This post is written by Project Lead The Way, a Platinum Level sponsor of the 2019 Advance CTE Spring Meeting.

CTE provides vital resources for all students, particularly those who may otherwise not see STEM career opportunities.

“Students can’t be what they can’t see.”

This has become a mantra at Project Lead The Way (PLTW). While this statement applies to all students, many female, minority, or economically disadvantaged students may find it particularly difficult to see a variety of college or career options for themselves – especially in STEM fields. Yet STEM jobs continue to be the most in demand and highest paying.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s STEM Jobs: 2017 Update, STEM employment growth far exceeds growth in non-STEM occupations, and experts project that trend will continue. Career and Technical Education (CTE), including PLTW programs, give students opportunities to explore interests that can lead to lucrative and rewarding career paths.

PLTW’s PreK-12 pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science empower students to develop in-demand skills needed to pursue rewarding careers, solve important challenges, and contribute to global progress. Providing students with these hands-on, real-world applied learning experiences is critical. In the 2017 report “STEM Occupations: Past, Present, and Future,” the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that STEM occupations experience above-average growth and that 93 out of 100 STEM occupations have wages “significantly above the national average wage for all occupations.”

In order to break down barriers that may keep students from “seeing” career opportunities, PLTW works to increase diversity and equity in CTE. How can CTE programs across the country expand access to all students?

Create Opportunities for Early Access to Career Learning

Access to engaging, high-quality, relevant, confidence-building STEM experiences is vital for all students – especially girls – and the earlier, the better. Research published in the journal “Child Development” shows that children express the stereotype that mathematics is for boys, not for girls, as early as second grade. Additionally, 65 percent of scientists and graduate students interviewed in one study published in the “International Journal of Science” reported that their interest in science began before middle school.

Since 2014, PLTW has expanded career learning well before middle school with the addition of PLTW Launch for PreK-5. PLTW Launch empowers students to adopt a design-thinking mindset through compelling activities, projects, and problems that build upon each other and relate to the world around them. Students engage in hands-on activities in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science. Initially developed for K-5, PLTW added PreK in 2018 to engage learners as they first begin entering the school setting.

Leverage Partnerships and Community Resources to Expand Reach

PLTW is committed to engaging more students – including those from underrepresented backgrounds – in STEM, and research supports PLTW’s effectiveness in this area. A national demographic analysis of PLTW students finds that PLTW programs are distributed across the entire economic spectrum, and many schools with high minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged student populations have implemented PLTW with success.

The Toppenish School District, for instance, is a PLTW district in rural Washington. Ninety-five percent of its student population is Hispanic and Native American, and 100 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. In 2010, Toppenish High School implemented PLTW. Today, all students take at least one PLTW course, and female/male enrollment in the second year of PLTW courses is nearly equal. High-level math and science class enrollment has skyrocketed, and remedial class enrollment has dropped. The district now offers PLTW in all of its schools, and the graduation rate is 97.5 percent, compared to 90.4 percent five years prior.

PLTW leverages philanthropic partnerships to expand program access through grants, providing underserved students with access to high-quality STEM learning. For example, PLTW and Verizon have partnered since 2014 to provide computer science curriculum in schools with an average free or reduced-price lunch eligible population of 85 percent, benefiting students in 36 states across the U.S. PLTW also partners with organizations committed to increasing diversity in STEM, such as the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE), the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME).

Provide Mentoring and Career Shadowing Opportunities to Open Students’ Eyes

PLTW alumna Markie Wagner shared in a recent episode of InspirED, a podcast from PLTW, that career experiences and mentoring opportunities play a critical role in inspiring students to pursue STEM interests, especially for girls and underserved communities. We all have a part to play in opening students’ eyes in order to open doors to endless possibilities, ensuring a better equipped and diverse workforce for the future.

Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is a nonprofit organization that provides a transformative learning experience for PreK-12 students and teachers across the U.S. PLTW empowers students to develop in-demand, transportable knowledge and skills through pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science. PLTW’s teacher training and resources support teachers as they engage their students in real-world learning. Schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia offer PLTW programs. For more information on PLTW, visit pltw.org.

This post is written by Fleck Education, a Platinum Level sponsor of the 2019 Advance CTE Spring Meeting.

When the Career Technical Education (CTE) teachers and leaders I know first heard about the new Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) Local Needs Assessment requirement, their reactions were less than positive. That’s putting it kindly. Many expressed a mix of anxiety and frustration about “another new mandate.”

That sentiment makes sense: change is difficult. Being nimble and adaptable – the soft-skills we teach to our students – can be tough to put into actual practice. The biggest fear appears to be the “risk” of opening up local CTE programs of study to the opinions – and possible misunderstandings – of local employers, parents, leaders and community members. Maybe they’ll tell us how we should or shouldn’t fund our programs or think CTE is less rigorous than traditional school programs.

The reality is that all of us working with CTE already face these misconceptions on a daily basis, whether expressed verbally or not. The majority of people living  in our communities have only a fuzzy understanding of CTE.

A potential benefit of  the local needs assessment requirement is that many of these same community individuals will be invited to attend meetings where they will discover CTE’s amazing graduation rates, career readiness programs, and how CTE impacts students lives. When these local needs assessment meetings occur, it is likely you will hear misunderstandings and misgivings loud and clear. However, the meetings will also provide the opportunity to correct misinformation and present the full picture of CTE, along with data that shows what’s working well and the challenges that lie ahead. They’ll hear touching CTE student success stories and can reflect on how the obstacles are not just CTE challenges but also a community responsibility. By being at the table, stakeholders at your local needs assessment convenings will deepen their understanding of CTE and come to recognize their role in the support and ultimate success of CTE in your community.

To prepare, it is important to think through how you will handle the personalities of some of the individuals who may show up at your meetings, such as:

• The Naysayer. This individual doesn’t like anything being done in education. If every student graduated and transitioned to a career with a $150K annual salary, this person would still not be happy. Use facilitation strategies that allow for their input during the meeting, with limits, and offer a post-meeting discussion. “I appreciate your concerns and really do understand this frustrates you, so let’s talk about this more after the meeting…”
• The Usual. Often, but not always, the “usual” is that employer who says “All I need are employees who show up for work on time, every day, and pass a drug test.” Or “Just get them to me and I’ll teach them everything they need to know.”  Be empathetic and suggest that they would be an ideal member of a task force to study this issue further. At some point, when it doesn’t come across as confrontational, reiterate CTE’s purpose of preparing students for the multitude of careers they may have in their futures, not just the skills for one specific job.
• The Misinformed. Some individuals still believe the only pathway to success is a traditional four year college degree leading to a white collar occupation. Anything else is setting students up for a life of disappointment. While it may be subtle, you’ll recognize their bias. These individuals typically come around when they review actual salary data and career satisfaction reports and meet students and adults who have succeeded through a variety of alternative pathways.

For all of these individuals, and for some of us too, the new local needs assessment mandate will require us to change our thinking and how we do things. It may be uncomfortable at first and will undoubtedly be tough. But it will also be an opportunity to substantially build the reputation, the quality and the overall success of our local and state CTE programs.

Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” When we look past the hard work the new local needs assessment requires, I believe we will uncover a significant opportunity to further enhance the value of CTE in our communities.  

Join state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders from across the country April 8-10 in Washington, D.C. for a three-day professional development conference that will explore the latest issues and challenges influencing CTE today.

The annual Spring Meeting will equip you with the resources and knowledge you need to be innovative and bold as you begin to implement the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) and help you develop a clear vision to guide CTE in your state. Our agenda features breakout sessions featuring promising practices, roundtable discussions for peer-to-peer learning and panels led by CTE experts.

This meeting is more important than ever as it will be Advance CTE’s only public conference this year while we support state efforts to implement Perkins V.

Register today here! 

THE DETAILS:
April 8-10, 2019
Omni Shoreham
2500 Calvert St NW
Washington, DC 20008

Deadline to register: March 15, 2019

Deadline to reserve a hotel room: March 18, 2019

This post is written by PMIEF, a Platinum Level sponsor of the 2018 Advance CTE Fall Meeting.

Reengineering the Learning Experience

Across the globe, there’s a widening gap between employers’ need for key skills and the availability of professionals to fulfill those needs. A strategic mindset is the most desired yet, hardest-to-find skill among employers. Given recent changes in the economy, we need to ask how schools organize learning to support new economic realities and encourage deeper learning outcomes. Are students:

• Learning how to utilize their own interests and passions to grow their skills? 
• Mastering core academic content that is relevant to the challenges of their future careers?
• Collaborating with others; learning complex skills and behaviors needed to successfully complete projects likely encountered in college, universities, and especially in the workplace?

Most young people will manage projects every day for the rest of their personal and professional lives. Applying project management methodology in the classroom offers students rich opportunities to learn how to manage and lead effective projects, hone a variety of essential 21st century skills, apply these skills to deepen their subject-matter knowledge, and reduce the talent gap.

If we want to empower the millions of students for whom college is not a given or those without access to a quality education, then consider project management and the big picture: projects aren’t the big picture or an end result – they’re part of the picture itself and project management provides a standard framework for consistently doing projects well.

To learn more about changing the way children learn, live, and plan for the future through the knowledge and application of project management, visit PMI’s Educational Foundation (PMIEF)or visit our booth at the 2018 Advance CTE Fall Meeting.