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Posts Tagged ‘Secondary’

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Legislative Update: House Hearing on Higher Ed and Jobs

Friday, August 19th, 2011

On Tuesday, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training hosted a field hearing in South Carolina, “Reviving Our Economy: The Role of Higher Education in Job Growth and Development.” The hearing featured two panel discussions: The first examined the local economy and job opportunities, and the second focused on the ability of higher education institutions to successfully prepare graduates to join the workforce.

During the second panel, Dr. Keith Miller, President of Greenville Technical College, spoke about the importance of partnerships between education and employers to ensure economic success. His college is working with employers to bridge the skills gaps that exist industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, and IT. Dr. Miller encouraged members to support WIA funding and talked about the benefit of dual enrollment programs. While he did not speak about Perkins specifically, it is important that the subcommittee heard about the skills gaps that exist and the need to train workers to fill existing jobs. Hearing this message from constituents reinforces the message that we take the Hill with us – that Perkins funding and CTE programs are the key drivers in training these workers and closing the skills gap.

By admin in Public Policy
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NASDCTEc Signs on to Extended Graduation Brief

Friday, August 19th, 2011

NASDCTEc has signed on in support of a new brief that encourage states’ use of extended-year graduation rates in adequate yearly progress calculations and incorporation of these rates into their state accountability frameworks/systems. Written by the American Youth Policy Forum, Gateway to College National Network, and the National Youth Employment Coalition, this brief, Making Every Diploma Count: Using Extended-Year Graduation Rates to Measure Student Success, aims to educate and inform states about the flexibilities that currently exist to use extended-year graduation rates as a policy mechanism to encourage schools and districts to continue to work with over-age, under-credit students.

These rates provide for the inclusion of students who take longer than four years to earn a high school diploma, but who successfully earn their credential in five or six years. Extended-year graduation rates allow states to document increases in graduation rates compared to the traditional four-year measure and highlight the successful work of schools and districts to get struggling and out-of-school students back on-track to graduation. The brief encourages states to calculate five- and six-year high school graduation rates to ensure that schools’ and districts’ efforts to serve struggling and off-track students are recognized and not discouraged.

The brief recommendations the following:

• In addition to four-year graduation rates, states should gather and report extended-year graduation rates.
• States should use extended year graduation rates for purposes of accountability.
• States should use extended graduation rates to create incentives for schools and districts to serve struggling and off-track students.

By admin in Publications
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Duncan to Grant Waivers from NCLB Requirements

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

Due to Congress’ failure to act on reauthorization, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it plans to offer states relief from some of the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act in exchange for states’ support of the Administration’s education reform policies.

Melody Barnes, director of the Domestic Policy Council, said during the announcement, “America’s future competitiveness is being decided today, in classrooms across the nation. With no clear path to a bipartisan bill in Congress, the President has directed us to move forward with an administrative process to provide flexibility within the law for states and districts that are willing to embrace reform.”

States will be given the opportunity to apply for a waiver from certain requirements in the law. These applications will be peer reviewed by individuals outside of the Department, but the final decision will belong to Secretary Duncan. The waivers would take effect during the 2011-2012 school year. Further details about the waivers will be released in September. However, rumors are swirling that states would be given waivers from NCLB’s 2014 proficiency deadline and more funding flexibility, in exchange for adopting college- or career-ready standards, creating differentiated accountability systems, and adopting teacher evaluation systems.

While the Secretary has clear legal authority to grant waivers from the law, it is not clear that he has the authority to make them conditional on support for the Administration’s reform policies.

By admin in Legislation
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Culinary Arts, Video Production and Engineering Featured in Elective Programming Presentation in New Jersey

Friday, May 13th, 2011

Mr. David Tankard, High School Assistant Vice Principal and Supervisor of Business & Applied Technology and Family Consumer Science, Westwood Regional School District in New Jersey, presented on the status of the district’s elective programming such as Culinary Arts, Video Productions and Engineering at a recent Board of Education Meeting.

According to the Westwood-Washington Township Patch, Tankard called electives “career paths or opportunities for success,” and said that they provide students with a wide range of experiences, and insights into future careers. The school is shaking up its elective offerings “to better serve district students,” Tankard said, and as part of this will make some programs such as “engineering, computer animation and robotics” available to younger students. Among the curriculum offerings in the District:

The Westwood Regional School District serves the Borough of Westwood (population 10,400) and the Township of Washington (population 9,800).  These two communities are located approximately fifteen miles northwest of midtown Manhattan.

Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation (please give this large file time to download)

By admin in News
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ED Hosts Community College Symposium

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

Yesterday the U.S. Department of Education hosted a Community College Symposium at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, MD. This was the last in a series of events, including four regional summits, focused on community colleges led by the Department and Dr. Jill Biden. The symposium featured panels that presented preliminary findings on four issue briefs focused on:

In speaking about aligning secondary and postsecondary education, the panelists pointed out that the transition from high school to postsecondary is troublesome for many youth, and that many drop out after only one semester. They acknowledged that CTE is leading the way in the effort to align learner levels, but that alignment must be a broader part of general education in order to better serve all students. Among the successful ways in which CTE accommodates transitions are Tech Prep, Career Clusters, career pathways, and programs of study.

The panelists also mentioned the Common Core State Standards as a way to better align high school standards with postsecondary entrance requirements. However, this is not happening in most states, and would require more collaboration between secondary and postsecondary. Dual enrollment was also talked about as an effective strategy to increase communication and alignment between high schools and colleges.

By admin in Public Policy
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AP-Viacom Survey: Students Dissatisfied with High School Preparation

Monday, April 25th, 2011

Education stakeholders continue to stress the need to prepare college- and career-ready high school graduates. However, a recent survey reveals students’ discontent with their high school preparation, and reveals a need for more focus on the “career ready” component of college and career readiness.

The Associated Press and Viacom recently released the results of a telephone survey of over 1,100 American young adults (ages 18 to 24) to gauge their perspectives on education today. Overall, most students rated their high schools poorly in areas that would ease the transition from secondary to postsecondary education and prepare them to enter college or the workforce. Career Technical Education (CTE) aims to help students with this transition by providing a pathway from rigorous, sequential secondary coursework into postsecondary education or a career.

About half of the respondents rate their high schools as fair, poor, or very poor in preparing students for further education. An alarming 57 percent of students report their high schools as fair, poor, or very poor at helping students choose or be prepared for future careers. Many students also say that high schools fail to help students find internships or other work experience. Less than a quarter of students credit their guidance counselor for helping greatly with these issues.

Despite respondents’ reports of not being prepared for further education, two-thirds of students believe that their peers should aim to attend college, and about the same number hope to attain a four-year degree themselves. However, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about one-third of today’s 25-to-34 year olds hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, and less than 10 percent receive an associate degree. This presents an alarming mismatch because, despite plans to attend college, many students are not attending or completing a postsecondary credential or certificate. As the survey results show, students entering the workforce after high school do not feel adequately prepared for this transition.

To access the survey results, please visit The AP-Viacom Survey of Youth on Education.

By admin in News
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Legislative Update: AMERICA Works, 21st Century Careers, Every Student Counts, Financial Literacy, Middle Schools

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Amid all of the budget action over the last few weeks, Congress has also introduced a number of bills that may be of interest.

AMERICA Works Act

Rep. Joe Donnelly (IN) introduced H.R. 1325, the AMERICA Works Act, which would require that certain Federal job training and career education programs give a priority to programs that provide an recognized and nationally portable credential. This bill is similar to the one introduced by Sen. Kay Hagan (NC) last session. The bill would amend Perkins such that state plans would describe how the eligible agency would give priority to programs of study that lead to a skills credential that is in high demand in the area served and listed in the registry described in the AMERICA Works Act.

Providing Innovation to 21st Century Careers Act

Sen. Patty Murray (WA) introduced S. 830, the Providing Innovation to 21st Century Careers Act, to establish partnerships to create or enhance educational and skills development pathways to 21st century careers. The bill would fund $912 million in competitive grants to be used by state and regional partnerships to help students graduate high school and enter postsecondary education or a skilled career. State and regional partnerships would include representatives from secondary, postsecondary, business, labor, workforce, and economic development organizations. These partnerships would develop career pathways for high school students that include counseling, mentoring, work-based experiences, and support to obtain degrees, apprenticeships, and other postsecondary credentials.

Every Student Counts Act

Sen. Tom Harkin (IA) introduced S.767, the Every Student Counts Act . The goal of the bill is to improve the calculation of, reporting of, and accountability for high school graduation rates. The bill would also give credit to schools, districts and states for graduating students in more than four years, as long as they graduate the majority of all students in four years. The bill also provides incentives for schools, districts and states to create programs to serve students who have already dropped out of school, are over-age or under credited. The Every Student Counts Act builds on the National Governors Association’s Graduation Rate Compact that was signed by all 50 of the nation’s governors in 2005. Rep. Bobby Scott (VA) introduced companion bill, H.R. 1419, in the House.

Financial and Economic Literacy Improvement Act

Sen. Patty Murray (WA) introduced S. 787, the Financial and Economic Literacy Improvement Act, which aims to provide grants to promote financial literacy for students and adults. The grants would provide funding to states for resources to teach financial literacy in K-12 schools and 2-and 4-year colleges. The bill also proposes a clearinghouse of resources, tools, and best practices for financial and economic literacy education.

Success in the Middle Act

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) introduced S. 833, the Success in the Middle Act, which would fund grants for states to help school districts improve low-performing middle schools. The grants would be used for early intervention systems for at-risk youth, transition programs between elementary, middle, and high school, professional development, extended learning time, and personal academic plans. While the bill does not specifically mention CTE, there does seem to be a clear connection between the purposes of this bill and the work being done by the CTE community.

By admin in Legislation
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Smaller Learning Communities Eliminated in FY11 Budget

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

As more information comes out about the drastic cuts to education programs in Congress’ FY11 continuing resolution, we have learned that funding for the Smaller Learning Communities program has been eliminated. This program, authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, had previously allocated $88 million in grants to LEAs to improve student academic achievement through structures within a large high school that included career academies, themed schools-within-a- school, and “houses” in which small groups of students remain together throughout high school.

The impetus for Smaller Learning Communities stemmed from research that showed that students learn better and retain more when they learn things in context and when they understand the “why” behind what they are learning. CTE has played an integral role in many of these schools that prepare students to succeed in postsecondary education and careers. Once again, this cut in funding will negatively impact CTE students and programs throughout the country.

By admin in Legislation
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New Report and State Profiles Show Economic Benefit of Cutting Dropout Rates

Friday, March 25th, 2011

The Alliance for Excellent Education released a report and individual state profiles this week that show how cutting the high school dropout rate can have a positive impact on the economy. Education and the Economy: Boosting the Nation’s Economy by Improving High School Graduation Rates found that if the high school graduation rate were cut in half, these 650,000 “new graduates” would benefit the economy in some of the following ways:

The dollar amounts included in the report represent the economic returns from cutting the dropout rate for only one high school class. The Alliance points out that increasing the graduation rates for future classes would create cumulative benefits that would be exponentially greater.  Later this spring, the Alliance will release similar projections for metropolitan areas.

“Decisions on how to close budget gaps and build a strong economy must begin with ensuring better educational outcomes for the nation’s students,” said Alliance president Bob Wise. “There’s been a lot of talk about how budget deficits threaten our children’s future, but the best way to cut budget deficits is to cut dropout rates.”

You can access information about the economic benefits of cutting the graduation rate in your state here.

By admin in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Appropriations, ESEA

Friday, March 18th, 2011

Congress Passes Three Week Continuing Resolution

On Tuesday the House passed H.J. Res. 48, the most recent three week continuing resolution for FY 2011, by a vote of 271 to 158.  The bill cuts government funding by $6 billion, but Tech Prep and Perkins are spared from cuts in this bill. Yesterday the Senate passed H.J. Res 48 by a vote of 87-13, avoiding a government shutdown once again. Congress now has until April 8 to come together to pass a long term funding bill.

President Calls for ESEA Reauthorization This Year

In a speech Monday at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, VA President Obama called on Congress to fix No Child Left Behind (NCLB) before school starts for the nation’s elementary and secondary students this fall. The President noted that the goals of NCLB were on the right track, but that there are considerable problems with the law that need to be fixed. For example, under the current law, more than 80 percent of our schools will be labeled as failing.

“We need to make sure we’re graduating students who are ready for college and a career,” President Obama said. “In the 21st Century, it’s not enough to leave no child behind. We need to help every child get ahead. We need to get every child on a path to academic excellence.”

By admin in Legislation
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