At the NASDCTEc/OVAE Joint Spring Leadership Meeting last Monday, State Directors heard more about the place of Career Technical Education (CTE) in the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) Grant Program. An expert from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) stated that though state leaders may opt to include CTE as part of a state’s data system, the grants do not require inclusion of CTE data.
The purpose of the grants is to meet several long term goals including examining whether graduates have the knowledge and skills to succeed in further education and the workforce. Though CTE data is not a requirement within the SLDS grants, states and CTE programs would benefit mutually by reporting CTE data on this goal.
The SLDS grants are three to five year awards of $1.5 to $19.7 million per state. Since FY 2006, a total of $515 million in grants has been awarded to 41 states and the District of Columbia. The program has evolved from requiring only K-12 elements to involving pre-kindergarten, postsecondary education, workforce education, and the student-teacher link in addition to the K-12 components.
Some issues identified through the SLDS Grant Program include:
- FERPA and its implications for data access for organizations
- State procurement issues slowing grant implementation
- New role of state education agencies as facilitating organizations
- Impact of the economy at the state level
Successful strategies include:
- State-managed, locally-operated design
- Not viewing the SLDS as “just an IT project†but as an opportunity for integration
- Communicating up and out
- Knowing “who’s in chargeâ€
To access the PowerPoint presentation from this session, please visit the 2011 Spring Meeting Resources webpage.