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Opportunity Gap Analysis State Catch-Ups: Kansas

Thursday, November 14th, 2024

Since the fall of 2021, Advance CTE’s Opportunity Gap Analysis (OGA) workshop has provided training, resources, and support to help state leaders identify and address gaps in access to high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE). To date, Advance CTE has led in-depth gap analysis training with 39 state teams from across the country. These teams have further disseminated the gap analysis process within their state CTE systems, resulting in changes in policies and practices that bring identifying and addressing gaps to the forefront of their CTE programs. This is the third post in a blog series where Senior Policy Associate, Jessi Maddox, interviews previous participants of the OGA workshop to share the impact and the lessons learned from implementing the training in their state.

As we approach the end of 2024, the current cohort of OGA workshop state teams from Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania are coming to the end of their six months of collaborative peer learning opportunities. As Advance CTE closes out this latest cohort, we wanted to continue to connect with prior participants and ask about the impact the gap analysis training has had on equal access to CTE programs within their state. This month we are spotlighting the Career, Standards and Assessment Services Team with the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) and the Workforce Development Unit with the Kansas Board of Regents, and the work their combined team has done since the culmination of their cohort in Winter 2023.

When did your state participate in the Opportunity Gap Analysis Workshop, and what in-state training(s) has your team facilitated using the workshop model and/or related resources?

Kansas participated in the initial Opportunity Gap Analysis Workshop in June of 2023 with a team that consisted of the Director of Workforce Development, the Secondary and Postsecondary Associate Directors of CTE, and other assistant directors and programs consultants from each level. This cross-sector team participated in the subsequent Communities of Practice learning space offered by Advance CTE through December 2023.

Several training opportunities were held throughout the state following our participation in this opportunity. At the secondary level, the Kansas State Department of Education provided an overview of OGA during our annual Secondary Improvement Application training. We also incorporated Advance CTE resources within the Comprehensive Local Needs Application (CLNA) to help Local Education Agencies (LEAs) create action plans and strategies for any identified gaps in enrollment and performance.

At the postsecondary level, the Kansas Board of Regents held a gap analysis workshop with representatives from each Perkins V funding recipient on August 1, 2024. Especially well received were the root cause and strategies materials provided. We now also include OGA in many faculty and staff trainings at postsecondary institutions.

Describe how your team’s participation in the Opportunity Gap Analysis training impacted CTE in general within your state:

At the secondary CTE level, the Opportunity Gap Analysis training helped create renewed focus on resource allocations for gap areas. This included application changes for secondary program Improvement grants. Clearer expectations and Advance CTE resources resulted in improved action plans and budgets to support strategies for gaps. A reserve grant to increase equitable access to CTE was also offered.

At the postsecondary level, focusing on analyzing gaps opens the opportunity for conversations that are not happening on campuses. With the help of OGA methodology and materials, CTE issues are put into context and issues can be seen instead of hidden. The grouping of root causes into themes was very helpful to the sub-recipient to see that programs may experience similar challenges regardless of content.

Describe how the Opportunity Gap Analysis training specifically led to changes in your state’s data policies and procedures:

No state policy or procedure changes have been made to date, but the two state offices are asking for different kinds of reports now, and we also make sure that all institutions collect data from all students so that CTE student data is not evaluated in a vacuum.

Please describe any steps that have been taken to improve access for CTE learners after going through the CTE opportunity gap analysis process:

At the secondary level, a Perkins reserve grant was offered in the spring of 2024 to increase equitable access to CTE. Grant recipients were asked to form a team to include a middle school principal, middle school counselor, middle school special education staff, high school principal, high school CTE coordinator, high school counselor, and high school special education staff.

Secondary local-level grant teams were asked to:

1) Introduce all students, families and educators to career clusters and pathways.

2) Collaborate with KSDE specialists in the special population areas that align with the special populations served in the district.

3) Collaboration of CTE and special education staff to increase special population enrollment in CTE courses.

Grant teams are diligently working to expand equitable access in their LEAs, and will be building upon the OGA process to realize those goals going into 2025.

2024-2025 monthly CTE & Perkins webinars will incorporate guest speakers to review and provide strategies for core indicators and special population groups.

Postsecondary – OGA methodology is now included in the CLNA, with grant recipients updating the performance gap analysis section on their local applications each fiscal year. The state incorporated OGA as the model for the analysis section due to the system’s in-depth and cyclical nature.

Next Steps

If your organization is interested in learning more about what it takes to conduct a gap analysis in your state, or other opportunities to engage with Advance CTE’s suite of resources addressing methods to close access gaps, fill out the Technical Assistance Interest Form for personalized options that can help both staff and learners succeed.

The next cohort of the Opportunity Gap Analysis workshops will launch in the Spring of 2025. In this six-month cohort Advance CTE is providing training, resources and support to help state leaders identify and address gaps in access to high-quality work-based learning programs. Keep an eye out for upcoming information sessions and the cohort application on the Opportunity Gap Analysis page of the Advance CTE website.

Jessi Maddox, senior policy associate

By Layla Alagic in Achieving Equitable and Inclusive CTE
Tags: Access and Equity, CLNA, kansas, Opportunity Gap, Perkins V, postsecondary, professional development, special populations

Advance CTE 2024 Spring Meeting Sponsor Blog – Gold Sponsor American Student Alliance | Using CTE to Create Innovative Career Exploration Programs That Prepare All Learners for Their Futures

Thursday, April 11th, 2024

The views, opinions, services and products shared in this post are solely for educational purposes and do not imply agreement or endorsement by Advance CTE, nor discrimination against similar brands, products or services not mentioned.

In recent years, middle school career exploration has gained traction as a foundational element of Career Technical Education (CTE). As many State CTE Directors and leaders know, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V), signed into law in July 2018, for the first time permitted Perkins funding to be used on career exploration programming as early as fifth grade. Here are four strategic actions that states can take to expand and enhance career exploration programs that prepare learners for postsecondary education and career success, based on a recent nationwide study of middle school career exploration programs, commissioned by American Student Assistance® (ASA).

Clearly define middle school career exploration and ensure a unified definition is adopted across relevant agencies and partners, including K-12, postsecondary, workforce, and relevant community-based organizations. A quality definition clearly defines middle school career exploration as a strategy that will help learners build their understanding of career interests and expand awareness and understanding of career opportunities, including through hands-on, applied experiences.

Once a clear definition is established, coordinate related and supporting efforts across state leadership, including departments driving academics and instruction, school counseling, CTE, and workforce training. Establish routines for collaboration between programmatic leaders who should be working together to support an overall vision for learner success with elements from each of their programs.

Integrate career exploration into your accountability and data collection systems. The last two years of high school are insufficient for dramatically increasing learners’ readiness for postsecondary and career opportunities. States can leverage program quality indicators in Perkins V and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plans to formally set measurable goals for middle school career exploration, integrating them into existing college and career readiness (CCR) targets. States can also utilize their data collection systems to not only identify middle school career exploration participants and determine their positive placement within high school CTE programs, but also to ensure the quality of programming through evaluations or learner-based software platforms.

The report also highlights seven states that have distinguished themselves by instituting formal accountability mechanisms to influence district and school focus on meaningful career exploration. Although federal changes made through the reauthorization of ESSA allowed states to exercise flexibility in the indicators used to assess districts and schools, only two states—Pennsylvania and Georgia—have used this flexibility to include career exploration as a component in their federal accountability systems. Five additional states—Missouri, Kansas, Utah, South Carolina, and Michigan—have incorporated middle school career exploration into their state accountability mechanisms to assess the quality of delivery of career advisement services or activities.

Assess and address state policies that have the potential to limit learners’ ability to access different career exploration opportunities, including restricting CTE course enrollment by grade level or grade point average minimums.

It’s important to provide innovative and comprehensive career exploration that includes CTE. Only 33 states facilitate exploration via a course or set of courses that can serve as an on-ramp to a CTE pathway, according to ASA’s report. In contrast, the study highlights Utah’s College & Career Awareness Program, which requires a course that enables learners in grades 7-8 to explore high school, college, and career options based on individual interests, abilities, and skills. A team of CTE teachers, school counselors, and work-based learning coordinators teach the course and provide instruction in career development.

This well-rounded, effective approach equips all learners with the information they’ll need to understand their options and make informed, confident decisions about their futures.

Julie Lammers is Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Corporate Social Responsibility at American Student Assistance® (ASA), a national nonprofit changing the way kids learn about careers and prepare for their futures. Julie leads ASA’s philanthropic strategy as well as ASA’s advocacy efforts on both the federal and state level. Julie has been at ASA since March 2010.

By Layla Alagic in Advance CTE Spring Meeting
Tags: 2024 Spring Meeting Sponsors, Career Exploration, ESSA, Georgia, K-12, kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Perkins V, postsecondary, Program Quality, South Carolina, Utah, work-based learning, workforce

Funding Career Technical Education: Incorporating Elements Into Funding Models to Address CTE Access, Completion and Program Quality

Wednesday, January 24th, 2024

Advance CTE released the 2023 State of CTE: An Analysis of State Secondary CTE Funding Models to highlight how states and the District of Columbia provide high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) through various secondary CTE funding models and approaches. This blog, the third in a series, describes ways states have incorporated elements into their funding models to address CTE access, completion and program quality.

Overview

Advance CTE’s vision for the future of CTE calls on states to design equitable funding models that direct funding to where it is needed most. Funding is not just about budget sheets but about investing in and fostering an environment where every learner’s potential is unleashed. A state’s commitment to CTE is reflected in their financial decisions, and states are making changes to secondary CTE funding models to better serve and offer opportunities for all learners.

Background

Advance CTE conducted a survey with State CTE Directors in summer 2022 to better understand the extent to which states are currently incorporating elements into funding models to address CTE access, completion and program quality. Forty-six state leaders responded to the survey, and Advance CTE followed up with select state leaders in interviews to gather additional information about dimensions of equity.

Some of the most salient findings from the survey of State CTE Directors include:

There remains room for innovation in states’ secondary funding models as almost half of states are not supporting funding in one or several of the dimensions of equity. Additionally, almost a fifth of State CTE Directors indicated their state funding does not reflect any of the dimensions of equity. States should continue to evaluate and incorporate changes to secondary CTE funding models to ensure all learners have access and success through CTE.

Highlighted Practices

States such as Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico and Texas are linking state funding to state-approved CTE programs meeting quality standards. This move ensures access for learners regardless of their geographical location.

Other states, including Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas, are incentivizing learner enrollment and success in certain CTE courses or programs aligned with state labor market needs. These states use varying weights (i.e., multipliers) based on program types or course levels, aligning educational goals with workforce demands. For example, Indiana allocates amounts based on the number of CTE credit hours generated by districts and the enrollment in apprenticeship programs or work-based learning.¹

Recent shifts in foundational education formulas or bonus structures have also resulted in positive change. Massachusetts, for instance, introduced incremental funding to its formula for Chapter 70 (i.e., the major program of state aid to public elementary and secondary schools) under the Student Opportunity Act, benefitting English language learners and learners experiencing low income, including those in CTE programs.² You can learn more about Massachusetts in the state case study accompanying this release.

In Texas, local education agencies (LEAs) can earn outcomes bonuses for learners meeting the state’s college, career or military readiness measures. This bonus is weighted for learners who are considered economically disadvantaged or who are enrolled in special populations thereby tailoring additional funds to cater to learner needs, especially within CTE programs.³ You can learn more about Texas in the state case study and read about additional examples in the Research Report accompanying this release.

Recommendations

State leaders should consider the following recommendations if they plan to leverage funding incentives and/or prioritize geographies, learner or program characteristics and/or program areas:

Incentivize success for special populations and subgroups. Providing LEAs with bonuses for outcomes achieved by special populations and subgroups not only encourages LEAs to eliminate CTE enrollment barriers but also incentivizes districts to provide all learners with the support they need to be successful.
Acknowledge that each learner has unique experiences, backgrounds and needs by using learner markers (e.g., special population status) to direct additional state funding where it is needed most. These special population status markers can include low income, disability and English language learner status. Embed learner characteristics or markers as a factor in formulas to ensure that the highest-need learners are getting the supports to access and succeed in high-quality CTE programs.
Consider how to provide CTE beyond geographic borders, incentivizing schools or districts offering virtual learning opportunities or access to publicly funded CTE programs not offered in learners’ home LEA.⁴ This strategy could be especially helpful in areas where geography can limit program availability and career exposure.

Funding structures must continually evolve to bridge resource gaps among different learners. State CTE Directors can help shape funding conversations so learners thrive in an ever-evolving CTE landscape.

Additional Resources

Be sure to read the other blogs in this series: Funding Career Technical Education: Secondary CTE Funding Basics and Funding Career technical Education: Using the 2023 State of CTE Funding Report Resources. In the next blog in this series, we will explore how states also make contributions to CTE programs through non-categorical programmatic appropriations to support unique elements of CTE.

Please visit Advance CTE’s Learning that Works Resource Center for additional resources about CTE funding.

Dr. Laura Maldonado, Senior Research Associate

By Layla Alagic in CTE Without Limits, Research
Tags: Apprenticeships, cte funding, Delaware, Equity and Access, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, kansas, labor market demand, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, special populations, state funding, tennessee, texas

College in High School Series: a Look at CHSA’s State Policy Roadmap

Wednesday, June 14th, 2023

Advance CTE serves as a steering member of the College in the High School Alliance,a coalition of national, state, and local organizations collaborating to enable high school students to enroll in authentic, affordable college pathways toward postsecondary degrees and credentials offered with appropriate support. This blog, the second in a series, highlights the CHSA’s Unlocking Potential guide that elevates findings and work states are doing to design and deliver high-quality college in the high school programs.

Resource Overview

College in High School Alliance (CHSA)’s Unlocking Potential: A State Policy Roadmap for Equity & Quality in College in High School Programs provides a comprehensive set of policy recommendations for states looking to expand equitable access to college and high school programs. This guide provides policy recommendations as well as actionable items for state and local administrators and concludes with other examples of state tools and resources.

Background:

College in High School Alliance defines college in high school programs as dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and early college high school. These programs are formed via partnerships between school districts and accredited institutions of higher education to provide high school-age students postsecondary experiences that lead to college credentials or degrees.

The number of students participating in College in High School Programs has increased to provide opportunities to more than 5.5 million secondary learners, with Career Technical Education (CTE) courses making up one-third of enrollments (1). While these programs have proven popular and in high demand, enrollment demographics do not reflect the full diversity of the learner population. Significant opportunity exists for reducing barriers to accessing College in High School Programs for all learners, especially those in low-income communities, learners of color, learners from rural communities and first-generation college-goers.

Unlocking Potential provides recommendations and highlights work for state policies that advance the goals of equity and quality for college in high school programs in six categories:

The numbers in the image represent page numbers from the resource guide, per each category.

Equity Goal and Public Reporting:
- Set an equitable and statewide public goal for increasing the participation and success of traditionally underserved learners in the early postsecondary groups
- Disaggregate public reporting and accountability for progress toward the goal
- Practices in Louisiana, Montana, Minnesota, and Washington are highlighted
Program Integrity and Credit Transfer:
- Support and promote high-quality early postsecondary opportunities
- Create cross-sector partnerships between secondary and postsecondary teams
- Create articulation agreements to remove barriers on student transfer opportunities
- Practices in California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota and Texas are highlighted
Finance:
- Design funding mechanisms that remove financial barriers for low-income and moderate-income students who want to participate in early postsecondary opportunities
- Practices in Arkansas, Georgia, Nebraska, Utah, Vermont and Washington are highlighted
Course Access and Availability:
- Remove course access and availability barriers for all learners
- Maximize learners’ college credit attainment experiences through international pathway opportunities and by providing academic and career exploration opportunities
- Practices in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine and Virginia are highlighted
Instructor Capacity
- Develop strategies to recruit, provide support, and diversify the pool of instructors with the appropriate qualifications to teach college in high school programs
- Create high-quality partnerships between K-12 and postsecondary partners as college in high school programs
- Scale college in the high school programs and create sustainability
- Practices in Hawaii, Kansas, Minnesota and Ohio are highlighted
Navigator Support:
- Prioritize student navigational support.
- Enhance the current advising mechanisms.
- Practices in California, Colorado, Montana, Ohio and Tennessee are highlighted

The policy recommendations are presented along a continuum: foundational, advanced, and exceptional policies. Foundational policies are those that every state must have to best support its learners.

For example, under the Equity Goal and Public Reporting, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) data reporting requirements would be considered a foundational policy. On the other end of the spectrum, states can enhance these same data reporting requirements by creating tool kits and providing technical assistance to empower local use of data to remove barriers for learners and create more equitable programs.

To learn more about how CTE early postsecondary opportunities (EPSO) such as dual enrollment serve learners, check out Advance CTE’s report on The State of CTE: Early Postsecondary Opportunities. This 50-state report, provided in partnership with College in the High School Alliance reveals key findings on how EPSOs serve CTE learners and provides recommendations for state leaders to leverage state infrastructure and collaboration to advance equity in these experiences.

Suela Cela, Senior Policy Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in CTE Without Limits
Tags: Access and Equity, Arkansas, California, College Access, college in high school, Colorado, dual credit, dual enrollment, early college high school, Early Postsecondary Opportunities, ESSA, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, state policy, tennessee, texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington State

Research Round-up: The Impact of the High School CTE Education Teacher Pathway Initiative Grant

Wednesday, May 31st, 2023

Advance CTE’s “Research Round-Up” blog series features summaries of relevant research reports and studies to elevate evidence-backed Career Technical Educational (CTE) policies and practices and topics related to college and career readiness. This month’s blog highlights a study produced by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) on the impact of the High School CTE Education Teacher Pathway Initiative Grant. These findings align with Advance CTE’s vision for the future of CTE where each learner is supported by and has the means to succeed in the career preparation ecosystem.

In 2017, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) launched the High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) Teacher Pathway Initiative (also referred to as CTE TPI). Last year, OCTAE published The Impact of the High School CTE Education Teacher Pathway Initiative Grant, a report on the outcomes of these three-year grants and the specific activities that the five grantees implemented to increase the pipeline capacity of high-school CTE teachers. These findings can inform state leaders on best practices for recruitment and retaining high-quality CTE instructors.

The study, conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR), focused on the following questions to examine the challenges and potential solutions encountered during grant implementation and to summarize grantee activities:

What do grantees see as the major factors contributing to shortages of secondary CTE teachers in their state or community?
How have grantees used CTE TPI funding to alleviate CTE teacher shortages?
What challenges have grantees experienced in implementing their CTE TPI activities, and what strategies are they using to overcome those challenges?
Are there early indicators of success in alleviating CTE teacher shortages?

Grants were awarded to two state departments of education, a regional education service center, a community college system and a school district:

Grantee Findings and Activities

In the first collection of data in 2019, grantees were surveyed about what they saw as the major factors influencing the shortages of secondary teachers in their state or community. The five major issues identified were:

Disparities in compensation and work-life balance between in-demand industry positions and teaching
Lack of higher education programs to train potential CTE educators
Challenges navigating the CTE teacher licensure process and requirements
The differentiated education and experience required to teach different CTE content areas
Exams in teaching skills or content areas

The table above shows the activities pursued by each grantee with the following outcomes:

New Jersey Department of Education: 53 industry professionals enrolled in an educator preparation program and 9 current teachers completed a program to help them transition to CTE teaching.
Tennessee Department of Education: 61 teachers enrolled in new school district-led educator preparation programs, and 39 teachers and 30 mentors piloted a new regional mentoring model.
Southeast Kansas Education Service Center: 165 new CTE teachers and 63 mentors participated in at least 1 year of a structured mentoring program.
Portland Community College: 48 industry professionals and 27 current teachers transitioning to CTE teaching enrolled in an educator preparation program and community of practice.
School Board of Broward County: 100 teachers gained certification in business education, computer science, or engineering and 23 teachers implemented a new CTE course.

Promising Practices for States

Chronic teacher shortages were only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and without taking immediate action, these gaps may continue to grow. The findings from this study speak to the variety of strategies that state and local CTE leaders can employ to increase the number of CTE instructors:

Broad Professional networks: Establishing broader regional or statewide professional and/or mentoring networks through which new CTE teachers can access support from peers and more experienced CTE teachers is particularly important for new CTE teachers to combat what many teachers refer to as “professional isolation.”
Tailored Mentorship: Mentorship is clearly a needed support, particularly when it is aligned with new CTE teachers’ content areas or tailored to meet the individual’s professional needs.
Accessible Instructor Shortage Data: Grantees were unable to access systematic data regarding where and in what content areas high school CTE teachers are needed. This information must be collected from the district level, aggregated to the state level, and made accessible to coordinate an effective response to addressing staffing shortages.
Proactive Certification Planning: Educational institutions that are interested in recruiting current non-CTE teachers for CTE positions can make advance planning for moving teachers into those roles an explicit component of their strategy. The investment of preparing teachers for certification and licensure might be most impactful when accompanied by an institution-level commitment to directly translate teacher preparation into expanded CTE programs and an increase in CTE course opportunities for students.
Data Sharing through Partnerships: Whenever possible, grantees should solidify agreements with partners as partnerships launch or within grant applications that allow participant-level data sharing and a flow of information across organizations to monitor participant progress. This data sharing allows grantees to offer better support and enables flexibility in supporting CTE teachers.

For additional learning, visit Advance CTE’s Learning that Works Resource Center to access reports on how states can leverage Perkins V to Support Teacher Recruitment and Retention and State of the States 2022: Teacher Compensation Strategies.

Amy Hodge, Policy Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in Research
Tags: CTE Teacher pipeline, CTE teachers, Florida, kansas, New Jersey, Oregon, recruitment, tennessee

Why CTE Without Borders?

Monday, May 22nd, 2023

Advance CTE’s new resource, the CTE Without Borders Policy Playbook, calls on leaders to truly meet the needs of learners by removing the geographic barriers that limit access and opportunities, particularly for learners in rural communities. This work is essential to ensure that each learner can access CTE without borders — one of the five principles of Advance CTE’s Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education. Policies and programs should enable, not limit, mobility and access. States should come together to develop and expand new models of collaboration by investing in expanded-access systems that allow access both within and across states.

The first release in the CTE Without Borders series highlights the importance of expanded access and introduces two of the six focus areas critical to expanding access to high-quality CTE and work-based learning: Aligning Partners, Values and Vision and Driving Decisions With Data.

State CTE leaders can learn how expanded access to high-quality CTE and work-based learning opportunities benefits learners, industry, institutions and state labor market demands; consider how to assess current CTE systems to actualize CTE without borders; and prepare their state for expanded access within and across states.

This first release features promising state and local practices from across the country including California, Kansas, Tennessee, Utah and more; strategies to actualize each focus area; and resources to support state and local leaders in providing expanded access within and across states.

Visit the Learning that Works Resource Center to read the first two releases in the series and for additional resources to support CTE Without Borders.

Haley Wing, Senior Policy Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in Publications
Tags: California, CTE Without Limits, Equity, hybrid learning, kansas, online learning, rural, tennessee, Utah

Spotlight on CTE Month: Celebrating the creative ways states engaged with stakeholders

Tuesday, March 7th, 2023

February’s Career Technical Education (CTE) Month celebrations illustrated CTE’s continued spotlight in both federal and state communications and policymaking. This post recaps some of the inspiring activities from across the nation elevating both the value of CTE and the learners it serves.

Spotlight on CTE in the Nation’s Capital

CTE Month started strong this year with a major policy speech by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, during which he highlighted the importance of Career Technical Education (CTE): “We must challenge our myopic view that emphasizing the importance of career pathways is about limiting students, or the view that its four-year-college or bust. Advancing career pathways in high schools is about more options for students, not less. What it does is prepare them for the careers of today with options, and in some cases, their employer will pay for their future education. If we do this well, our graduates will be able to compete on a global stage. It’s my intention to Raise the Bar so we can lead the world in advanced career and technical education.”

Just two weeks later, First Lady Jill Biden’s guests for the State of the Union (SOTU) address included Kate Foley– a 10th-grade computer-integrated manufacturing student who the First Lady had met last year during a visit to CTE programs in Rolling Meadows High School. In addition, Rep. Glusenkamp Perez (D-WA) brought Cory Toppa, a construction, engineering design, and manufacturing teacher at Kalama High School and the director of CTE for the Kalama school district.

During the SOTU, President Biden highlighted how the intersection of education and workforce development is integral to America’s ability to compete within the wider global economy. The President mentioned career-focused education saying, in part, “Let’s finish the job, and connect students to career opportunities starting in high school, provide access to two years of community college, the best career training in America, in addition to being a pathway to a four-year degree. Let’s offer every American a path to a good career, whether they go to college or not.”

Finally, support for CTE extended to Capitol Hill, with both the House and Senate passing resolutions supporting CTE that achieved a high water mark for the number of co-sponsors.

Spotlight on CTE in State Capitols and Beyond

Outside of the U.S. House, 25 states and at least 1 U.S. Territory had proclamations designating February as CTE Month, and many state capitols hosted CTE students for showcases and meet and greets.

Spotlight on engaging with CTE stakeholders

Many states used CTE Month as an opportunity to connect with learners, families, employers and other stakeholders.

Louisiana hosted a roundtable discussion featuring panelists from K-12, postsecondary and industry professionals at their annual conference. Michigan hosted a Value of CTE virtual conference for employers and Missouri launched their CTE Perceptions Survey to learners, families, educators and business leaders.

States used a variety of marketing channels to share stories and promote CTE. Wyoming released a CTEZine published in local newspapers. South Carolina created My CTE Story videos featuring learner stories. North Dakota shared tips for maximizing messaging during CTE Month in their monthly newsletter. Oklahoma created a week’s worth of suggested activities that fostered pride in and self-promotion of local programs during #ILuvOKCTE week.

Through social media posts, many states shared information on the power and purpose of CTE as well as success stories and celebrations of CTE learners.

While CTE Month is a great opportunity to promote and educate those not familiar with the opportunities within and successes of CTE, our advocacy and education efforts should continue year-round. For information on how you can more effectively communicate CTE, check out the following resources in our Resource Center:

Jodi Langellotti, Communications Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in Uncategorized
Tags: CTE Month, Iowa, kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, rhode island, SOTU, South Carolina, U.S. Secretary of Education, Washington DC, Washington State, Wyoming

Top Recommendations from Coalition for Career Development Center’s Inaugural Report to Improve State Career Readiness

Thursday, August 11th, 2022

In May, the Coalition for Career Development Center released the first annual The Condition of Career Readiness in the United States. The 129-page report evaluates key states’ career readiness policies, investments and outcomes across all 50 states, including personalized career and academic plans (PCAP), funding, curriculums, accountability, and Career Technical Education (CTE) program outcomes. Accompanying the report is an interactive national map that links available PCAP resources, work-based learning (WBL) toolkits, Perkins V plans, social-emotional learning (SEL) toolkits and ESSA plans for each state to allow state leaders to assess and enhance their career readiness systems

The report finds that “[to] become a Career Ready Nation we all have work to do. And, cost-effective solutions and strategies used by many states or regions within states offer a way forward.” As a 50-state landscape of key components of career readiness, this report gives state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders valuable findings and guidance to better align and interconnect career readiness systems that are responsive to the needs of each learner across their entire career journey.

Here are several recommendations and state highlights that state CTE leaders can consider to make that alignment possible;

Recommendation 1: Expand Post-School Outcome Data

For postsecondary CTE concentrators, the report finds that 40 states are placing 70 percent or more of secondary learners into postsecondary training and education, military or employment after high school graduation. Only three states, however, are placing 70 percent or more of all high school graduates into either a two-year or four-year postsecondary training or education program. The report recommends expanding post-school data points as well as counting military service and employment as post-school outcomes for learners.
Kansas, in addition to assessing advanced social-emotional learning (SEL) skills that serve as high-demand employability skills, creates an annual report that provides high schools with information on the average percentage of students that complete career interest surveys; write postsecondary goals and post-secondary plan; and complete portfolio tracking for internship records, dual course credit; certifications and applications to postsecondary education.

Recommendation 2: Identify Engagement Strategies for Learners Ages 16 to 19

47 states were found to be connecting more than 90 percent of their youth population aged 16 to 19 to education, training programs, or employment. However, only five states reported that more than 90% of their young adults aged 20 to 24 are connected to education, training programs, or employment. The report recommended that longitudinal data systems be designed to determine whether and when young adults become disconnected.
The 16+ DataHub, managed by Scotland’s Careers Services, integrates data from a range of sources including education, workforce, and health and human services. Once identified, Careers Services deploys a career counselor to reconnect them to education, training, and employment opportunities.

Recommendation 3: Invest in PCAP

While 30 states offer high-quality career readiness policies, referred to as personalized career and academic plans (PCAP), the report highlights the need to improve alignment through cross-sector teams. Specifically, the report recommends leveraging federal and state funds to support the adoption and quality implementation of PCAPs or other career planning processes by schools, youth-serving organizations and higher education institutions. Additionally, cross-sector teams should focus on aligning PCAP with the state’s education, workforce development, wellness, and career readiness policies, resources and initiatives.
The Delaware Pathways initiative is a cross-sector-created team of diverse stakeholders who established a common vision and language for linking their PCAP (referred to as Student Success Planning) with CTE, SEL, and work-based learning initiatives in a manner that seeks to increase access for all learners. Advance CTE featured Delaware Pathways in a recent brief on braiding funding in career pathways design.

Recommendation 4: Increase Access to Work-based Learning Opportunities

Wage and employment opportunities increase when youth have career conversations and experiences. The report finds that 29 states identified work-based learning as an important element in their Perkins V plans. However, fewer than ten states name specific plans to enact or expand key work-based policy areas. The report recommends providing statewide infrastructure to support implementation; using state and federal funding incentives to encourage industry/business participation and communication systems that enable stakeholders to access and participate in work-based learning and leveraging intermediaries to provide capacity for state-wide work-based learning implementation infrastructure is an effective solution.
Iowa established a network of 15 regional intermediaries through its community college system which connects industry partners and the education system to offer relevant, work-based learning activities to learners. This work was highlighted in an Advance CTE webinar earlier this year.

Recommendation 5: Invest in Career Advising

High schools in just 28 states are meeting the American School Counseling Association’s recommended school counselor to student ratio of 250:1. To further this progress, the report calls for more investment in career readiness for elementary and middle school learners and emphasizes exposure can make a difference in aiding learners to select the best career pathway.
PBS Kids has created programs for learners ages three to six to give them the opportunity to see themselves reflected in various careers regardless of race, disability, or gender. Cajon Valley Union School District’s World of Work Initiative focuses on supporting children from lower income and racially diverse communities to build confidence through mentorship and career exposure.

The extensive report includes sources cited from several publications in Advance CTE’s Learning that Works Resource Center (specific references can be found starting on page 119.)

Brice Thomas, Policy Associate

By Stacy Whitehouse in Resources
Tags: Career Advisement, career readiness, Delaware, ICAP, Intermediaries, Iowa, kansas, Learner Engagement, student outcomes, work-based learning

State Policies Impacting Funding

Wednesday, March 9th, 2022

State education agencies, legislators and educators faced significant challenges from the coronavirus pandemic, including adapting to remote and hybrid delivery of hands-on learning, and responding to local and national skilled labor shortages. The number of state-level CTE policies enacted that affect Career Technical Education (CTE) fell to the lowest number in 2020 since Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) began publishing these annual Year in Review reports.

However, with a new commitment to upskilling and reskilling American learners and a CTE without limits, 41 states enacted 138 policies impacting CTE and career readiness in 2021. Advance CTE and ACTE have witnessed the return of pre-pandemic numbers in state policy actions in 2021 with policies affecting the secondary, postsecondary, adult and/or workforce systems, and including legislation, executive orders, and budget provisions that significantly changed funding.

Each year, Advance CTE and ACTE publish a yearly state policy tracker and categorize each state policy action by topic. In 2021, the top five topics that state policy most frequently addressed were:

Funding;
Access and equity;
Data, reporting and/or accountability;
Industry partnerships and work-based learning; and
Industry-recognized credentials.

Funding
Policies that address significant changes in CTE funding, such as increasing or decreasing allocations, creating a scholarship or grant program, or investing in a pilot program have been categorized by this topic. Twenty-four states enacted 51 policies in 2021 that affected CTE funding, making funding the most common policy category for the ninth year in a row. Below are a few state policy actions from this category:

Colorado created an energy sector career pathway and established the Strengthening Photovoltaic and Renewable Careers (SPARC) Workforce Development Program. The goal of this program is to create capacity for training, apprenticeship and education programs in the energy career pathway, with a goal of increasing employment in this sector.
Delaware established and expanded multiple statewide scholarship programs, including the Focus on Alternative Skills Training (FAST) Program and the Elevate Delaware program. These programs provide up to $10,000 each to eligible Delaware residents toward tuition for non-degree credential programs that provide industry-recognized skill training and certification.
Kansas established the Kansas Promise Scholarship Program, administered by the Kansas State Board of Regents. The program serves as a last-dollar scholarship to assist learners with financial barriers that may prevent them from completing a two-year associate degree program or CTE certificate program aligned to in-demand careers and credentials.

State Policies Impacting CTE: 2021 Year in Review marks the ninth annual review of CTE and career readiness policies from across the United States conducted by Advance CTE and ACTE. This report does not describe every policy enacted within each state but instead focuses on national policy trends.

View the full report and 2021 state policy tracker here.

Dan Hinderliter, Senior Policy Associate

By admin in Resources
Tags: Colorado, cte funding, Delaware, kansas, state policy

This Week in CTE

Saturday, October 3rd, 2020

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

CAREERS IN CONSTRUCTION MONTH

This week we have kicked off Careers in Construction Month. Take the pledge to engage with students about the opportunities in the construction industry this October.

"It's an extremely rewarding endeavor to go into." #CareersInConstruction #CICM pic.twitter.com/QN5YSwDjup

— Build Your Future (@BuildYourFuture) October 2, 2020

MANUFACTURING DAY 2020

MFG Day helps show the reality of modern manufacturing careers by
encouraging thousands of companies and educational institutions around
the nation to open their doors to students, parents, teachers and community
leaders. #MFGDay20 @MFGDAY @TheMFGInstitute @ShopfloorNAM @cmta pic.twitter.com/Ps4Ikrn2m7

— MBC Aerosol (@MbcAerosol) September 30, 2020

Today is #MFGDay20, a celebration of US manufacturers aimed at inspiring the next generation of skilled workers. NC manufacturers are building that next generation through apprenticeship. 63% of youth apprentices are in advanced #manufacturing, the most of any industry sector. pic.twitter.com/d7o4eesXFm

— ApprenticeshipNC (@ApprenticeNC) October 2, 2020

AWARD RECIPIENT OF THE WEEK

During the recent AlabamaWorks! Virtual Conference, recipients of the first AlabamaWorks! Innovator Awards were recognized. These awards recognize individuals in the state of Alabama that are innovatively advancing workforce and career opportunities.

Adopted from AlabamaWorks!

Tiger Mochas is a collaborative effort between special education students, FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) members and peer volunteers at Auburn High School. This student-led organization is serving up a lot more than hot cups of coffee to their peers because through their work, students are provided meaningful, hands-on work experience that teaches important functional, social and daily living skills. Graduates of the program leave with not only work and employability skills, but in-demand soft skills that will help them succeed in life and work.

More on each award recipient can be found here.

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) announced the Rethink Adult Ed Challenge to advance pre-apprenticeships. Eligible AEFLA-funded organizations are now invited to submit preliminary designs of a program that is innovative, aligned to industry demand and provides support to program participants as they move into apprenticeships and the workforce. For more information, register for the virtual information session held October 15, 2020.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

On October 1, the president signed a stopgap funding bill, avoiding a government shutdown since federal funding expired on September 30, 2020. The Senate passed this continuing resolution (CR) on Wednesday in a bipartisan vote of 84-10, following the House vote on the CR last week. This bill (H.R. 8337) extends federal funding at the currently enacted levels through December 11, 2020 for all 12 appropriations bills, including Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-Ed). All education programs will continue at the currently enacted funding levels through the duration of the CR.

Follow the CR and more legislative updates here.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Kansas designed the Excel in CTE initiative to help more learners enter high-wage, high-demand careers by providing funding for industry-recognized credentials and allowing secondary students to access CTE dual enrollment opportunities. Since the program was launched in 2012, Kansas has seen dramatic increases in the number of high school students earning industry-recognized credentials and postsecondary CTE credit.

View the full policy profile in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

By admin in COVID-19 and CTE
Tags: Alabama, COVID-19, kansas

Posts Tagged ‘kansas’