Last month the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) at the U.S. Department of Education announced that in 2011 they will be focused on the several key areas in an effort to link education and economic opportunity. First, OVAE will work to support rigorous programs of study, funded by the Carl D. Perkins Act, that prepare young people for college and careers through postsecondary credentials completion. Second, they will serve 93 million adults in the U.S. whose basic or below-basic literacy levels limit their career opportunities, through funding from WIA Title II and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. And finally, OVAE will improve the capacity of community colleges to meet today’s education and labor market demands.

To achieve these ends, OVAE has developed three goals for 2011–12:

1.      All youths and adults are ready for, have access to, and complete college and career pathways.

2.      All youths and adult students have effective teachers and leaders.

3.      All youths and adult students have equitable access to high-quality learning opportunities on demand.

“Enhancing our approach to career and technical education to prepare students for high-growth careers, we are particularly supportive of rigorous, relevant programs of study that span the secondary and postsecondary systems and that apply classroom-based instruction and work-based learning to meet academic, employability, and technical industry standards. This systemic approach relies on partnerships among K–12 schools, institutions of higher education, and employers.”

Tags: career pathways, college and career readiness, community colleges, federal legislation, OVAE, Perkins, programs of study, WIA

This entry was posted on Monday, January 3rd, 2011 at 12:41 pm and is filed under Public Policy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.