While one-year transition plans for the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) now submitted, states are very involved in the process of developing their four-year plans, due in the spring of 2020. Advance CTE, in partnership with ACTE, has been contracted to facilitate and inform this process for the state of Oregon, and recently led a workshop with key state and regional leaders to focus on priority areas.
The workshop took place over the course of two days in April in Salem, Oregon, and included around 35 participants, including state-level staff from both the Department of Education and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, as well as regional and institutional representatives and employer and workforce partners. The first day focused on facilitating discussions on Oregon’s previous use of Advance CTE’s Policy Benchmark Tool on program approval policies to examine program quality across secondary and postsecondary. Oregon began using the tool in 2018, and plan to use the findings to inform priorities for Perkins V planning.
On the second day, participants participated in prioritization exercises and provided input on Oregon’s forthcoming state vision and priorities for CTE. This vision and priorities will go beyond the requirements of Perkins V, and instead will leverage the federal law to promote a broad plan for success for Oregon learners. Participants also had conversations focused on equity, career advising and meaningful stakeholder engagement.
The workshop happened in the midst of Advance CTE and ACTE developing and Oregon leaders administering a statewide stakeholder survey, which focused on multiple measures of quality in CTE. Going forward, Advance CTE and ACTE will continue to work with Oregon state leaders, particularly in the facilitation of four work groups, each focused on a priority area identified by participants during the workshop and informed by data from the statewide survey. Oregon staff are also conducting stakeholder engagement activities and working across secondary and postsecondary to ensure that both the Perkins V state plan and broader strategic plan for CTE adequately address the needs of learners in Oregon.
Brianna McCain, Policy Associate