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Posts Tagged ‘Idaho’

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This Week in CTE

Friday, October 30th, 2020

We have compiled a list of highlights in Career Technical Education (CTE) from this week to share with you.

CAREERS IN CONSTRUCTION MONTH

Build Your Future is hosting a construction video contest, I BUILT THIS, and giving away more than $20,000 in prizes. Learn more and submit a video here.

Thank you for participating in Careers in Construction Month! Continue to share these resources to engage with students about the opportunities in the construction industry.

TWEET OF THE THE WEEK

Congratulations to Alabama welding instructor, Mark Pilotte, for being recognized by SkillsUSA as the instructor of the month! 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

Opportunity America has  launched a survey, with the support of the Lumina Foundation, aimed at learning about community colleges’ workforce education. The results will be essential information for state and federal policymakers by providing evidence to support an increased need for funding. Institutions that take part will be entered in a drawing, and three will receive donations of up to $10,000 to fund scholarships for noncredit workforce students. Participating institutions will also receive customized reports that allow them to compare their institutions to an aggregate of other colleges that take part – a tool for planning and innovation. The study can be found here and will be in the field through January 2021.

FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM OF THE WEEK

The School Ambassador Fellowship Program strives to fulfill the U.S. Department of Education’s mission to leverage the perspectives and expertise of outstanding educators to inform national education programs and initiatives. The Fellowship program is now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 cohort!

Selected Fellows become a liaison between their local schools and district and the department. Through local, state and national interactions with key stakeholders, fellows will help to elevate student voices and provide solutions to the challenges learners face today.  

Program information and applications can be viewed here. The application period remains open through Monday, January 11, 2021.

MIDDLE GRADES CTE PROGRAM OF THE WEEK

In a pilot program for middle grades CTE, Idaho has selected a career navigator tool for learners. Learners in the early stages of schooling will have the opportunity to embark upon career exploration and career counseling before entering into high school and postsecondary opportunities. Read more here. 

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Through an analysis of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) state (and Washington D.C.) plans, Advance CTE identified common aspects that are indicative of a comprehensive and cohesive state plan, a number of which go beyond the law’s requirements and expectations.

The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities is the first of its kind to examine how states have leveraged the development of Perkins V state plans to advance the dual priorities of expanding quality and increasing equity within their CTE systems.

View The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
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This Week in CTE

Friday, July 10th, 2020

We have compiled a list of highlights in Career Technical Education (CTE) from this week to share with you.

WEBINAR OF THE WEEK

Advance CTE hosted a webinar with the Aspen Institute to provide state and local leaders with support in their recruitment and communication strategies for diverse student populations. Questions were addressed around access and equity for CTE postsecondary opportunities at the state and local levels.

View the recording here, and sign up for our next webinar, 2020 Elections Landscape: Implications for Career Technical Education on July 30! 

STUDENT OF THE WEEK

South Carolina graduate of Bonds Career Center, Josiah Wright, will soon begin his apprenticeship. Josiah will become a full-time employee and student at Greenville Tech, will learn and earn from industry professionals and become certified as an industrial electrician. 

Congratulations Josiah! 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

This week, the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies introduced their Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations bill. The bill proposes a 1.4% increase for CTE, bringing the funding level to about $1.3 billion. The full House Appropriations Committee will vote on this bill on Monday at 1:00pmEST, you can watch here.

TWITTER CHAT OF THE WEEK

The Committee for Education Funding (CEF) hosted a twitter chat on Tuesday, July 7,  highlighting the importance of increasing federal education funding right before the House Labor-HHS-Ed Appropriations Subcommittee went into their mark-up for the FY 2021 funding bill. Follow the #HearOurEdStories hashtag on Twitter to read responses on why education funding matters.

NATIONAL CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

The National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) has launched a national campaign to help states recruit and maintain females and underrepresented student populations in the field of manufacturing. Download free resources and learn more about the Making The Future, Connecting Girls to Manufacturing Campaign here.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

To expand access to CTE and advanced coursework more generally, the Idaho legislature authorized Idaho Career & Technical Education to work with Idaho Digital Learning Academy (IDLA), a fully-accredited online school serving students in all of the state’s 115 districts, to develop CTE Digital. Through IDLA, Idaho students all over the state can access online CTE coursework. 

Check out the Idaho CTE Digital policy profile in the Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
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Middle Grades CTE: Standards, Curriculum & Assessment

Tuesday, May 12th, 2020

There is widespread agreement that high school is too late to begin to expose learners to careers and the foundational skills needed to access and succeed in careers, but there remains a lack of consensus about what CTE and career readiness should entail at the middle grades level.

Advance CTE, with support from ACTE, convened a Shared Solutions Workgroup of national, state and local leaders to identify the core components of a meaningful middle grades CTE experience. This collaboration resulted in Broadening the Path: Design Principles for Middle Grades CTE and a companion blog series exploring each of the core programmatic elements of middle grades CTE defined in the paper. In this first entry in the blog series, we will examine the core programmatic element of standards, curriculum and assessment.

As the backbone of a robust middle school CTE experience, middle grades CTE curriculum should ensure that students are exposed to careers across all 16 Career Clusters®, supplemented by opportunities to dig deeper into career areas of interest. Curriculum and assessments should be based on clear, consistent standards that integrate academic, employability and, where appropriate, foundational technical skills and align to other relevant standards across the education continuum.

A number of states have developed, or are in the process of developing, standards for middle grades CTE and career development. Idaho has taken a rigorous approach to this work, partnering with Education Northwest to gather input from stakeholders through a statewide survey, regional focus groups and research on middle grades standards in other states. This process has led to a set of standards organized around three questions—“Who am I?” (self-evaluation), “What’s out there for me?” (career exploration) and “How do I get there?” (future planning). Ten schools will pilot the standards and associated materials in the 2020-21 school year.

In addition to standards development, states have created curriculum, lesson plans and assessments to help bring CTE and career exploration into the middle grades. For instance, Nebraska has developed a Career Development Model and Toolkit that includes a library of lesson plans for PK-12 learners that can be filtered by each of the state’s career readiness standards. The Technical Assistance Center of New York has developed rubrics to support CTE teachers in assessing life/career competencies in the middle grades. Teachers can create their own customized rubrics.

On the local level, Peoria Unified School District in Arizona has built a two-year curriculum for seventh- and eighth-grade students called Technology, Life & Careers (TLC). The TLC curriculum includes classroom- and lab-based instruction across multiple CTE subject areas as well as career assessments and interest inventories, work-based learning experiences and career and technical student organizations. The program culminates with students taking a deep dive into their career areas of interest and beginning their state-mandated Education and Career Action Plans.

As you reflect on this element of middle grades CTE in your state, district or school, consider such questions as:

For additional resources relevant to middle grades CTE standards, curriculum and assessment, check out the Middle Grades CTE Repository, another deliverable of this Shared Solutions Workgroup.

By Kate Blosveren Kreamer in Middle Grades CTE
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New Research Shows Positive Employment Outcomes for CTE Learners

Tuesday, March 10th, 2020

One of the most important considerations for learners choosing to enroll in secondary and postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs is whether that pathway will lead to a successful career and a good salary. The new Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) requires states and local recipients to set goals around post-program outcomes for CTE concentrators. Several recent studies suggest that learners are finding gainful employment and increased salaries after completing CTE programs. 

A study in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice analyzed data from the California Community Colleges CTE Outcomes Survey. Using three years of survey data from over 46,000 former CTE participants, the researchers found that these learners reported positive employment outcomes and obtained greater increases in wages than they were earning before beginning their program.

Another study using administrative data on a cohort of high school CTE concentrators from Washington State found that CTE learners who go on to college, compared to non-CTE learners, are significantly more likely to enroll in and complete vocational programs. They are also more likely to earn postsecondary credentials such as associate degrees and industry certifications, especially in the applied Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and public safety fields. Additionally, secondary CTE learners who do not go on to college are also more likely to obtain full-time employment within the first three years after graduation compared to non-CTE learners. 

Lastly, a study of admissions and learner outcomes within Connecticut’s system of 16 stand-alone CTE high schools found that males who attend a technical high school are 10 percentage points more likely to graduate than comparable males who attend a traditional high school. Male learners attending technical high schools in Connecticut also have approximately 31 percent greater post-graduation quarterly earnings, higher 9th grade attendance rates and higher 10th grade testing scores than comparable males. There was no evidence that female learners had significantly different outcomes based on the type of school attended. 

As CTE month comes to a close and states finalize their Perkins V plans and invest substantial resources in CTE programs, the findings in these three studies highlight the value that CTE programs have in positive academic and employment outcomes for learners. Additionally, these findings reaffirm the value CTE programs have in preparing learners for the real world and the many postsecondary paths they can pursue. The Washington State and Connecticut studies found that CTE concentrators were slightly less likely to go on to college than comparable learners but still more likely to earn vocational credentials, obtain full-time employment with higher earnings, and have better attendance and test scores than comparable learners. State leaders are encouraged to continue investing in these programs proving to work for learners in their states. 

Other Notable Research 

A report on Idaho’s education and earnings gap revealed that those with bachelor’s degrees earn substantially more in income than those with less education. Among its recommendations, the report suggests the state adopt explicit policies encouraging school districts to develop secondary CTE course sequences or certified programs focusing on two to three specific career pathways that play to their local strengths. 

Brian Robinson, Policy Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
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Governors Celebrate CTE in 2019 State of the State Addresses

Monday, March 4th, 2019

Numerous governors have celebrated or prioritized Career Technical Education (CTE) during their annual State of the State Addresses to their state legislatures this year. When outlining their policy agendas for 2019, many governors highlighted successes related to CTE and committed to fostering CTE in their respective states.

Governors prioritized expanding access to CTE for learners. In New Hampshire, Governor Chris Sununu announced an $8.6 million allocation to remove barriers, such as tuition and transportation, to CTE participation. In Idaho, Governor Brad Little mentioned that he will focus on expanding CTE opportunities for learners. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Barker celebrated adding 4,000 seats to the state’s vocational and technical schools. In Rhode Island, Governor Gina Raimondo noted that the state increased the number of CTE programs offered in high schools by 60 percent. Both Massachusetts and Rhode Island have prioritized increasing high-quality career pathways under the New Skills for Youth (NSFY) initiative.

During the addresses, Governors also emphasized CTE funding in their states. In Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan celebrated voters’ approval of the “casino lockbox initiative,” which will provide $4.4 million in additional funding for innovative CTE programming and other educational initiatives. In North Dakota, Governor Doug Burgum dedicated $40 million in Legacy Fund earnings for career academies.

Numerous governors also celebrated work-based learning, particularly the expansion of apprenticeships. In Montana, Governor Steve Bullock highlighted that seven out of 10 two-year colleges in the state offer apprenticeship coursework. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy celebrated the creation of more than 100 new apprenticeship programs that hired more than 2,000 new apprentices. In Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf noted that the state increased the number of apprenticeship programs to roughly 800.

In total, more than 20 governors have celebrated or prioritized advancing CTE in their states during their State of the State Addresses. This is Advance CTE’s second blog post on the State of the State Addresses- to view the first blog post click here. Advance CTE will continue to monitor the State of the State Addresses for their relevance to CTE.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
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Advance CTE Report Describes How State Leaders Can Build Trust with Historically Marginalized Communities

Tuesday, January 15th, 2019

Throughout history, and continuing today, learners of color, low-income learners, female learners and learners with disabilities have been historically tracked into terminal vocational programs leading to jobs with uncertain promise of economic growth and prosperity. To help state leaders recognize these historical barriers and adopt promising solutions to close equity gaps in CTE, Advance CTE launched a series of policy briefs titled Making Good on the Promise. The first briefs in the series explored the history of inequities in CTE and highlighted promising practices from states that are using data to identify and address access and achievement gaps by different learner populations.

Building off these briefs, the third brief in the series, Making Good on the Promise: Building Trust to Promote Equity in CTE, maps out steps state leaders can take to rebuild trust in marginalized communities that CTE historically failed to serve equitably. The brief outlines five steps state leaders can take to build trust in communities that do not view CTE as a viable mechanism to help them achieve their college and career goals:

To helps states with these steps, the brief features state examples from Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Idaho and Nebraska and draws on messaging data from Advance CTE’s The Value and Promise of Career Technical Education: Results from a National Survey of Parents and Students:

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Publications, Resources
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Idaho, Iowa Pass Bills to Bolster their States’ Workforce; Washington, Idaho Expand Scholarships

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018

As the legislative session moves forward, states have passed bills that will expand Career Technical Education (CTE) funding, strengthen workforce initiatives and expand scholarships that benefit CTE learners.

Idaho Expands CTE Program Funding

In Idaho, Governor Otter signed a bill to expand funding for high-performing career and technical education programs in grades 9-12 in high-demand fields. The Idaho State Department projects that there will be a shortage of 49,000 workers by 2024 in Idaho. By investing further in high-quality secondary CTE programs, Idaho creates a workforce pipeline that will help to address the “skills gap” and job shortage that the state faces.

Gov. Reynolds Signs Future Ready Iowa Bill

In Iowa, Governor Reynolds signed legislation that establishes programs in Registered Apprenticeship development, voluntary mentorships and summer youth internships. The legislation also establishes summer postsecondary courses for high school students that are aligned with high demand career pathways, as well funds and grants related to an employer innovation fund and Future Ready Iowa programs, grants and scholarships.

The legislation is the latest piece in Gov. Reynolds’ Future Ready Iowa initiative, which aims for 70 percent of Iowa’s workforce to have education or training beyond high school by 2025. Currently, 58 percent of Iowa’s workforce has  education or training beyond high school, and that percentage must increase in order to fill the 65,000 current open jobs in Iowa.

States Expand Opportunity Scholarships that Benefit CTE Learners

Additionally, states have been expanding postsecondary scholarship programs, which will allow more learners from different backgrounds to engage with CTE. In Washington, Gov. Inslee signed a bill that expands the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship to allow high school graduates to receive the scholarship to help pay for certificates and professional technical degrees offered at the state’s technical and community colleges.

As part of their continued focus on CTE, in Idaho, lawmakers passed another bill, which expands the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship to benefit adult learners. The scholarship originally only benefitted Iowa high school graduates, but the bill will allow the State Board of Education to direct up to 20 percent of scholarship funds to Idaho adult residents striving to finish a degree or certificate.

These bills will make postsecondary CTE accessible to more learners from diverse populations, which is critical as states face a shortage of skilled workers.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Public Policy, Uncategorized
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In Idaho and Indiana, Governors Celebrate Successes and Make Bold Commitments for CTE in the Year Ahead

Thursday, January 11th, 2018

The 2018 legislative session is heating up and, as is tradition in many states, Governors have kicked off the season by laying out their policy agendas in their annual addressed to their state legislatures. Last year, career readiness emerged as a top priority for most states, with 24 governors elevating Career Technical Education (CTE) and workforce training in their speeches. Already, it looks like that trend will continue in 2018.

In Idaho, Governor Butch Otter celebrated the work of his higher education and workforce development task forces, which were both authorized by executive order early last year, and committed to implementing their recommendations. These include hiring an executive officer for higher education, expanding capacity at postsecondary technical schools, incentivizing high school CTE programs, and expanding CTE offerings to 7th and 8th grade.

 

Meanwhile, Governor Eric Holcomb laid out an agenda for CTE in his address to the Indiana state legislature earlier this week. In December, the State Board of Education adopted new pathways to graduation that elevate the role of work-based learning and CTE in high school pathways. In his address, Gov. Holcomb celebrated this decision and committed to making the high school diploma even more meaningful by developing K-12 computer science standards, investing in professional development for teachers, and establishing a state work-based learning and apprenticeship office with the goal of doubling the number of work-based learning opportunities in the state by 2019.

In other states, governors committed to expanding tuition-free college, investing in work-based learning opportunities, and supporting programs like Jobs for America’s Graduates that connect at-risk youth with education and training opportunities. While only a handful of states have held their 2018 state of state events already, more than half of these speeches are scheduled to take place in January.

New Money for High-demand CTE Programs

After a busy 2017, states are turning to the work of executing new policies and programs. In last year’s session, the Indiana legislature outlined a revised CTE funding formula to better align resources with workforce demand. Under the tiered funding structure, programs receive more money if they are in demand and lead to high wages. The new funding formula will not go into effect until July, but programs are already seeing changes to their designations and are anticipating funding shifts.

In Michigan, new funding for CTE will soon make landfall through a $5 million competitive grant initiative. The initiative was authorized in November by the legislature and is part of a $12.5 million appropriation for CTE equipment upgrades. Grants will be awarded to school districts in partnership with institutions of higher education and are designed to strengthen high-quality career pathways in high-demand, high-wage fields.

Register for Upcoming Advance CTE Webinars

Finally, Advance CTE has a few webinars on the schedule related to state CTE policy:

(January 17, 3:00pm ET) Leveraging ESSA’s Momentum to Advance Career Readiness: This webinar will share the findings from Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group’s full analysis of ESSA state plans and explore trends across all states. Participants will also hear from state leaders in South Dakota and Rhode Island who are using their ESSA plans to build and capitalize on momentum around career readiness. Participants can register here.

(January 31, 2:00pm ET) State Policies Impacting CTE: 2017 Year in Review: Join Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education to unpack findings from the “State Policies Impacting CTE: 2017 Year in Review” report. The webinar will explore recent trends in state CTE policy and examine how the CTE policy landscape has changed over the past few years. Participants can register here.

Austin Estes, Policy Associate

By admin in Public Policy, Webinars
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Reaching Economies of Scale in Rural Communities

Tuesday, December 5th, 2017

Latest Advance CTE resource describes strategies to expand career pathways opportunities to rural learners

Rural communities all too often face scarce funding, instructors and facilities, forcing institutions to choose between offering a variety of introductory courses across a breadth of subjects or providing more narrowly focused, sequenced programs within one or two priority Career Clusters®. Providing learners access to diverse career pathways in rural areas is a persistent challenge for all states.

Today Advance CTE released the latest brief in the CTE on the Frontier series to help states identify promising strategies for expanding the variety of career pathways available in rural areas. The brief profiles how states such as Nebraska, Alaska, North Dakota and Idaho have leveraged strategic partnerships and new technologies to reach economies of scale.

In North Dakota, for example, rural learners are connected remotely to instructors at different campuses by a live broadcast network called Interactive Television, or ITV. Districts and regional technical centers come together to inventory all of the courses available in their region and open up enrollment to remote students. Participating schools receive a 4 percent reimbursement per receiving school to incentivize participation.

Meanwhile, state leaders in Idaho are working to balance virtual instruction through Idaho Digital Learning with work-based learning and Career Technical Student Organization participation to ensure hands-on learning isn’t lost in a virtual classroom. Instead of converting all CTE courses to be offered online, Idaho has adapted a few introductory courses to free up in-school teaching capacity to focus on more advanced coursework. The state is also working to align digital courses with college and career pathways — some Idaho Digital Learning courses are even eligible for dual credit — and requires CTE students taking online classes to engage in hands-on learning.

The latest CTE on the Frontier brief demonstrates how states can leverage partnerships and technology to reach economies of scale and offer a wider breadth of career pathways to rural learners. Earlier briefs in the series examine how states can ensure program quality and connect learners to the world of work.

CTE on the Frontier: Providing Learners Access to Diverse Career Pathways was developed through the New Skills for Youth initiative, a partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and the Education Strategy Group, generously funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Austin Estes, Policy Associate

By admin in Publications, Resources
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Latest Advance CTE Brief Examines Rural CTE Program Quality

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017

When Todd County School District received a $103,000 grant in 2014 under Governor Dennis Daugaard’s South Dakota Future Fund, the rural South Dakota district put the money to use, administering a survey of local business leaders to identify the career pathways that were most in need in the community. With the information collected through the survey, Todd County School District updated and aligned Career Technical Education (CTE) curriculum to better reflect employer needs.

Targeted investments like Gov. Daugaard’s fund, which has since evolved into South Dakota’s Workforce Education Grant program, provide a catalyst for rural districts and institutions to improve CTE program quality and ensure career pathways are aligned with labor market needs and student interest.

Improving CTE quality in rural communities is an imperative for all states, yet rural CTE programs often face unique challenges that are not present in more densely populated areas. For example, decentralization, lack of resources and more limited employer relationships in rural communities can result in the preservation of legacy programs over more industry-relevant career pathways. Decisions about what programs to offer are too often driven by the availability of equipment or facilities, teacher supply and even tradition.

To help states improve the quality of rural CTE, Advance CTE today released the first in a series of briefs titled CTE on the Frontier: Catalyzing Local Efforts to Improve Program Quality. The brief explores state strategies to improve the quality of local CTE programs to ensure they meet industry needs and expand opportunities for rural learners, drawing on promising practices from the states:

These examples demonstrate different approaches state leaders can take to empower local leaders and support program improvement in rural areas. Future briefs in the CTE on the Frontier series will tackle other common challenges, including learner access to the world of work, employing strategic partnerships to increase program offerings and strengthening the rural CTE teacher pipeline.

CTE on the Frontier: Catalyzing Local Efforts to Improve Program Quality was developed through the New Skills for Youth initiative, a partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and the Education Strategy Group, generously funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Austin Estes, Policy Associate

 

By admin in Publications, Resources
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