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$75 Million Investment Puts CTE on a National Stage

January 21st, 2016

On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase announced a $75 million initiative, New Skills for Youth, to support Career Technical Education (CTE) in the United States and abroad including $35 million dedicated to improving state CTE systems through a competition co-led by NASDCTEc and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). This announcement has made its way through social media channels, on blogs and in national and local publications, placing CTE front and center on the national education stage. We’ve pulled together some of the best Tweets, articles and information from the announcement.

A variety of op-eds were picked up including one by Freeman Hrabowski, President of UMBC, and Jamie Dimon, President and CEO of JPMorgan Chase in USA Today, and Chauncy Lennon, Head of Workforce Initiatives at JPMorgan Chase on U.S. News.

Additionally, Chicago Tribune and Politico highlighted the new initiative, and an article in Education Week focused on the state competition grants. CBS News released a video of Dimon speaking about the benefits of this investment. The Seventy Four reported the $75 million investment pushed education philanthropy to $1.2 billion so far in 2016. To keep up-to-date with New Skills for Youth be sure to check our Newsroom, and learn more about the initiative including the state competitions here.

Katie Fitzgerald, Communications Associate 

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State Policy Update: It’s that Time Again

January 15th, 2016

That’s right, it’s time again for state legislatures to begin work on yet another year of lawmaking. It’s also time for our annual publication of “2015 Year in Review: State Policies Impacting CTE,” a joint venture of NASDCTEc and the Association of Career and Technical Education. You can find the report here on January 21.

Have you signed up for our January 21 webinar yet? Join us as we unpack the policy trends from 2015 and take a deep dive on major efforts in Colorado with state Senate Minority Leader Rollie Heath and Dr. Sarah Heath, Assistant Provost for CTE with the Colorado Community College System.

Looking ahead to 2016, several statehouses are already off to a fast start. In fact, 30 legislatures have already begun their work, and as many as 16 governors have already given their annual State of the State or budget addresses. We will continue to provide updates as the remaining governors give their speeches and unveil their budgets. (Note: Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas do not have legislative sessions this year.)

The governors’ addresses often provide a window into the major issues that will dominate the year’s legislative agenda. Already, it seems to be a mixed bag fiscally with some governors citing the acute budget crunch facing their states. Others are reveling in their surpluses and proposing major increases to core services such as education and health care that were often neglected as the states recovered from the Great Recession.

Here’s a quick roundup of some gubernatorial highlights as they impact CTE:

  • Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe called for transforming the Commonwealth’s education and workforce development systems to better meet the demands of the future. McAuliffe hailed the bipartisan backing of his budget proposal Go Virginia, which seeks to foster regional collaboration among government, businesses and education. He highlighted the need to build an education system that emphasizes entrepreneurship, hands-on learning, early college courses and industry credentials. He also called for an end to an education system beholden to seat-time. He also called for more than $1 billion in new funds across all levels of education, including $139 million for K-12 education and $25 million to Virginia’s community colleges to produce more industry certifications and occupational licenses.
  • In Idaho, Governor Butch Otter proposed a 9 percent increase for the state’s community colleges as well as $5 million for college and career advising, and $1.1 million to develop a competency-based education system for up to 20 school districts. Other proposed spending includes grants for STEM and computer science.
  • Finally, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin proposed restructuring the state’s current innovation zone system with a new program, Innovation in Education, which reallocates $2.5 million to help schools develop new methods to increase student interest in STEM and entrepreneurship.

Other governors (California, Georgia and New York) proposed major K-12 funding increases, but it remains unclear how and if that will impact CTE. Similar, several governors (Georgia, Indiana, and South Dakota) also focused on increasing the salaries for K-12 teachers and other ways to recruit and retain teachers.

Andrea Zimmermann, State Policy Associate

 

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NASDCTEc Legislative Update: President Obama Delivers Last State of the Union, Groups Call for Perkins Reauthorization

January 13th, 2016

United States CapitalLast night President Obama delivered his final State of the Union (SOTU) address to Congress. This particular speech was a bit different in tone and substance than previous addresses the President has annually delivered since 2009. Rather than outlining a policy agenda for the coming year, President Obama largely took a more introspective approach to his last speech to Congress, highlighting many of his policy achievements that have come to define his time in office while identifying some of the key challenges he argued the country must address once he departs from the White House.

This year’s SOTU address was organized around four big questions that related directly to these challenges. The first two of these related to the President’s economic opportunity agenda which he argued will provide “everyone a fair shot at success” primarily through education and training while the next question related to the nation’s ability to harness and leverage the potential of technology.

The President spoke to these questions directly last night highlighting the importance of supporting graduates in fields like engineering and computer science, while mentioning the recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as important achievement of his administration. He also emphasized the importance of students being “job-ready on day one”, as he underlined the progress his administration has made in maximizing the national high school graduation rate.

Significantly, President Obama renewed his call to increase college affordability by making the first two years of a college education tuition-free for eligible students. However, the majority of last night’s SOTU was devoted to other issues that will likely take center stage in the coming presidential election later this year.

350 Businesses, Employer Associations, and Education Groups Call for Perkins Reauthorization

Last Friday a national coalition of stakeholders interested in the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins) sent a letter to Congress calling on lawmakers to reauthorize this important law in final session of the 114th Congress.

The letter garnered 350 signatures of support from groups throughout the country ranging from Fortune 500 companies such as IBM and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., to other well-known organizations such as the NAACP and the American Federation of Teachers. NASDCTEc was proud to be counted among this large, highly diverse group of co-signers and supports the four broad recommendations outlined in the letter for the law’s renewal:

  • Strengthening CTE program alignment to the needs of the local, regional, and state economy;
  • Supporting effective and meaningful collaboration between secondary and postsecondary CTE and employers;
  • Increasing student participation in experiential and work-based learning opportunities; and
  • Promoting the use of industry-recognized credentials.

As we have previously shared, Congress is in the early stages of consideration of the Perkins Act. The House Education committee recently held a Perkins-related hearing in late 2015— right around the same time the Senate Education committee released a set of bipartisan reauthorization principles that have guided efforts to reauthorize the law in that chamber.

The Congressional education committees have continued to prioritize the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) in 2016, but a number of extenuating factors related to that effort keep the chances of further Congressional consideration of Perkins this year relatively high.

Be sure to check back here for more updates and analysis as Perkins reauthorization continues to take shape in the months ahead.

Odds & Ends

  • The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is soliciting input from interested stakeholders for regulations or guidance on the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)— recently passed legislation reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Comments are due January 21, 2016 and more information is available here.
  • USDE recently sent a Dear Colleague letter to states clarifying the Department’s expectations for states transitioning to ESSA in the coming years. The letter covers a host of issues, including clarification on states’ annual measurable objectives (AMOs) along with other important topics related to ESSA implementation. Read the letter here.
  • Tomorrow Acting Secretary John King will begin his “Opportunity Across America” tour, which will start in Texas. The tour will be a launching pad for USDE’s policy agenda in the coming year. Read more about his trip here.
  • The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently updated their “occupational outlook handbook” for the coming year. The bureau has also published an article this month examining labor market trends in a number of in-demand industries which can be viewed here.

Steve Voytek, Government Relations Manager

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NASDCTEc Welcomes Jeralyn Jargo!

December 22nd, 2015

Jeralyn Jargo is Minnesota’s newest State CTE Director and has big plans for CTE in the state. Jargo has held a wide array of jobs in the education sector including teaching high school science, setting up programs of study in respiratory therapy, serving as an academic dean for a two-year college, and most recently, was the vice president of advancement and innovation at Century College.

Throughout Jargo’s career, one thing that has always held true is that collaboration across sectors and industries is critical to creating the best possible outcomes for students. One project Jargo facilitated in her most recent position was a Shark Tank-like grant initiative where students participated in a series of workshops and mentorships before delivering an idea or product to a multi-disciplinary panel of judges comprised of community leaders; business partners; and faculty in science, engineering and marketing. Winners were awarded $5,000 scholarships. This innovative approach at awarding scholarships allowed students to work across disciplines and sectors, an experience they are sure to repeat in their careers.

As the State CTE Director, Jargo is working to build an environment where collaboration like this and innovation are key components in the way her department functions, and how programs of study are delivered to students. “The majority of us aren’t going to go to Harvard or play for the Cubs, so how do we help the masses of folks who learn by touching and smelling and participating,  who are going to have a job that requires critical thinking and transferrable skills, concepts that all come from a foundation of CTE?”

One way Jargo will tackle this challenge is by building meaningful and authentic partnerships with business, industry and policymakers in the state. “There is a huge window of opportunity to focus on the understanding of CTE,” said Jargo. “It’s a very good time to promote CTE. The business community is more and more engaged and they are powerful advocates for the system.”

In addition, Jargo wants to improve the support students receive as they move in, out and back into education. A successful program would be one where students are supported through these transitions, or as Jargo put it, “If you fly over the Twin Cities and look at the on and off ramps…That’s what CTE would look like. Traffic would be flowing at a steady rate.”

Katie Fitzgerald, Communications Associate 

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Excellence in Action: Marine Academy of Science and Technology

December 17th, 2015

Thank you to all of you who submitted applications to our 2016 Excellence in Action awards! We are digging through the applications ospreynow and are blown away by the number of innovative, exciting and inspiring programs of study from big cities to tiny rural towns. We’re looking forward to announcing the winners in late February.

While learning about all these new programs of study, we thought it would be a good time to look back at one of our 2015 award winners, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST), the award recipient in the Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Career Cluster. This program has been educating secondary students in Highland, New Jersey for 34 years. Students get the chance to work with the nearby National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) lab, a 65-foot research vessel, and a four-year naval science program through the NJROTC, all while earning up to 17 college credits.

In addition to the program of study’s goal of preparing students for postsecondary education, students are also provided with work-based learning opportunities working hand-in-hand with some of the best scientists in the country at the North East Fisheries Science Center, or on research projects with the National Park Service.

MAST has set up students for incredible success, with 100 percent of students graduating high school and enrolling in postsecondary education, 50 percent of whom enrolled in a STEM field. Learn more about MAST and our 2015 award winners.

Katie Fitzgerald, Communications Associate 

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This Week in CTE: ESSA

December 11th, 2015

TWEET OF THE WEEK

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

Congress is Getting Rid of No Child Left Behind. Here’s What Will Replace It
Yesterday, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act into law, replacing No Child Left Behind. While the vast majority of power is shifted from the Federal Government back to the States, here’s a rundown of what’s left of No Child Left Behind, and what changes with the new law.
More

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

President Obama signs the Every Student Succeeds Act

Katie Fitzgerald, Communications Associate 

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NASDCTEc Endorses Proposed Every Student Succeeds Act

December 2nd, 2015

The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) is excited to announce its endorsement of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the proposed legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

“The Every Student Succeeds Act is a significant, bipartisan legislative achievement that provides states and schools with the opportunity to offer every student equitable access to a high-quality education that truly prepares them for postsecondary and career success,” said Kimberly Green, NASDCTEc Executive Director.

The Career Technical Education (CTE) community has long-advocated for federal policy that improves collaboration between academic and CTE courses and programs.  “By recognizing that all students need a combination of academic, technical and employability skills in order to succeed and thrive in the dynamic global economy, ESSA represents an important step forward in federal policy. To that end, we urge members in both chambers of Congress to vote in support of this legislation’s swift passage.”

The Every Student Succeeds Act is the product of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations to reauthorize ESEA, the law formerly known as No Child Left Behind, which has been due for renewal since 2007. Earlier this year, NASDCTEc released a set of legislative recommendations calling for a bill that would more effectively leverage CTE in a new ESEA law.

The conference report for the Every Student Succeeds Act was released earlier this week and is expected to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives later today. It will then move to the Senate next week for further consideration.

Katie Fitzgerald, Communications Associate 

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Welcome to Colorado’s Newest State CTE Director, Sarah Heath!

November 30th, 2015

Sarah Heath, Colorado’s newest State CTE Director began her career in education by chance, occasionally substitute teaching a computer applications class at a local high school while finishing her undergraduate degree in business in Georgia. Dr. Heath found that working with students was much more compelling and fulfilling than her previous work on management information and database systems, and when the job became available, Dr. Heath took on a full time teaching position.

Upon completion of her master’s degree in business education at the University of Georgia, Dr. Heath became very active in the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education, attended the national conference, and worked on a variety of committees. Finding she excelled in leadership roles, Dr. Heath rose the ranks quickly after transitioning to the administrative side of education, and became the state program director in Georgia.

After completing her PhD in Georgia, Dr. Heath moved to Colorado and worked as the local district CTE director for the Jefferson County (Jeffco) Public School system, the largest public school system in Colorado, while also serving as ACTE’s national president. While at Jeffco, she experienced a completely different CTE system than in Georgia. In Georgia, the state oversees much of its CTE, from professional development of educators to course selection. In comparison, in Colorado, CTE is controlled primarily at the local level. And, whereas Georgia has a long history and tradition of CTE, Dr. Heath saw a greater need for stronger workforce and employer engagement strategy in Colorado.

In her new role as the State CTE Director, Dr. Heath is committed to creating stronger connections between business and industry partners and local districts. Instead of business taking a passive approach to CTE, Dr. Heath envisions a system where employers from the state, regional and local level will take center stage and not only serve on advisory committees, but also direct the curriculum of CTE programming. “Employers can talk about their needs, and CTE can be an answer to those needs,” said Dr. Heath. “We need to help agencies, associations, industry and education across the state be a part of each other’s way of doing business. CTE is relevant to what business is doing, and the more we can demonstrate that the brighter our future will be.”

In addition to engaging industry as equal partners in the development of CTE in the state, Dr. Heath will focus on using the data and employment projections from labor and workforce agencies and organizations in Colorado to assist in deciding what is relevant to a student’s education, and training locals to make programmatic decisions the same way.

In addition to building relationships between education and industry, Dr. Heath wants to create more defined transitions between secondary and postsecondary CTE, along with raising the profile of CTSOs and their value to students.

After years of working with Dr. Heath in her role as ACTE national president, NASDCTEc is excited to have her join our ranks as one our newest State CTE Directors!

Katie Fitzgerald, Communications Associate 

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Three Weeks Left to Apply to the Excellence in Action Award

November 18th, 2015

Three Weeks Left to Apply to the 2016 Excellence in Action Award!2016ExcellenceinActionapp

The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium is searching the country for superior programs of study across the 16 Career Clusters that have a meaningful impact on student success.

Why Should I Apply?

Receiving the Excellence in Action award means your program of study will be showcased on a national level through conferences, webinars, in a monthly newsletter to members of Congress, in the media, on our website and in our blog. It’s a chance to show the rest of the country how your program of study prepares students for successful and meaningful careers through high-quality CTE. If you want to see examples of some stellar programs of study, take a look at the 2014 and 2015 winners, some of which were featured at the White House.

How to Apply

Complete the Award Application and follow steps for submission of your application by the application deadline, Wednesday, December 9, 2015.5:00 p.m. ET.

For questions or more information email [email protected].

Katie Fitzgerald, Communications Associate 

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This Week in CTE: #YesSheCan

November 13th, 2015

TWEET(S) OF THE WEEK

The White House hosted an all-day forum on Friday, “Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color,” taking on topics such as education, health, economic conditions and portrayal in the media.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Earlier this week, the White House hosted the Summit on Next Generation High Schools and announced more than $375 million to support secondary education that re-imagines the high school experience with things such as including personalized learning, providing access to work-based learning and expanding STEM. Learn more about the endeavor here.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Eleventh graders at Washington, D.C.’s Cardozo High School learn how to fly a F-35 Fighter Jet in the school’s new aviation lab, one of only 18 in the country. Watch

Katie Fitzgerald, Communications Associate 

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