Elert
State Directors 
NASDCTEc/NCTEF  November 7 2008
In This Issue
Institute Call For Presenters Now Open
Career Clusters
 Beltway News
   

Capitol
 
Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

Election and Next Steps
 
While the election results are not yet final for all U.S. Senate and House of Representatives races, it is clear that President-elect Barack Obama will have strong Democratic majorities in both chambers with which to work. 
Congressional leaders have said that members will return to Washington the week of November 17 for a lame duck session to pass a stimulus package designed to jumpstart the economy. The starting point from which the House of Representatives will begin discussions is the stimulus package that they originally crafted in September. There was $600 million included in that bill for training with the goal to focus those funds on shorter term job training. The bill also included support for unemployment insurance benefits, food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid payments to the states, and transportation and infrastructure spending. House and Senate leaders are hoping to be able to work with President George W. Bush on this effort.  If agreement cannot be made they will wait to take action on the stimulus until the new Congress and President are sworn in come January.
In addition, the FY 09 appropriations process must be finished. Currently, the Federal government is still being funded under a continuing resolution which runs until early March.  Late last month, NASDCTEc, along with the Association for Career and Technical Education and the American Association of Community Colleges, met with the lead appropriations staff person in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  The case was pressed for the need for additional funding for Perkins and Tech Prep and we urged the House to pass a bill providing an increase for these programs when the FY 09 process is finished. Although Congressional plans are not finalized, it is expected that congress will consider  the FY 09 appropriations bills in January or February.
New State Directors Office Building Silver Spring
 
Our address:
8484 Georgia Avenue,
Suite 320
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Upcoming Conferences
Save the Date:
 
2009 Spring Meeting
April 6-10, 2009 Lodging at the Hilton Washington, with meetings to be held at the adjacent AED Conference Center
  
2009 Career Cluster Institute
June 15-17, 2009 Omni Hotel, currently under construction Ft. Worth, TX
 
Call for Presenters Now Open For the 2009 Institute
Theme:  The Building Blocks for Change
This year's Career Clusters' Institute will focus on "how states and local institutions are addressing the 15 Critical Components of Career Clusters' implementation." We are currently seeking proposals for presentations. Proposals may be submitted online. The deadline for submission is January 9, 2009.
Phone 301-588-9630
Fax 301-588-9631

Contact Us:

Dave Buonora 

   Kimberly Green  

  Sonia Liu 

 Ramona Schescke  

  Shelli Wyckoff

Member News

Dues reminder: Sonia Liu, Assistant Director-Operations, asks that remaining members who have not yet responded to her email request for intent to pay dues to please do so by November 15, in order to remain an active member.  

Karen Batchelor, State Director of Texas has accepted a new position within the Texas Education Agency (TEA) on the Curriculum Leadership Team as the Enrichment Unit Director. This position will coordinate the work of the Career and Technical Education, Fine Arts, Languages other than English, Physical Education and Health, and Technology Applications teams, among many other duties. TEA hopes to have Karen's position filled by early 2009.

Publications

The new brochure Connecting Career and Technical Education to Special Populations, is part of a new collection of resources from the University of Hawaii, supporting students who are ESL learners, economically disadvantaged individuals, nontrad students, displaced homemakers and single parents, and members of special education populations. 

Changing Systems, Changing Lives: The Broader Impact of the CCTI Initiative, a report from the League for Innovation in the Community College, describes the outcomes for 15 pilot sites that created pathways and programs using CTE as a tool for improvement and reform that could serve as duplicative models. Each pilot site addressed the College and Career Transitions Initiative (CCTI) project objectives:
 
  1. Decreased need for remediation at postsecondary level;
  2. Increased enrollment and persistence in postsecondary education;
  3. Increased academic and skill achievement at secondary and postsecondary levels;
  4. Increased attainment of postsecondary degrees, certificates, or other recognized credentials; and
  5. Increased entry into employment or further education.

The CCTI, started in 2001, focuses on the development of career pathways. The Initative was designed to create partnerships among high schools, community colleges, and businesses.

  • Challenges states face in combining technical and academic studies for improved learning;
  • Actions states can take to overcome these challenges; and
  • Highlights of current best practices and policies.

Equipping Every Learner for the 21st Century, a new white paper by Cisco Systems, Inc. acknowledges that the core of an excellent education system is based on talented teachers, strong system leadership, a solid curriculum and accountability for outcomes. However, experience with education initiatives and research have led them to realize how important it is to participate in the global economy by integrating technologies that can fuel new forms of teaching and learning, and cultivate 21st century skills in learners. This paper seeks to initiate an informed dialogue among education thought leaders and practioners on the path to 21st century learning.

 
Facts, Figures and...
                                       Other Good Stuff
 
 
Education Council formed by Manufacturing Institute: According to Emily DeRocco, president of The Manufacturing Institute and former U.S. assistant secretary of labor for employment and training, the K-12, community and technical college and 4-year college and university members of the council will focus on:
  • Identifying solutions to address the adult literacy crisis;
  • Designing regional manufacturing talent development systems;
  • Creating 21st century career and technical education programs; and 
  • Advancing innovation in the manufacturing economy.
Policy Academy announces state awardees: The National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices has announced 5 states that will participate in a newly created Policy Academy on Meeting Academic and Economic Need Through Career Technical Education. Award recipients include Arizona, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio and Oklahoma. Each state will develop an action plan which addresses how state policies can connect CTE courses to high-paying, skilled jobs, and build their CTE systems to improve student transition to postsecondary opportunities by focusing on standards, curriculum, assessment and accountability measures.
 
Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Education Agencies From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2006-07: a new report from the National Center for Education Statistics(NCES), is a first-look report that presents findings on the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. and the territories.
In 2006-2007 there were 98,793 operating public elementary/secondary schools which included 1,240 vocational schools.
 
The Ohio Career-Technical Credit Transfer website is a collaborative work between the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Department of Education. During the 2008 demonstration year, the course credit guarantees have been developed in five technical areas: Automotive Technology, Information Technology-Networking, Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Technology, Medical Assisting, and Nursing. Additional technical areas are currently in development. How the program works: a student may take equivalent technical courses anywhere within the Ohio public educational system and obtain technical credits (upon enrollment in higher education) without unnecessary duplication or institutional barriers. The process is based on the use of recognized industry standards.
 
The Appalachian Information Technology Extension Service will receive $2.5 million for a project that will offer an opportunity to collect longitudinal data about middle and high school girls, promoting interest in jobs involving information technology. The Service will engage in an extensive outreach effort to promote community capacity in ten counties in the Appalachian Region, in order to enhance middle and high school girls' knowledge and interest in jobs requiring IT skills. NASDCTEc associate member Elizabeth Creamer, Director of Post-Secondary Perkins/Tech Prep in the Virginia Community College System is a co-investigator in this project.
 
Career Clusters Career clusters logo 
  
Career Clusters National Advisory Committees

There is a Career Clusters National Advisory Committee for each of the 16 Career Clusters.  The National Advisory Committees are composed of stakeholder representatives for the Cluster (including content experts, educators, business and industry representatives and government representatives) and convened by the Cluster Leader for the purposes of:
  • Maintaining the Career Cluster knowledge and skills to make sure they reflect current industry and educational standards and workforce needs; and
  • Sharing and disseminating important issues affecting the Cluster such as identifying priority areas and current trends.

The National Advisory Committees meet via teleconference, email, web-meetings, and in person.  If you would like information about a specific National Advisory Committee or are interested in participating on a National Advisory Committee, please contact the appropriate Cluster Leader listed on the Career Clusters website.