degree in Business Administration from Texas A&M University and a doctorate in Community College Leadership from Old Dominion University.

Nancy Ligus – West Virginia

Nancy Ligus leverages her unique experience as a former small business owner, industry manager, and workforce educator to design curricula for industry development and work-based learning. Currently, she serves as Director of Workforce, Continuing Education and Economic Development for Pierpont Community & Technical College in West Virginia. She earned both a Human Resource Management Certificate and an associate degree in business marketing from Community College of Allegheny and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Seton Hill University.

Leisa Mathews – Wyoming

Leisa Mathews’ career began her career in the industry sector in human resources and workforce training roles for the oil and gas industry, including designing an international competency-based training curriculum. Her path eventually led to postsecondary administration and workforce development, where she currently serves as the Workforce Development Coordinator and Perkins Coordinator for Western Wyoming Community College.

By Jodi Langellotti in Uncategorized
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Welcome Suela Cela to Advance CTE!

Thursday, July 7th, 2022

Hello! My name is Suela Cela and I am excited to be joining Advance CTE as Senior Policy Associate. In this role, I will be supporting Advance CTE in various projects to advance equity and access in Career Technical Education (CTE), including the Opportunity Gap Analysis workshop and pilot, the College in the High School Alliance partnership and launching an initiative focused on the use of stimulus funds for CTE. 

I am originally from Albania and moved to the United State as an exchange student in high school in the beautiful state of Montana. I have earned a Bachelors in Business Administration and a Masters in Public Administration. I have over ten years of experience working in post secondary education within areas of enrollment management, academic affairs for both transfer and CTE, and accreditation. I have led and supported many initiatives and projects to best support learners to achieve their educational goals. My favorite initiative was launching a concurrent enrollment program, providing access to high school students to take courses for college credit. Through this program, many learners were able to explore college courses and get a head start on the college experience. 

This past year, I had the opportunity to work with the National Alliance for Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) in supporting select states in advancing policies to expand access to higher education for historically marginalized learners, particularly learners experiencing low income. 

In my personal time, I love to spend time outdoors, read autobiographies and travel. My husband and I have visited over 20 countries together, and I have visited 27 countries. 

Suela Cela, Senior Policy Associate 

 

 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Uncategorized
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Getting to Know….Alaska

Thursday, May 28th, 2020

Note: This is part of Advance CTE’s blog series, “Getting to Know…” We are using this series to help our readers learn more about specific states, State CTE Directors, partners and more. 

State Name: Alaska

State CTE Director: Deborah Riddle

Before becoming the State CTE Director for Alaska, Deborah Riddle was a teacher. She taught math, Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) and robotics in rural Montana. During her time as a teacher, she worked closely with high school teachers to create alignment between middle school and high school. After receiving an administrative certificate to become a principal, she decided to move back home to Alaska. Deborah became a School Improvement Title I Specialist before beginning her work in Career Technical Education (CTE).

About Alaska:

At the state level, CTE in Alaska is supported by a small but mighty team of five. The work of the state CTE office in Alaska is guided by the state’s commitment to address the education challenges in the state. A few years ago, the State Department of Education brought together a group of over 100 stakeholders, including legislators, educators and business and industry, to examine the educational challenges the state faces. From that gathering, Alaska’s Education Challenge was born. The initiative focuses on three commitments related to enabling student success, promoting the safety and wellbeing of students, and cultivating responsible and reflective learning.

Core to Alaska’s work is promoting access and equity for each learner. Alaska has a robust Native and rural population that can face unique challenges when trying to access high-quality CTE programs. Alaska has leveraged approaches such as virtual learning to meet the needs of learners. Additionally, Alaska has taken a culturally responsive approach to addressing equity and access issues for Native populations.

In the past, Native learners were removed from their communities and sent to boarding schools that failed to serve them equitably. This was done in part because of the lack of opportunities available in Native learners’ communities. Recognizing the importance of allowing Native learners the option to continue to reside in their communities for the majority of their time, Alaska created short-term residencies. During the short-term residencies, Native learners are able to travel to urban areas for short periods of time to participate in programs that require equipment not available in their communities and that allows them to earn credit or certifications. The short-term residencies allow learners to interact with business and industry and gain critical workplace skills.

Looking forward, Alaska plans to continue to focus on advancing equity and access in CTE and ensuring that each learner is on a path to obtain a high-skill, high-wage, in-demand career.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

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Getting to Know….West Virginia

Thursday, May 21st, 2020

Note: This is part of Advance CTE’s blog series, “Getting to Know…” We are using this series to help our readers learn more about specific states, State CTE Directors, partners and more.

State Name: West Virginia

State CTE Director: Dr. Sarah Tucker, Chancellor, West Virginia Community and Technical College

Before becoming the Chancellor of West Virginia’s Community and Technical College System (WVCTCS), Dr. Tucker was a self-proclaimed “data geek” who worked in policy and planning. Dr. Tucker analyzed data that examined who was attending college, who wasn’t and what happened to students once they arrived at college. From that work, Dr. Tucker soon realized that West Virginia’s state workforce needs would not be met if low graduation rates persisted. Dr. Tucker applied for and received a grant that allowed her to play a role in revamping the state’s approach to development education, which resulted in a full scale corequisite redesign of remedial education. As Chancellor of the of the WVCTCS, and now Interim Chancellor of the state’s four-year system of higher education, Dr. Tucker has played a key role in promoting high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) programs.

About West Virginia: CTE in West Virginia is delivered through secondary institutions, nine community and technical colleges, 24 CTE centers and seven multicounty centers. Historically, CTE in West Virginia functioned separately at the secondary and postsecondary levels. One of the priorities for Dr. Tucker when she became Chancellor was to address this lack of alignment, which she did through working with the State Superintendent of Schools at the West Virginia Department of Education.

In addition to secondary and postsecondary alignment, the quality of CTE programs in the state are bolstered by strong industry partnerships. West Virginia has longstanding, strong relationships with partners, particularly at community colleges. The community colleges in West Virginia work with more than 700 companies across the state. Colleges take a sector based approach to workforce development, meeting with industry sectors throughout the year to get buy-in from companies and to ensure programs align with employer needs.

The state recognized that core to quality programs is ensuring access and equity. West Virginia has a high poverty rate, with 17.8 percent of the population experiencing poverty. To address socioeconomic gaps, in 2019, the State Legislature passed legislation to create West Virginia Invests, which is a last-dollar-in grant program that covers the cost of tuition and associated fees for a certificate or associate degree programs aligned with high-demand fields at public two-year or four-year institutions. Notably, enrollment of first-time freshmen in the state’s nine community and technical colleges increased 9.9 percent from fall 2018 to fall 2019 after the creation of West Virginia Invests.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

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Getting to Know… Hawai’i

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018

Note: This is part of Advance CTE’s blog series, “Getting to Know…” We are using this series to help our readers learn more about specific states, State CTE Directors, partners and more.

State Name: Hawai’i

State CTE Director: Bernadette Howard, State Director for Career and Technical Education,
University of Hawai’i

About Hawai’i:
Hawai’i’s Career Technical Education (CTE) system is unique in that it is composed of one K-12 system, one postsecondary system and one workforce system. Hawai’i’s K-12 system consists of one local education agency and the University of Hawai’i system is composed of 10 campuses- seven community colleges and three four-year institutions. This straightforward system aids Hawai’i in its efforts to align the secondary system with the postsecondary and workforce systems.

Hawai’i ensures that its secondary system is aligned with its postsecondary and workforce system through the use of CTE programs of study. The high schools and colleges partner together to make sure their programs are aligned. Each programs of study is approved by the appropriate Pathway Advisory Council, which consists of representatives from industry, the postsecondary system, the secondary system and the CTE office.

Funding
Hawai’i divides the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV) funding evenly among the secondary and postsecondary CTE systems. Forty-three high schools and seven college programs receive funding. Hawai’i uses more than 85 percent of its Perkins funding to support local level CTE programs, which is more than the required amount in Perkins IV.

Notable in Hawai’i- Rural Employment Engagement

Hawai’i is looking to connect industry to classroom and increase the overall recognition of CTE. The plan will include piloting the initiative in three middle schools and three high schools on the island of Kauai. Teachers will receive access to technology such as the online platform Nepris, which allows teachers to virtually connect students to industry professionals. This is an expansion from the original pilot when only CTE teachers received access to the platform. Hawai’i wants to ensure students see the variety of career option available versus what is the most popular among their peers, especially for those in the more rural areas.

Notable in Hawai’i- Longitudinal Data System

One of the strengths of Hawai’i’s CTE system is its access to the longitudinal data system, the Hawai’i Data Exchange Partnership, to track learners’ progression and outcomes and to influence policy and programmatic decisions. The Hawai’i Data Exchange Partnership is a statewide, cross-agency data system that links early learning, K-12, postsecondary and labor data. This systems alignment allows Hawai’i to evaluate and improve learner outcomes. Additionally, through this partnership, Hawai’i is hiring a full time staff member at the data exchange to focus solely on CTE data.

Notable in Hawai’i- P-20 Partnerships for Education

Hawai’i has worked to connect career, college, and community through the Hawai’i- P-20 Partnerships for Education initiative. The goal is for 55 percent of Hawai‘i’s working age adults to have a two- or four- year college degree by the year 2025. To help inform this work they have formed the P-20 Advisory Council, a group of 30 leaders from education, business, labor, government and community who all seek to improve educational outcomes by actively and continually providing their support and guidance to the state.

Nicole Howard, Communications Associate and Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
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Getting to Know… Oklahoma

Monday, March 27th, 2017

Note: This is part of Advance CTE’s blog series, “Getting to Know…” We are using this series to help our readers learn more about specific states, State CTE Directors, partners and more.

State Name: Oklahoma

State CTE Director: Dr. Marcie Mack, state director, Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education

About Oklahoma: Oklahoma is home to the Oklahoma CareerTech System and the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, the state agency that oversees Career Technical Education (CTE) in Oklahoma. The system includes 29 technology center districts — each serving students at both the secondary and postsecondary level — and 395 comprehensive school district with CTE programs; 15 locations for 42 Skills Centers programs for offenders; and business and industry services to more than 7,000 companies annually. The system serves students through more than 500,000 enrollments annually. The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education is governed by a nine-member, governor-appointed Board of Career and Technology Education. The board operates separately from the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, enabling the state to collaborate more intentionally across various agencies.

There is growing enthusiasm for CareerTech in Oklahoma, spurred in part by Gov. Mary Fallin’s Oklahoma Works Initiative — a cross-sector effort to strengthen the state workforce and close the skills gap — and the goal to increase postsecondary education and training attainment to 70 percent of individuals between the ages of 25 and 64 by the year 2025. With such enthusiasm on postsecondary attainment, Oklahoma is optimistic the current 50 percent of students in grades nine through 12 who enroll in CareerTech courses each year will increase as the state works to meet the educational attainment goal.

Programs of Study: Oklahoma’s programs of study are organized into 15 Career Clusters® that are aligned to the national Career Clusters framework. The board of CTE uses Perkins funds to develop statewide frameworks for many programs of study that local administrators can download and customize to fit the needs of their communities. To support local delivery and ensure that students receive appropriate and timely guidance, in 2015 Oklahoma launched a web-based career guidance platform called OK Career Guide. It provides data and resources to educators, parents and students to facilitate career exploration and enable students to identify and pursue high-quality learning experiences tied to their career interests.

Cross-Sector Partnerships: As an independent body, the Oklahoma Board of CTE has been able to work collaboratively across various agencies and sectors. One such collaboration is with the Department of Corrections. For years, Oklahoma has provided CareerTech opportunities to incarcerated youth and adults through a correctional education system. Approximately 1,600 individuals are served each year through these programs, with a job placement rate of more than 80 percent.

Oklahoma CareerTech also works directly with counterparts in secondary and postsecondary education. Working closely with the State Department of Education, CareerTech ensures high-quality instruction and curriculum throughout CTE programs in sixth through 12th grades. Core to this partnership is the Oklahoma state superintendent’s position as the chairman of the CareerTech board, which helps to facilitate collaboration on efforts such as teacher certification, academic credit and academy approval. At the postsecondary level, the board works with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to maintain credit articulation agreements for prior learning assessments, helping to streamline the pathways from secondary to postsecondary education.

Additionally, Oklahoma has strong partnerships with business and industry leaders through technology center business and industry services which provided services to more than 7,000 companies last year.  Examples of some of the services include safety training, customized training, Oklahoma Bid Assistance Network, and adult career development to name a few.  The statewide Key Economic Networks (KEN) established with Oklahoma Works include representation from regional stakeholders who collaborate to develop, strengthen and expand career pathways. Through regional KENs, Oklahoma has been able to leverage employer insights, reflect on labor market information and encourage strong partnerships at the local level.

On the Horizon: In January 2017, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced that Oklahoma would be part of a cohort of states focusing on transforming career readiness systems under the New Skills for Youth Initiative. Oklahoma, along with nine other states, will receive $2 million over the next three years to embark on an ambitious statewide effort to improve access to high-quality CTE programs.

Separately, the Oklahoma State Board of Education approved a new accountability framework late in 2016 that aims to count postsecondary opportunities as viable options for the framework, including participation in internships, apprenticeships, industry certifications and dual (concurrent) enrollment. Previously, these indicators were awarded as bonus points only.

Austin Estes, Policy Associate

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