Katie Niersbach, Operations Manager, First Book National Book Bank

At First Book, we have delivered over 100 million free and low-cost books to youth in need. Through strategic collaboration with Career Technical Education (CTE) programs nationwide, we have been able to deliver more books than ever before and tied the mission of expanding access to resources for kids in low income communities to CTE students’ hands-on education. In the process, we receive a firsthand look at the awesome power of CTE not only to teach students, but also to serve communities in need.

The Distribution Challenge

Traditionally, First Book worked with donated warehouse space. Once a book donation became available, the National Book Bank team would secure a location, warehouse donors would agree to receive and store the product, and the Book Bank team would notify our network of over 130,000 programs nationwide about the expected available inventory.

Once all the books were allocated at the programs’ request, three to five of our staff members would travel to the site  and process the 350,000–500,000 books over the course of a week. As First Book expanded, we continued to look for more efficient ways to provide over eight million books every year to our network, and minimize the uncertainties in the availability of warehouse space, working with sight-unseen inventory and limited access to labor. While we still very frequently work in this framework and rely heavily on our warehousing partners, a more efficient process would allow us to reach even more kids in need.

CTE for Growth

In 2008, we learned that students in the Transportation, Distribution & Logistics Career Cluster® were focusing on materials handling. Many of these programs have distribution centers, warehousing equipment and a built-in workforce, but traditionally work with simulated inventory – empty boxes that take up space and student effort.

First Book saw the chance to improve students’ educational experience in a new way and access open, staffed locations for our real inventory, while our CTE partners saw an opportunity to make their classrooms come to life. Working together, we created a mutually beneficial relationship that enables CTE students to enrich their learning with real life work experience while First Book expands its capacity to serve more children in need. First Book currently partners with 15 programs in 10 states, providing the physical capacity to hold over 1.8 million books at a time and engaging approximately 630 students.

“When we got that first shipment of books, I told my students, ‘This is the real world now. We’re sitting on $200,000 worth of books that have been entrusted to us to maintain, warehouse, care for, protect and ship on behalf of First Book,’” explains instructor Ashley Kieffer of Effingham Career & College Academy in Rincon, Georgia.

Programs participate in up to 20 shipments yearly and, depending on capacity, move anywhere from a few dozen to several thousand boxes.

“They learn how to process orders for a national organization,” says Vicki Phillips, instructor at Lehigh Career & Technical Institute in Schnecksville, PA. “It’s a win-win for both sides.”

Providing student support

First Book staff provide live demonstrations of how to manipulate and work with data by engaging with students every step of the way, from inventory to processing to shipping. After several successful shipments, CTEP sites are provided a computer loaded with UPS shipping software, and are trained how to process labels, schedule freight pickups and export tracking information. Programs can also customize their interaction with First Book, including processing unboxed and mixed inventory, assembling collections or managing shipments year-round through summer internships.

Our partnerships also engage the community. Each site can select up to five percent of received inventory “off the top” to distribute locally to programs that fit First Book’s criteria of serving children in need.

“It’s very cool,”explains Luke Usher, a student at Effingham Career & College Academy. “We’re giving children books that they can love and enjoy, because they can’t afford them.”

“The day First Book discovered CTE, our distribution model changed forever,” said First Book Chief Operating Officer Chandler Arnold. “Previously, First Book had millions of books but desperately needed warehouse and logistics support, CTE had amazing warehouse and logistics leadership capacity but needed a real-world products. Seven million books later, I can’t think of a more powerful partnership that not only advances First Book’s core mission but also introduces amazing young people across the country to our organization—giving them a tangible way to make a difference as they develop the skills they need to succeed.”

“The idea is to bring abstract concepts to life to make them easier to understand.”

Those words are the crux of a recent 1,000 word profile of a school-industry partnership between Southwire, a Georgia-based manufacturer and its local school district called 12 for Life that is designed to tie education — particularly in math and science — to career skills.

In the report, the Wall Street Journal’s Jonathan House documents collaboration between company executives who were “increasingly alarmed by their difficulty finding reliable employees, a problem they attributed at least in part to an elevated high-school dropout rate” and school officials to build a program that ties four hours working with experienced professionals on Southwire’s factory floor to eight hours of classroom learning in an innovative summer school experience.

Though restricted to the Manufacturing Career Cluster, the Southwire partnership is a model for positive employer engagement. It embodies principle two of Reflect, Transform, Lead: A New Vision for Career Technical Education, asan active partnership between employers and educators that delivers a dynamic experience to local high schoolers, and has already demonstrated a positive return on investment (principle five) for the company.

Against the backdrop of Georgia’s new bill expanding youth apprenticeship programs to increase work-based learning opportunities, Southwire provides a clear example of Learning that works for Georgia.

Learn more about the program here.

Evan Williamson, Communications Associate

FOLLOW UP: Forbes also profiled Southwire’s 12 for Life initiative in their August 18 edition. That story is available here.

Learning that works for Kentucky was on full display as leaders from around the Bluegrass State joined students, educators and stakeholders at their annual 2014 CTE Summer Program, aptly titled “Learning that Works for Kentucky.” The event was developed by KACTE, the Kentucky Department of Education Office of Career Technical Education and statewide partners (see full program for details)

Part professional development, part CTE showcase, the event displayed Learning that works for Kentucky in the true spirit of the campaign, celebrating CTE’s ability to empower students and boost both technical and academic achievement.

At the general session, State CTE Director Dale Winkler presented career ready awards to 33 area technology centers, career technical centers and comprehensive high school CTE programs with exceptionally high percentages of students meeting the state’s career-ready benchmarks. Additional awards went out to educators, administrators and programs that displayed extraordinary commitment to excellence in CTE.

Have your own example of learning that works for your state? Contact us!

Evan Williamson, Communications Associate

According to Innovate+Educate, mobile learning (m-learning) is no longer exploding onto the scene or the hot new trend, it’s a $1.4 billion industry with serious implications for teaching and learning. As mobile learning settles in as another instructional tool to deepen the student-teacher relationship, educators and advocates have the opportunity to contribute to the development of m-learning apps, infusing technological development with the expertise of years of instructional and institutional knowledge.

Launched in conjunction with the Verizon Foundation, Innovate+Educate’s Mobile Learning Partnership (MLP) initiative is designed to “connect, partner and facilitate communication between educators, mobile app developers and technology enthusiasts for the advancement of mobile learning in the classroom.” With new m-learning apps springing up all the time, the MLP initiative is offering a unique opportunity for professionals to provide input into what teachers and students need most out of a m-learning app. You can contribute to the conversation here.

Evan Williamson, Communications Associate

Many are the times I have found myself handing over a business card or describing this corner of the education world and received in answer a blank stare and three confused letters: “CTE?”

For all of the vibrancy of modern Career Technical Education, public perception often lags reality – sometimes by decades. As CTE advocates, it is crucial that we be able to present a cogent picture of what CTE looks like today, where it is going and why it is so crucially important to our educational and economic future.

This session is designed to teach attendees strategies to overcome the knowledge gap that persists among all stakeholders – parents, educators, policymakers and more – about where CTE stands and where it is going. It will also contain a brief overview of the Learning that Works for America campaign – seeking to establish a national brand for high-quality CTE with myriad case-making resources and access to a wide-ranging network.

Want to coordinate communications with your colleagues? Or learn tips and tricks to making a lasting impression? Join us on 6/17/2014 at 8:45 a.m. in Courtroom K at the Achieving Excellence Institute!

Evan Williamson, Communications Associate

Below is a guest blog from one of our partner sponsors, Certiport. They will share information on their upcoming sessions at Achieving Excellence in CTE: The National Career Clusters Institute.

Digital literacy and basic computing skills are increasingly necessary to help students succeed in the workforce. Technology is pervading every work environment and as a result there is a demand for skilled IT talent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 50 percent of the 9.2 million jobs in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields will be in computing and IT by the year 2020.

Although today’s digital natives have grown up immersed in technology, many do not know how to use these tools intelligently and efficiently. In order to help graduates compete, CTE programs must not only teach basic technology skills, they must be able to prove those learning outcomes. A graduate who lists “Microsoft Office Specialist Certification in Excel 2013” on their resume has a more powerful arsenal than one who simply lists “Microsoft Excel skills.” Being able to prove competency is invaluable in the job market.

As a result, CTE programs must teach students the basics of computer hardware, software, and applications to prepare them to succeed in the workforce. Technology certifications such as the Microsoft Office Specialist, Adobe Certified Associate, and IC3 Digital Literacy Certification are recognized worldwide and give students the proof they need to succeed.

For example, at Brooklyn Technical High School, 1400 freshman students take the Autodesk Inventor Certified User exam each year to build industry-recognized credentials. As students advance they take additional Autodesk Certified User exams. The Autodesk Brooklyn Technical High School Success Story shows how this cutting edge school is preparing their students for college and the workforce.

Certification validates computing excellence, in-depth knowledge and real-world skills. It differentiates and elevates the individual from the crowd. By teaching technology skills and then validating them with certification, CTE programs will help students increase:

• Employability
• Job Opportunities
• Wages
• Confidence
• Skills
• Productivity/Efficiency
• Ability to Compete

As CTE leaders, there is a lot we can do to create a skilled workforce equipped with the necessary technology skills for current and future job openings. We have to expand our curriculum to teach essential workforce technical skills and validate them with certification.

To learn more about how Certiport can help your CTE program teach and validate in-demand workforce skills with industry-recognized certification, visit Certiport’s sponsor table, located in the Grande Ballroom Foyer, or www.certiport.com.

Ramona Schescke, Member Services Manager

Below is a guest blog from one of our partner sponsors, NOCTI. They will share information on their upcoming sessions at Achieving Excellence in CTE: The National Career Clusters Institute.

Continuous improvement is a core component of successful programs. We recently released a new book entitled: “Putting Your Data to Work: Improving Instruction in CTE” in collaboration with ACTE. The book focuses on using research-based strategies to keep classrooms moving toward understanding data and achieving technical competence. The book discusses the importance of utilizing technical assessment data as the basis for improving CTE instructional programs. Readers will also learn a bit more about the implications of “Big Data” and “Open Badges” as well as suggestions for improving teacher training. Each chapter of the book contains “key learnings” and multiple citations regarding the research base of each component of the system. It is a great resource for any CTE teacher that is focused on continuous improvement of student competency.

NOCTI, a not-for-profit entity governed by an unpaid board elected by the State CTE Directors in all 50 states and several territories, works solely for the CTE community to provide the data and support that schools and students need. NOCTI has close relationships with ACTE, NRCCTE, NASDCTEc, and the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) just to name a few. We have many new collaborations and initiatives underway. Here are a few worth mentioning:

• Open Badges: NOCTI has created an open badge system for NOCTI SkillBadgesâ„¢. Five states recently participated in a beta test. NOCTI will be offering the option for ALL students to earn an Open Badge this coming fall.
• Online College Courses: Agreements have been established to provide CTE students the opportunity to take online college courses, resulting in potential college credit, free of charge, on their own time.
• College Credit: College credit recommendations are now available to CTE students for over 100 NOCTI assessment titles as well as credit recommendations for one of our certification partner’s assessments- the American Culinary Federation.
• Student Growth Measures: A Student Growth Measure program has been developed as a tool for the new teacher evaluation requirements that many states put into place as a result of the Race To The Top.
• Banners: NOCTI banners are available to show pride in your school’s program quality.
• Publications: Work is underway to start our second book, focusing on helping new teachers not only survive, but also thrive! We are looking for stories from the field. If you have a story about how you survived your first years of teaching, send it our way.

Contact us at [email protected] to see how we can help you. NOCTI is also a Platinum sponsor of the 2014 Achieving Excellence Institute; be sure to stop by our booth and say hello!

Ramona Schescke, Member Services Manager