The 2011 National Career Clusters Institute has wrapped up another successful year in Atlanta, GA. Attendees chose from a plethora of exciting breakout sessions and were engaged in three powerful general sessions:

Opening General Session: Connecting the Pieces: Career Clusters, Career Technical Education (CTE), and the Common Core with panelists Jan Bray of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), David Barnes of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), Jill Cook of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), and Peter Smagorinsky, Professor of English Education, the University of Georgia.

Middle General Session: Roadtrip Nation Co-founders Mike Marriner and Brian McAllister shared their story of how their simple grassroots idea of learning about careers has become a nationwide movement, sparking a documentary series on public television, books and curriculum, all focused on helping people define their own roads in life.

Closing General Session: USA TODAY Director of Education Resource Development Jan Brown shared how technological innovations are shaping the way our society communicates today in her presentation Thinking Outside the Box, Way Out!

Information on these sessions and more will be posted soon. Resources from the breakout sessions are being uploaded to the www.careertech.org website as they roll in.

Session: Linked Learning and CTE: A Strategy to Scale up CTE’s Impact

Speakers Gary Hoachlander, President, ConnectEd and Ace Parsi, Policy and Advocacy Assistant, Alliance for Excellent Education shared insights and strategies in the session Linked Learning and CTE: A Strategy to Scale up CTE’s Impact. In Hoachlander’s presentation, he spoke about the need for schools to provide a new approach to educating students – providing programs that link strong academics with real world experience. Linked learning prepares students for college and career, not just one or the other. The guiding principles of Linked Learning also include a pathway that leads students to the full range of postsecondary options, with the goal of improved student achievement. Hoachlander shared that Linked Learning is as much about building district infrastructure as it is building strong programs. Stressing that CTE needs to be part of the larger high school experience – promoted as part of a larger STEM/high school improvement strategy, Hoachlander noted that programs of study must include academic courses, not just CTE cluster/sequence coursework, with academics taught differently. Additionally, Linked Learning should be a central feature of ESEA.

Ace Parsi, of the Alliance for Excellent Education, asked the group to consider “what are successful, high quality programs?” Urging them to think beyond silos, Parsi shared that the “labor market is now different and more advanced skills are needed to compete in today’s marketplace. “ Regarding partnerships, Parsi said that these should exist in forms that reach beyond just teachers and schools, that partnerships with school districts, businesses should also be fostered. He noted that the fact that learners have different needs should be understood, with the outcome that a systemic approach needs to be structured that leads to success for all students; Linked Learning is a strategy for transforming high schools and engaging CTE systematically in that effort. Parsi gave a status update on the progress of the Linked Learning Pathways Affording College and Career Success Act (111th), House Bill Number: H.R. 6174, noting that many elements in this bill are also in Perkins IV, and it is in process. Parsi described a health careers academy, where a medical science class showed a direct connection to what is learned in an internship setting is also learned in class. When asked “does it cost more to implement Linked Learning”, Parsi noted that California used their existing resources – but differently applied them. Examples of resource allocation

Additional resources:

• “Toward a New Vision for American High Schools”, Education Week File
• “Making STEM Real”, ASCD’s Educational Leadership Magazine File
• “The Power of Real-World Application”, ACSA’s Leadership Magazine File

The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) and The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) partnered for the 2011 Spring Leadership meeting in Washington, DC, from April 18-20, 2011. The meeting highlighted a new branding for CTE and the future direction for our work: “Career Technical Education: Learning that Works for America.”

Dr. Phil Berkenbile

The meeting was opened with a welcome by NASDCTEc President Dr. Phil Berkenbile, State Director of Oklahoma, who set the tone for the meeting and positively remarked on the numbers of attendees present, thanking them for their participation and support of career technical education (CTE).

He then introduced Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education. Reflecting on two of OVAE’s CTE initiatives: to provide assistance to states to improve program quality, implementation, and accountability; and to establish national initiatives that help states implement rigorous career and technical education programs, Dr. Dann-Messier emphasized that among the strategies for improving CTE, top initiatives included a focus on rigorous programs of study, an enhanced accountability system, and a more detailed implementation plan for programs of study.

Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier

Citing that the fiscal 2011 bill negotiated by the President and Congress reflects tough choices that need to be made, Dann-Messier challenged the group by saying that CTE programs need to be strengthened. This comment would be further echoed by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on April 19, when he also addressed the group, saying “CTE programs need to strengthen their rigor and relevance – and deliver better outcomes for students.” Duncan’s Speech

Dr. Pat Ainsworth

NASDCTEc Vice President Dr. Pat Ainsworth, State Director of California, asked for the roll call of the states, a newly-revived past tradition, which enabled each state called to have a representative stand and announce those from their state in attendance. Pat was pleased to report an exceedingly high turnout of states in attendance, and welcomed several new members to the assembly.

Dr. Berkenbile continued the meeting with sponsor acknowledgements and recognition, rounding out the session with highlights of the meeting’s agenda.

More blogs on the meeting sessions and activities will be posted within the next several days – stay tuned!