Career Clusters: Now is the time

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Career Clusters Now is the time!
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Spirit of the New Law

• Leading CTE into the 21st century
• Global competition
• Program improvement
• Ensuring modern, durable and rigorous CTE programs

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Purposes of the Act

• Develop challenging academic and technical
  standards and related challenging, integrated
  instruction

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Purposes of the Act

• Promote partnerships (education, workforce
  boards, business, industry, etc.)
• Connecting education, workforce development and
  economic development

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Connecting to the Economy

• Focus on high skill, high wage, high demand and
  relate to regional economy

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A Focus on Transition

• Increase transition from 2 to 4 year college
• Focus on articulation

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What is CTE?

• Change in definition to eliminate the focus on
  sub-baccalaureate careers
• Emphasis on preparation for postsecondary
  education and employment
• Preparation not on job preparation but on
  academic and technical preparation
• Increased emphasis on achievement of a degree,
  certificate or credential

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CTE Programs Must Be

• Aligned with rigorous and challenging academic
  content standards student achievement standards
  (NCLB)
• Relevant and challenging at the postsecondary
  level
• Lead to employment in high skill, high wage, or
  high demand occupations
• May include a focus on dual enrollment, credit,
  etc.
• Lead to a degree, certificate or credential

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Tough Choices

• The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It
  is very easy to say yes.
• - Tony Blair

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Dictionary

• Are programs of study different than career
  clusters and career pathways?
• Career cluster grouping of like industries and
  occupations
• Career pathway a more refined grouping of
  occupations
• Program of study sequence of instruction that
  prepares individuals for careers

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Alignment of Perkins IV and Programs of Study

• What is a program of study?
• Incorporate and align secondary and postsecondary
  education
• Include academic CTE content in a coordinated,
  non-duplicative progression of courses
• May include the opportunity for secondary
  students to acquire postsecondary credits
• Lead to an industry-recognized credential or
  certificate at the postsecondary level, or an
  associate or baccalaureate degree

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Programs of Study Requirements

• State to develop or approve programs of study.
• All locals must implement a minimum of one
  program of study.
• Non duplication.

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Technical Assessments

• Top implementation priority
• Mismatch between curriculum
• and assessments
• Bronze, silver and gold

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How Programs of Study Support Perkins Goals

• Programs of study
• A way to transition from VTE to CTE
• Can enhance secondary and postsecondary
  collaboration
• Link (or lead) to articulation agreements
• Link (or lead) to high skill, high wage, and high
  demand occupations

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Implementation
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State of the States

• Most states consider themselves at the mid-level
  of implementation which means they are making
  good progress but still have a way to go.
• A third of the states are just getting started.
• Four states consider themselves at the advanced
  level.
• Most states have adopted a set of Career Clusters
  as an organizer for CTE.

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Connecting the Learner Levels

• A majority of the states see Career Clusters and
  programs of study as a way to effectively connect
  secondary and postsecondary education.
• Growth trends
• 16 at secondary level
• 48 2 year postsecondary
• 77 4 year postsecondary

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Extending Beyond the Minimums

• 10 states are distributing all secondary Perkins
  funds via programs of study.
• 5 are doing so at the postsecondary level.

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Transitions

• Transition year programs of study
  development/approval
• 34 states develops voluntary local use.
• 35 states develops mandatory local use.
• 49 locals develop state approves.
• Most states are requiring accountability data by
  Career Clusters.
• Federal government will require enrollment data
  by career clusters and likely additional
  accountability data as well.

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Next Steps

• If you dont know where you are going youll
  end up somewhere else.
• 
  Yogi Berra

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Questions?
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Thank you!

• Contact Information
• Kimberly Green
• kgreen_at_careertech.org
• www.careertech.org