Category Archives: Career Technical Education (CTE)

CA Dept of Education: Strong Schools for a Strong Economy Tour

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SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson launched a month-long statewide tour today highlighting innovative career technical programs that help prepare students for jobs in the 21st-century economy.

Partnering with California School Boards Association (CSBA) President Jill Wynns along with teachers, parents, administrators, and school employees, Torlakson said the “Strong Schools for a Strong Economy” effort would underscore the link between California’s education system and the future of its economy.

“Despite cuts of more than $20 billion over the last few years, schools across California are doing more than ever to connect students to careers and the modern world of work,” Torlakson said. “The Linked Learning approach and programs like it keep our students more engaged while they are in school, and brighten their prospects for college and a career once they graduate. Schools have made preserving these programs a priority, but I’m deeply concerned that further cuts could see them placed on the chopping block.”

via Strong Schools for a Strong Economy Tour.

The Reporter: Solano College Board District 7 hopeful Michael Martin wants more tech courses offered

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By Richard Bammer/ RBammer@TheReporter.com

A lifelong resident of Winters, Michael Martin believes community colleges are meant to serve area residents, and he wants to bring more career and technical training courses, such as welding and bio-technology, to Solano Community College’s Vacaville Center and its main Fairfield campus.

“Our community colleges are really for us,” said Martin, 64, a Winters farmer and Winters city councilman who seeks the Trustee Area 7 seat on the SCC governing board. He will face off against incumbent Phil McCaffrey Sr. on Election Day, Nov. 6.

Martin said his “strength” is “networking with decision-making people” in Yolo and Solano counties, in state and federal government, to promote job training and education.

via Solano College Board District 7 hopeful Michael Martin wants more tech courses ….

EdSource Today: New 2-year lease on life for 163 Partnership Academies

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By John Fensterwald

Financially threatened high school career academies will get a lifeline and new career tech programs will get a lift, now that Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation committing $68 million for those and related projects over the next two years.

SB 1070 will sustain the career technology programs in high schools and community colleges that were to lose their funding and authorization at the end of this fiscal year in June. Now they will have additional time, and the Legislature will have two more years, to consider their future. The bill’s author is Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who has been a CTE champion in the Legislature.

The chief beneficiary will be 163 California Partnership Academies, about a third of the total 503 in the state, that were started three years ago under another bill that Steinberg sponsored. Their funding will continue through June 2015.

via New 2-year lease on life for 163 Partnership Academies – by John Fensterwald.

CA Dept of Education: Career Technical Ed Pathways Reauthorized

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SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today issued the following statement upon Governor Jerry Brown’s signing of Senate Bill 1070, which reauthorizes and revises the Career Technical Education Pathways Initiative.

“I’ve made career technical education a top priority for one simple reason: it works. Students in these programs graduate at higher rates, and they do so prepared for lasting success in college and careers. I’m delighted the Pro Tem, his fellow legislators, and Governor Brown acted to extend and strengthen a program that already has a proven history of investing in successful education, training, and workforce development pathways—from middle school all the way to community college—in regions across California.”

via Career Technical Ed Pathways Reauthorized.

North Bay Business Journal: Business leaders say collaboration key to Solano’s future

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By

Regional leaders in business and economics said that a continued synergy among industries and policymakers in Solano County will be crucial to maintaining its diversity of industries and continued growth.

“In these times, economic challenges have forced more people to work collaboratively,” said Sandy Person, president of Solano Economic Development Corporation. “Solano County has been doing that for a long time. I think Solano County is doing it better.”

via Business leaders say collaboration key to Solano’s future.

Daily Republic: FSUSD Adult School surviving despite funding cuts

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by Heather Ah San

FAIRFIELD — Last week it was National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, and at the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School that celebration has a lot of meaning.

Principal Kay Hartley certainly thinks so.

The Adult School faced some devastating cuts last year including several staff layoffs and the near dissolution of the English as a Second Language program. The Fairfield-Suisun School Board cut $862,607, nearly all of the Adult School’s budget.

The board did, however, change some language in its motion so that the Adult School could bring back programs if it found outside funding from grants or other sources.

via Adult School surviving despite funding cuts.

EdSource Today: Video game courses proposed as latest career pathway

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By Louis Freedberg

Designing video games, an occupation that seems perfectly aligned for California’s 21st century economy, is among the new high school courses a state panel is proposing as part of a revision of state standards that guide schools’ efforts to prepare students for future careers.

The proposal is a new element in the updated version of California’s “Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards” presented to the State Board of Education in Sacramento yesterday.  The public has until September 19 to offer comments before the final version is adopted by the Board.

via Video game courses proposed as latest career pathway – by Louis Freedberg.

EdSource Today: Number of youths living on the margins is growing

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By Susan Frey

One in seven youths nationwide is disconnected from school or work, a percentage that has grown dramatically since the economic recession, according to a study released Thursday. Nationwide, 5.8 million young people, age 16 to 24, are living on the margins without even part-time jobs – an increase of 800,000 between 2007 and 2010.

The report ranks the 25 largest metropolitan areas, including five in California, based on the percentage of disconnected youth. One in Seven: Ranking Youth Disconnection in the 25 Largest Metro Areas was done by Measure of America, a project of the nonpartisan Social Science Research Council.

via Number of youths living on the margins is growing – by Susan Frey.

CA Dept of Education: Linked Learning Pilot Project

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SACRAMENTO—As many as 20 school districts across California will have opportunities to get state assistance in launching new programs demonstrated to help students graduate from high school prepared to succeed in careers and college, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today.

“Linked Learning” programs tie together real-world professions with demanding academics through challenging coursework, technical skills and knowledge, work-based learning, and pertinent support mechanisms for kids. Research shows that students in these programs are not only demonstrably more likely to graduate from high school than their statewide counterparts, but they are graduating with the skills and knowledge that California employers say they need.

via Linked Learning Pilot Project.

Education Week: Ed. Dept.: Most Automatic Cuts Wouldn’t Affect Coming School Year

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by Alyson Klein

Districts and state officials who have lost sleep worrying that key federal education progams might be cut smack in the middle of the coming school year can calm down, at least according to a letter the U.S. Department of Education sent out to chief state school officers late Friday.

Title I grants to districts, special education state grants, career and technical education, and Title II grants for teacher quality wouldn’t be cut in the middle of the school year even if the automatic federal spending cuts triggered by last year’s deficit-reduction deal take place, Anthony Miller, the deputy secretary of education at the department, wrote.

“There is no reason to believe that a sequestration would affect funding for the 2012-13 school year,” he wrote.

Some background: If Congress doesn’t get its act together, an across-the-board cut to almost all domestic programs (“sequestration” in Inside-the-Beltway speak) is set to take place on Jan. 2. Lots of state and district officials were very concerned that this could spell cuts to big federal programs—including Title I grants for districts and special education—halfway through the next school year. More on advocates’ angst over the cuts here.

via Ed. Dept.: Most Automatic Cuts Wouldn’t Affect Coming School Year.

Vallejo Times-Herald: Vallejo students get first-hand look at medicine in Touro program

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By Sarah Rohrs

Thirsty for knowledge, Vallejo High School senior Carl Artist soaked up all he could about medicine, public health and osteopathic medicine through a summer internship program at Touro University.

Artist is undecided about his career path, and credits the summer program for giving him invaluable insight and knowledge about what it will take for him to succeed.

“This has been really, really interesting,” Artist said of the four sessions involving advanced courses in health-related topics.

In four intensive sessions, nearly a dozen students from Vallejo High School’s Biotech Academy, plus a few from St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School and Mare Island Technology Academy participated in the free program taught by volunteer Touro teachers.

via Vallejo students get first-hand look at medicine in Touro program.

California Watch: Push for career and technical education meets parent resistance

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by Sarah Butrymowicz

SAN DIEGO – Career and technical education has come a long way since the days when students could be steered from academics into hairstyling, auto repairs or carpentry. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to sell the concept of having all students take courses in CTE, as it is known.

Take what happened this March in La Jolla. Parents rose in protest after the San Diego Unified School District  proposed new high school graduation requirements mandating two years of career and technical education courses – or two to four courses. The district would have been the first in the nation to have such a mandate, experts believe. Parents circulated an online protest petition, and school officials spent hours in a meeting to assure hundreds of parents that courses like computerized accounting, child development and website design could be in the best interest of all students.

But afterwards, when parent leaders asked the crowd who favored the requirement, every single parent at the meeting voted against it.

via Push for career and technical education meets parent resistance.

The Educated Guess: Finance reform without accountability could devastate career technical education

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By Jack Stewart

Under the current K-12 public education system in California, programs that are not required, measured, or explicitly funded by the state will disappear from our schools. Elective courses are becoming victims of educational policy that only recognizes “success” as defined by scores on standardized tests in courses mandated for graduation or college admission. Since that’s all that is really measured, that’s all that will really matter.

The ongoing state budget deficit and the lack of financial incentives to support programs outside of the mandated core academics will undoubtedly force districts to abandon such electives with impunity. This is our concern with  the “Weighted Student Formula” (WSF) proposal. Because the latest version of education finance reform doesn’t alter the current approach to accountability, we fear WSF will accelerate an already alarming narrowing of the curriculum.

via Finance reform without accountability could devastate career tech – by Jack Stewart.

Daily Republic Letters: FSUSD school board’s decision shortsighted

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Jim Moore

PTA president, Sullivan Middle School

Fairfield

The Fairfield-Suisun School District’s governing board voted April 26 to close Sullivan Middle School. This vote was taken in order to open a new Public Service Academy. According to the district website, the academy will ensure students a place at the college of their choice. The video shows students in uniform, crawling through the mud and firing a weapon.

There are more than 900 students at Sullivan who have been given the opportunity to participate in programs that also prepare them to attend the college of their choice.

via School board’s decision shortsighted.

Benicia Herald: BUSD: Special ed work program praised, CTE presentation

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By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

The Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees on Thursday heard a presentation about a district program that connects special education students with local businesses — to the benefit, its coordinator said, of both.

Marivic Magallanes explained how the state-funded WorkAbility program offers not only individual education plans to Benicia and Liberty High School students, but also a Community Based Instruction program that helps special-needs teens and young men and women make the transition to adult life.

via Special ed work program praised.

Benicia Herald: BUSD trustees to get reports on safety, funding, CTE

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By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

“WorkAbility” will be the buzzword at Thursday’s meeting of the Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees.

In a highlighted item on the agenda, the board will hear about the Benicia program from coordinator Marivic Magallanes.

“WorkAbility is a federally funded program for middle and high school special education students to provide vocational and work experience for students,” Janice Adams, superintendent of Benicia schools, explained.

via Trustees to get reports on safety, funding.

Vallejo Times-Herald: Vallejo students restore Loma Vista Farm’s robotic cow

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By Lanz Christian Bañes

After a bewildering attempt at fixing the cow herself, LeRoy contacted Vallejo High School teachers Beth Traub and Jack Gillespie for help. They in turn sent Christilaw, senior Alexander Redman, 18, and junior Hannah Vincent, 16.

via Vallejo students restore Loma Vista Farm’s robotic cow.

SCOE’s Facebook Wall: The 8th Annual Bay Area Virtual Enterprise Trade Show

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The 8th Annual Bay Area International Virtual Enterprise Trade Show was held on March 11 and 12 at the Oakland Convention Center. Students in Virtual Enterprise classes from throughout California and beyond were judged on their virtual business. Students designed booths, created marketing materials, designed web sites, produced TV commercials, vied for venture capital, and took part in real life business scenarios. The event was sponsored in part by the Solano County Office of Education.

via (title unknown).

Daily Republic: Solano college hopes to benefit from federal job training focus

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by Jessica Philipps

WASHINGTON — California, home to a quarter of the nation’s community college students, could reap huge benefits from President Barack Obama’s $8 billion plan to pair local businesses and schools.

via Solano college hopes to benefit from federal job training focus.