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Getting to Know: Advance CTE’s work to build better career pathways

Thursday, May 20th, 2021

The “Getting to Know” blog series will feature the work of State CTE Directors, state and federal policies, innovative programs and new initiatives from the Advance CTE staff. Learn more about each one of these topics and the unique contributions to advancing Career Technical Education (CTE) that Advance CTE’s members work on every day.

Meet Jeran Culina! Jeran serves in the role of Senior Policy Associate for Advance CTE, supporting state policy and technical assistance work. Jeran’s work has a focus on supporting states and communities to create, share, use and manage information about national efforts to expand high-quality and equitable career pathways. She also supports the development of policy tools and resources leveraged by state and local leaders, national partners and other key stakeholders to help ensure each learner has access to supports, resources and skills needed to be successful in the careers of their choice.

Q: What is the New Skills ready network initiative and how does it inform your work at Advance CTE?

A: New Skills ready network is a five-year initiative, part of JPMorgan Chase’s $350 million global New Skills at Work program, which aims to improve student completion of high-quality career pathways. The six New Skills ready network sites are: Boston, Massachusetts; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Nashville, Tennessee.

A key feature of the New Skills ready network is the makeup of the leadership teams. Each site’s team brings together a cross-sector group of partners representing local school systems, two-year and four-year postsecondary institutions, intermediary organizations, industry, and state and workforce development agencies. These unique state-and-local, cross-sector leadership teams were developed to align systems; incubate innovative solutions; and ultimately, scale equitable career pathways for all learners. This piece of the New Skills ready network has been significant in informing the rest of my state policy work. It showcases the strengths and challenges that local and state partnerships bring to the table, but it also offers best practices from six local sites to better inform state policy work around engaging stakeholders, bridging secondary and postsecondary, aligning pathways, closing equity gaps, and many other areas that haven’t even been explored yet.

Q: How would the New Skills ready network define high-quality career pathways?

A: High-quality career pathways are ones that successfully prepare learners for a variety of educational opportunities while supporting effective and meaningful collaboration between secondary schools, postsecondary institutions, and employers to provide students with experience in, and understanding of, all aspects of an industry, and ensure equal access to all learners. Within the New Skills ready network, all sites are developing or expanding their definition of what high-quality career pathways means to them. For example, the Indianapolis, IN team has aligned their definition of high-quality career pathways to match the state’s new next level programs of study (NLPS) model. The shift to NLPS provides learners with:

An increase in the consistency of CTE course offerings to ensure all CTE students have the same opportunity to learn essential skills regardless of the location they are taking a course;
Intentionality by directly aligning secondary courses to postsecondary competencies, providing students who have discovered their passion the opportunity to earn more postsecondary credentials and make progress towards postsecondary degrees while in high school; and
Quality programs because new course standards will increase the rigor in many CTE courses and provide greater benefits to students.

Q: How can state CTE leaders leverage the work coming out of the New Skills ready network to ensure labor market information (LMI) is used to define high-skill, high-wage and in-demand career pathways?

A: States should follow the recommendations laid out in the recently released Advance CTE research brief on aligning labor market data which suggests:

Continuing to make data-informed decisions about which career pathways to build and support and which ones to transform or phase out. In the face of major economic upheaval, while responding to real-time changes may be tempting, focusing on the longer-term trends and consulting multiple data sources and stakeholders are critical.
Address equity within any LMI tools, supports and decisions. As states and institutions invest in their labor market systems and platforms, presenting the data with an equity lens is critical to better inform investments and arm learners with actionable information
Take the opportunity to streamline existing labor market data to make it more usable and accessible for policymakers, local partners, instructors and learners themselves.
Build capacity within the system to improve labor market data literacy. With the complexities of labor market data and increased frequency of the data being reviewed at the state, region and community levels, leaders at all levels — including counselors and advisers — need a better understanding of what they are looking at and how they should interpret the data to best support learners.

Q: What can we expect next from the New Skills ready network?

A: The New Skills ready network has previously released three research briefs focused on work-based learning, aligning career pathways to labor market data and state strategies for scaling early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs) in career pathways. In the next month, expect one additional research brief on strengthening state and local partnerships. In addition to the policy briefs, the New Skills ready network team will be releasing an annual report on the lessons learned during the first year of the grant as well as snapshots of each site and the work they have accomplished. As the work progresses, we will have innovations, best practices and lessons learned from each site to share that can be adopted and scaled across the nation.

Brittany Cannady, Senior Associate Digital Media

By admin in Resources, Uncategorized
Tags: career pathways, Colorado, Indiana, Labor Market Information, Massachusetts, New Skills ready network, Ohio, tennessee, texas

This Week in CTE

Saturday, May 15th, 2021

Developed with input from nearly 200 national, state and local education and workforce development leaders and supported by 40 national organizations, Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education lays out five inter-connected and equally critical principles.

Only through shared commitment and shared ownership among leaders and practitioners at all levels can we realize the possibility and aspiration of a new career preparation ecosystem that provides each learner with limitless opportunity. The This Week in CTE blog series will highlight state and local examples where CTE Without Limits has been made actionable. If you would like to share how your CTE program creates limitless opportunities for each learner in this blog series, please email Brittany Cannady, [email protected].

This Week in CTE: May 10 – 14, 2021

Each learner engages in a cohesive, flexible, and responsive career preparation ecosystem

This week we extend congratulations to the 57th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars! Of the 161 high school seniors selected, 20 outstanding learners from CTE programs have been awarded this honor for their accomplishments. The 2021 class of U.S. Presidential Scholars in CTE represent the following states: Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

A full press release can be found here.

Each learner feels welcome in, is supported by, and has the means to succeed in the career preparation ecosystem

This week career tech centers in Ohio received a visit from Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, who serves as the Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation. During the site visits, learners shared reasons for participating in career pathways and early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs).

Reflecting on his visits Lt. Gov. Husted stated, “We have to have more students who are taking their career seriously at an earlier age, gaining some real world experience, preparing for work, earning college credits without having to run a bunch of debt, and make the education affordable and effective.”

Read more from learners and about the career tech site visits in this article published by Dayton Daily News.

#CareerTech @LtGovHusted visits @MVCTC & highlights the importance of thinking about career early, gaining experience and earning credits without taking on debt @OhioOWT https://t.co/2iYmedtIbO

— Ohio Higher Ed (@OhioHigherEd) May 12, 2021

Each learner skillfully navigates their own career journey

“Some students are already working in the field part time…students who are skilled in masonry will always be able to find work because of demand.”- Holly Pore, District Career Technical Education Director, Rowan-Salisbury Schools.

North Carolina CTE students competed this past week at Skills Rowan, a skills-based competition where Rowan-Salisbury schools showcase their industry skills. Despite the challenges due to the pandemic in hosting a competition that mimics years past, students were still able to feel value from competing and receiving the opportunity to be the true navigator of their career journey.

Read more in this article published by the Salisbury Post.

Each learner’s skills are counted, valued, and portable

Advance CTE’s newly released communications research indicates that learners who participate in CTE are more prepared for and more likely to plan to complete college. When states build more cohesive systems where early EPSOs such as dual enrollment are fully counted, valued and portable, learners have more equitable paths to college and career success.

Intentional Acts of Dual Enrollment: State Strategies for Scaling Early Postsecondary Opportunities in Career Pathways provides the following four key strategies to achieve this goal and highlights effective programs in Ohio, Tennessee and Utah:

Advancing buy-in and systems alignment through institutional partnerships;
Building robust and streamlined state policy that builds EPSOs into career pathways;
Funding EPSOs on the margins through state incentives to remove financial barriers for learners; and
Prioritizing equity and removing burdensome admissions and administrative barriers to participation.

View this brief and other New Skills ready network resources here.

Each learner can access CTE without borders

Learners with a career interest in agriculture can register to attend a free virtual internship experience with industry professionals. Do you need career experiences for students despite the pandemic? Attendees will learn:

How to pursue jobs in agriculture and more;
How to sustainably source and deliver a variety of meat and seafood to peoples’ homes; and
How to add seaweed to cattle’s diet to reduce methane emissions.

Educators should attend with learners to explore agricultural jobs and practice asking questions live!
Date: Thursday, May 20
Time: 12:30 pm ET/9:30 am PT.

Brittany Cannady, Senior Associate Digital Media

By admin in Advance CTE Resources, CTE Without Limits, Resources
Tags: Arizona, CTE Without Limits, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, News Skills Ready Network, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, tennessee, texas, Utah, washington, West Virginia, wisconsin

Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation: CTE Need-based Scholarships

Monday, March 29th, 2021

Submitted by the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Platinum Sponsor of the Advance CTE 2021 Spring Meeting

Our Mission

Every dream has a journey. Every career has a path. At the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, we’re committed to supporting Marine children in pursuit of their educational goals, including those enrolled in Career Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Our CTE scholarship application is available year-round for students attending certificate training or other programs of less than 12 months, and 100 percent of eligible applicants receive aid. Unique in the scholarship provider industry, our need-based scholarship program is intentionally structured to reach students who have the most need, not access to the most opportunity. We require just three eligibility criteria.

Applicants must:

Be the child of a Marine, Navy Corpsmen, or Religious Program Specialist, who served with Marines;
Have a GPA of 2.0 or higher; and
Demonstrate financial need.

Our Scholars

Marine Scholars in 41 states are pursuing CTE education; with the highest representation in North Carolina, California and Texas – states with large populations of Marine Corps families. The quality of the students we invest in, children raised by honorable Marine parents, is highlighted in their academic accomplishments. With a graduation rate of 91 percent (compared to 56 percent nationally) and 50 percent of our recipients reporting little to no debt at graduation (compared to 30 percent nationally), we are confident that our scholarship support makes a significant impact in their lives after graduation.

Reimagining Careers through CTE

Our CTE scholarship often offers students the opportunity to reimagine their career paths. Jennifer, the daughter of veteran Corporal Neil Cleveland USMC, worked in the utility field for over twenty years and wanted to pursue a career that would allow her to give back to her community. Due to family circumstances, she had only completed her education up to 7th grade before returning to community college in her thirties. Now with a family of her own, Jennifer wanted to reset her career and reimage her family’s future.

Jennifer chose to pursue education through the Metropolitan State University of Denver, studying Fire and Emergency Response Administration. She told the Scholarship Foundation that her program had “enhanced her own character building” by surrounding her with other students who are also serving their communities as Fire Captains, Fire Marshalls and Police Cadets. Her CTE experience, which also included internships and hands-on training, will be instrumental in allowing her to succeed on her new career path.

Receiving her scholarship allowed Jennifer to participate in her program fully without worrying about the cost. She will graduate in May with a perfect GPA. Jennifer hopes to go on to get a master’s degree in Global Energy Management, one day working with new clean energy technology.

Jennifer’s drive to give back to her community is a common thread amongst Marine Scholars. Another student using his CTE experience to give back is Danny, the son of Sergeant Danny Novoa Sr USMC (Ret.). Danny was inspired to learn the trade of fabrication through volunteering with his father at Warfighter Made, a non-profit that creates custom vehicles and experiences for wounded veterans.

The Fabrication School has a unique program that teaches Danny the specialized skills he needs to become a professional fabricator, such as welding and shaping steel. The school also offers a specialization in off-road and automotive building, the area Danny wishes to pursue. After he completes his certification, Danny intends to work as a professional fabricator and continue his volunteer work with Warfighter Made. Through CTE, Danny can turn his passion into a career.

CTE programs often give non-traditional students like Jennifer a chance to reconnect with their educational journey and reset their career goals. Students like Danny can turn a passion into a career, reimagining what is possible for their futures. The Scholarship Foundation can step in and help children of Marines and Navy Corpsmen achieve these goals through need-based scholarships. These students enter the workforce ready for immediate employment in today’s most hands-on careers.

If a student has a Marine Parent, no matter when they served, no matter what career path they’re on, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation can help them pay for training. You can learn more about the CTE scholarship and apply at www.mcsf.org/cte.

Visit Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation’s virtual booth at the Advance CTE 2021 Spring Meeting! Registration is open. More information and the interactive agenda can be found here.

By admin in Uncategorized
Tags: California, North Carolina, texas

The State of CTE: Work-Based Learning in Perkins V State Plans

Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

Work-based learning offers learners opportunities to deepen classroom learning, explore future career fields and demonstrate skills in an authentic setting. These experiences are increasingly a priority for states across all career and technical education (CTE) learner levels. Recently, provisions for work-based learning have been greatly expanded by the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V).

These provisions include the first formal federal definition for “work-based learning,” which allows a multitude of activities to count as a work-based learning experience. Given that this definition of work-based learning is broad, it is important that states consider what constitutes quality work-based learning so that each learner’s experience is meaningful and results in tangible outcomes.

Perkins V also now supports work-based learning through the new secondary program quality indicator. States can choose from three indicator options: work-based learning, recognized postsecondary credentials (credentials of value) and postsecondary credit attainment (dual enrollment and articulation). These are all components of a high-quality CTE program of study, in addition to critical elements like rigorous standards, quality assessments, and alignment to high-skill, high-wage and in-demand career opportunities.

In October 2020, Advance CTE released a report entitled, “The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities,” which examines how states have leveraged the development of the Perkins V state plans to expand quality and increase equity within their CTE systems. Advance CTE found that states largely took up the mantle of supporting and expanding work-based learning. Notably:

Thirty-four states use work-based learning in their size, scope and quality definitions. This definition is used as a litmus test by states to determine Perkins V funding eligibility, among other uses.
Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia are prioritizing work-based learning as part of their comprehensive local needs assessment process or local application process.
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia include work-based learning as a factor when approving new or existing CTE programs.
Sixteen states are developing definitions, frameworks or related standards to further support the implementation of these opportunities with Perkins resources.

These findings indicate that states are still in the process of building systems and related supports to bring work-based learning to scale.

State Strategies to Advance Work-Based Learning

Key Innovations

In Delaware, learner participation in a work-based learning experience is a required component of all state-approved CTE programs of study, and the state is funding a statewide work-based learning intermediary. Delaware takes these efforts even further in its Perkins V plan, ensuring close collaboration across state CTE and workforce development systems to provide youths and adults with disabilities the supports they need to complete work-based learning experiences.
Texas is leveraging Perkins V to expand upon its work-based learning system and opportunities. With Perkins resources, Texas is making extensive use of virtual schools to allow learners to participate in virtual work-based learning experiences. This option is important in communities, especially rural areas, where work-based learning opportunities may be limited. In the short term, the option is even more critical given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Work Ahead

Perkins V structures the work-based learning program quality measure around learner participation. As a result, states are not required to comparably structure this measure around completion or attainment. However, it’s important that work-based learning program quality measures are defined robustly and focus on completion of meaningful and rigorous work-based learning experiences that set learners up for success. With over half of states now counting work-based learning within their Perkins V accountability systems, the work ahead is significant yet critical to scaling high-quality and equitable work-based learning experiences.

Christina Koch, Policy Associate
Tom Keily, Senior Policy Analyst, Education Commission on the States

By admin in Public Policy, Research
Tags: Deleware, Perkins V, texas, work-based learning

The State of CTE: Advancing Quality Credentials Through Perkins V

Friday, January 8th, 2021

In October, Advance CTE released “The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities” which examines how states have leveraged the development of the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) state plans to expand quality and increase equity within their CTE systems. One finding of this report is the emerging state focus on credentials of value.

Perkins V introduces a new secondary program quality indicator as one method available to states to ensure program quality. States can choose from three options — work-based learning, recognized postsecondary credentials (credentials of value) and postsecondary credit attainment (dual enrollment and articulation) — all of which are components of a high-quality CTE program of study, in addition to other critical elements like rigorous standards, quality assessments and alignment to high-skill, high-wage and in-demand career opportunities. States’ increasing focus on credentials shows up in many aspects of their Perkins V plans, as shown in the chart below. That should come as little surprise. Credentials that are valued in the labor market can serve as an important component of any quality CTE program. They serve as anchors for the exit and re-entry points within CTE programs and career pathways, providing learners with a valuable way to signal their knowledge and skills to prospective employers and other postsecondary educational institutions.

The commitment to expanding credentials shows up in many aspects of state Perkins V plans, based on Advance CTE’s analysis:

43 percent of states (22 total) have selected recognized postsecondary credential attainment as at least one of their secondary CTE program quality measures.
41 percent of states are requiring credentials as part of the state’s program approval process.
27 percent of states reference developing or maintaining state-developed lists of approved credentials of value to ensure that credentials are quality and valued by the labor market.

Which Credentials States Promote Matters

Despite their popularity, credentials are not all created equally. As ExcelinEd found in its research, states are in very different places in terms of the ways that they identify, align, prioritize and measure credentials of value earned by learners across secondary and postsecondary systems. Consider that prior to Perkins V state plan approval:

Many states do not collect data on credentials earned by K-12 and postsecondary learners.
- Just over half of all states (30) submitted K-12 quantitative data on the attainment of credentials for phase 2.
No state is highly aligned in terms of supply for credentials earned by learners and the demand for those credentials in the job market.
- Only 18% of the credentials earned by K-12 learners in this analysis are in-demand by employers or are associated with occupations that pay a base wage of $15 per hour.

While these findings show that all states can improve their policies related to credentials of value, Perkins V offers states a platform to increase their focus on credentials of value as a critical component of high-quality CTE programs of study that lead to high-skill, high-wage and in-demand careers.

State Innovations

In preparation for its Perkins V plan implementation, Texas developed a set of rigorous programs of study that are aligned to high-wage, high-skill and high-demand occupations. They include vertical alignment to postsecondary programs and, where appropriate, stackable credentials valued by employers.
Pennsylvania’s Perkins V plan builds upon a 2019 amendment that requires all statewide articulation agreements, including those that award credit for industry-recognized credentials, to be reported and accessible to learners in an effort to increase transparency of how credentials can help accelerate learners along a career pathway
Michigan is using the Reserve Fund to establish a competitive grant application process to identify credentials and align them with the course standards for CTE programs of study.

The Work Ahead

It is promising that states have included various references to credentials of value in their Perkins V plans. To help ensure they address core issues of quality and alignment, Credentials Matter offers six high-level recommendations for all states to develop statewide systems and processes that prioritize high-value credentials.

States should be lauded for making plans to include and improve access to industry credentials as part of comprehensive CTE offerings. Their next step is to execute on the implementation strategies that will ensure these offerings pay dividends to learners and families, while maintaining a steadfast commitment to quality and equity.

Resources

Christina Koch, Policy Associate
Melissa Canney, Innovation Policy Director, ExcelinEd

By admin in Uncategorized
Tags: credentials, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Perkins, Public Policy, texas

This Week in CTE

Friday, September 11th, 2020

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

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Today, we remember and honor those who lives were lost on 9/11. Thank you to all our service men and women for your dedication to protect our freedom. pic.twitter.com/mxUrKITlil

— TN Dept of Education (@TNedu) September 11, 2020

CTSO OF THE WEEK

McAllen Independent School District in Texas is gearing up for recruitment week for one of their Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs). Check out the fun activities planned to bring in new Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) members next week!

NEWSLETTER OF THE WEEK

Cass Career Center, a public technical school located in Missouri, published their September newsletter this week. Read how the culture at the technical center has shifted to, “learn by unlearning.” The newsletter also shares how learners and the technical center staff are doing their parts to keep the campus safe during the pandemic.

STATE PROFILES OF THE WEEK

The College in High School Alliance (CHSA) and the Level Up coalition published Unlocking Potential: A State Policy Roadmap for Equity and Quality in College in High School Programs. State CTE leaders can leverage this resource as they design and implement policies that drive meaningful change in access, equity, and quality for college in high school programs. CHSA newly released three state profiles of recommended policies already in place in Colorado, Indiana, and Washington. View the state profiles here.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

Co-Chair of the House CTE Caucus Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) published an article about how the pandemic underscores the demand for CTE. In this op-ed, Representative Thompson discussed the need to support CTE learners, and the role that CTE has in economic resiliency.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

In 2018, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced the Finish Line Grants program, a wraparound program to help learners in North Carolina navigate financial emergencies. The program was designed to improve credential attainment rates by limiting unexpected financial burdens that may prevent a student from completing a postsecondary degree or credential.

View a full profile on this policy in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
Tags: Colorado, CTE Caucus, FCCLA, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, texas, Washington State

This Week in CTE

Friday, August 7th, 2020

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

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

CareerOneStop has created a series of videos introducing and highlighting industries and careers related to the 16 Career ClustersⓇ. These new videos can be used with prospective CTE students and families to help them learn about CTE opportunities. View the new videos here.

CTE PROGRAM OF THE WEEK

Klein Independent School District (ISD), located in Texas, has been awarded the Houston Business Journal’s (HBJ) Innovation Award. Klein ISD is specifically awarded for their Advanced Nursing Pathway, and is the only awardee to be honored twice by the HBJ. A standout feature of the program is its commitment to community partnerships and access opportunities for all learners. Read more here.

POSTSECONDARY RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

NEW BRIEF: People without postsecondary credentials are hit hardest by economic recession. It's critical that state leaders prioritize and adapt their #HigherEd attainment strategies to accelerate #COVID19 economic recovery. https://t.co/6VTrJwfwaH pic.twitter.com/WX34sCYJ18

— ESG (@edstrategygroup) August 3, 2020

View Pivot to Recover here.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY OF THE WEEK

According to Michael Piper, Lowe’s Military Recruiting Strategist and Air Force veteran, “there will be an estimated three million job openings in the skilled trades industry by 2028.” Because of the growing talent need in the skilled trade industry, Lowe’s has made a $4.5 million commitment and partnered with AMVETS to provide grant and scholarship opportunities to re-skill and up-skill the military community. The opportunities include: the Veteranpreneur Business Grants, the Lowe’s + AMVETS Technology Scholarships and the Generation T Scholarships. Read more about the grant and scholarship offerings and how to apply here.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) are continuing to advocate for direct funding for CTE and workforce programs to be included in the next relief package to ensure learners are prepared for labor market needs, particularly as the economy begins to rebuild after the pandemic. We need your help quickly to emphasize this message with Congress as the congressional leaders come together in negotiations. Click here to ask your Members of Congress to support the inclusion of funds for CTE, as provided in the Relaunching America’s Workforce Act, in the next relief package.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Schools and colleges across the nation have found innovative ways to connect with industry to strengthen their CTE programs. However, with a growing skills gap and rapidly changing workplace, more must be done to ensure educational institutions have the capacity to prepare each learner to succeed in today’s economy. Cheat Sheet: Opportunities for Employer Involvement in CTE identifies ways in which employers can begin to get involved with CTE programs.

View the resource in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

By admin in Resources
Tags: Learning that Works Resource Center, postsecondary, texas

This Week in CTE

Saturday, August 1st, 2020

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

WEBINAR OF THE WEEK

This week, Advance CTE hosted a webinar providing a preview of the 2020 elections at both the national and state level and discussed how the results of the elections may impact policy overall, and specifically CTE-related policy. Panelists also discussed what state CTE leaders can do now to prepare for the elections in November. View the recording of the webinar and register for the next one: CTE’s Role in the Future of Work and our Economic Recovery.

SCHOLARSHIP AWARD OF THE WEEK

Meet Haley, our grand prize scholarship winner! We're honored to be able to support the next generation of women in auto care. She was awarded a $5,000 scholarship and trip to AAPEX 2020 this fall, and is currently a student at Northwood University. pic.twitter.com/IAgMqs8lgl

— Women in Auto Care (@WomenInAutoCare) July 27, 2020

GRANT AWARD OF THE WEEK

The Rethink K-12 Education Models Grant will support states’ initiatives in creating innovative ways for learners to continue education in ways that meet their individual needs. States receiving the grant award include: Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. The awards range from $6 million to $20 million. View the press release here.

CTE PROGRAM OF THE WEEK

One local CTE program in Michigan has added a new teacher academy for their learners, which will begin this fall! With the help of a grant award from the Michigan Department of Education, Alpena Public Schools are looking to recruit their own educators for the future of their district. Read more in this article published by The Alpena News.

TOOLKIT OF THE WEEK

To assist state leaders in developing and expanding equitable youth apprenticeship programs, the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) and the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) has developed a new toolkit, Equity in Youth Apprenticeship Programs.

This toolkit strives to increase access and opportunities for high school students as they begin to transition into the workforce or a postsecondary institution. Read more here.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Advance CTE in partnership with The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) has published a new resource as part of the Making Good on the Promise series, which outlines the five steps state CTE leaders can take to ensure secondary and postsecondary students with disabilities have access to and the supports needed to thrive in high-quality CTE programs.

View the resource in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

By admin in Advance CTE Resources, Resources, Webinars
Tags: Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, rhode island, South Carolina, South Dakota, tennessee, texas

This Week in CTE

Friday, June 26th, 2020

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

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE OF THE WEEK

Nebraska Career and Technical Education (CTE) held a Virtual Symposium, which was the first of its kind for the state. There were more than 700 CTE district, state and national level attendees. Among them were Commissioner Matt Blomstedt and Scott Stump, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education for the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education.

During the symposium, winners of the annual Nebraska Excellence in Career and Technical Education Awards and Richard Katt Outstanding Nebraska Career and Technical Educators Awards were announced. Read more about the symposium and learn more about the award winners here.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK

In Michigan, one student has shown great leadership by joining Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Return to Learn Council. Dominic Gonzalez is one of the district’s dual enrollment learners, which allows him to attend a local community college and earn college credit while still in high school. Dominic will be tasked with providing Governor Whitmer and the council a student perspective of what returning to school should look like in the fall. Read more in the article published by The Detroit News.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Texas CTE students did not let graduation or the pandemic stop them from completing one meaningful project. Engineering and veterinary science students developed a prosthetic paw for a local puppy who suffered complications at birth. View this video for highlights from the project, prototypes of the prosthetic paw and the student’s stories.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

The U.S. Department of Education approved four more state plans under the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V): Arkansas, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee. 35 state plans are approved in total so far. Check out this chart to see which states have been approved, and links to the state plans.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Launched in 2016, JPMorgan Chase & Co. New Skills for Youth is a $75 million, five-year global initiative aimed at transforming how cities and states ensure that young people are career ready. The local investments from across the world – Innovation Sites – aim to identify and implement the most promising ideas in career education, with a special focus on communities with the greatest needs. Over the past year, Advance CTE has released a series of snapshots documenting the progress of the local investments. This week, Advance CTE released the final two snapshots featuring investments in the Greater Washington Region and Germany.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
Tags: Arkansas, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, tennessee, texas

States Passed At Least 208 Policies to Support CTE in 2019

Wednesday, January 29th, 2020

On the federal and state levels, 2019 was an important year for Career Technical Education (CTE). In addition to creating their four-year state plans for the federal Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), at least 45 states and Palau enacted at least 208 policy actions related to CTE and career readiness.

Today, Advance CTE, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and the Education Commission of the States released the seventh annual State Policies Impacting CTE: Year in Review report, examining 2019 legislative activity, including legislation, execution orders, board of education actions and budget provisions. To develop the report Advance CTE, ACTE and Education Commission of the States reviewed state activity, cataloged all finalized state action and coded activity based on the policy area of focus. In 2019, states most frequently addressed the following topics:

Funding;
Industry Partnerships and Work-based Learning;
Industry-recognized credentials;
Governance; and
Access and Equity.

In total at least 41 states enacted policies that affected CTE, making funding the most common policy category for the seventh year in a row. Illinois increased funding for CTE programming by $5 million, while Massachusetts and Delaware both invested in work-based learning programs. For the second year in a row, industry partnerships and work-based learning was the second most common policy category with at least 35 states taking action in this area. In Connecticut, the legislature passed a law to require the Connecticut Department of Labor and the Board of Regents for Higher Education to jointly establish nontraditional pathways to earning a bachelor’s degree through apprenticeships, while Colorado enacted a law to launch a statewide resource directory for apprenticeships.

Most states have taken action relevant to CTE since the Year in Review report was launched and in total more than 60 policies passed in 2019 than 2018. This indicates a continued commitment from state leaders to advance CTE. To view previous years’ Year in Review reports, click here. Advance CTE, ACTE and Education Commission of the States will be joined by Texas to discuss these policies in more depth on February 18 from 3-4 p.m. EST- to register for the webinar, click here.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Advance CTE Resources, Public Policy, Publications, Webinars
Tags: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, texas, Year in Review

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