CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

CTE Educators Need in 2021: Early Results

Many thanks to the more than 570 ACTE members who have participated in our survey on CTE educator needs! If you haven’t responded yet, please complete the survey—there’s still time, and it should take you less than 10 minutes.

Here is a sneak peek of some early findings:

• Survey respondents report teaching in a variety of educational settings this school year. More rural and small town respondents are starting the new semester this January with almost all students learning in person, while respondents from cities and suburbs are more likely to be starting with all remote learning.
• Motivating and engaging learners is the biggest challenge this school year, followed by providing hands-on learning and/or lab hours.
• Other challenges include providing work-based learning experiences and preparing learners for industry certifications and other performance assessments. More than half of respondents report that their CTE programs are a little less effective or much less effective than in prior years at providing these program elements.
• By far the top priority for professional development this school year is around engaging instruction, followed by professional development related to facilities, equipment, technology and materials.
• Most respondents have consistently reliable access to the Internet and online technology, but characterize their students’ access as only somewhat reliable. Rural respondents are much more likely to report that their students' Internet and online technology access is not at all reliable.
• Most instructors feel very or somewhat supported by their leadership this school year.

Stay tuned for more results! In addition, please check out our new Techniques column chronicling the innovative ways that CTE continues to engage students as lifelong learners and prepare them for rewarding careers.

State of CTE: CTE Instructors in Perkins V State Plans

In October 2020, 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 Career Technical Education (CTE) systems.

Attracting and retaining qualified and diverse CTE instructors remains one of the most persistent challenges facing states. Last year, ACTE held a Teach CTE Summit to more closely examine teacher pipeline challenges, surfacing numerous key issues and recommendations. According to previous Advance CTE research on this issue, 86 percent of State Directors reported a moderate or severe CTE teacher shortage in at least one Career Cluster at the secondary level, and a further 60 percent indicated the same at the postsecondary level.

The underlying causes for these shortages most often relate to the difficulties CTE programs have in competing with the private sector for the same pool of qualified instructors, along with the fact that many universities have closed their CTE teacher preparation programs in recent years. As is the case in other sectors of the economy, the CTE teacher workforce is also aging rapidly.

At the same time, the demands on CTE instructors are rigorous. CTE instructors need strong technical knowledge and industry expertise, effective classroom management and pedagogical skills, and cultural competency to support and engage each learner on an individual basis.

Without a qualified pool of CTE professionals, one that is responsive to the needs of each learner, our country cannot effectively educate learners and prepare the future workforce. Attracting, retaining and fully developing a strong cadre of CTE professionals is therefore a crucial ingredient CTE systems need for success, and this need is reflected throughout states’ Perkins V plans.

Based on Advance CTE’s analysis of state Perkins V plans:

• Nearly three-quarters of all states (36 total) are providing targeted professional development for specific groups of educators, administrators or other CTE professionals.
• Forty-five percent of states are including quality instructors in their definitions for size, scope and quality (SSQ).
• Forty-seven percent of states are going beyond the requirements laid out in the law to prioritize supporting CTE professionals in their comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA).
• Twenty-seven percent of states are developing explicit CTE instructor recruitment plans.
• At least seven states are addressing licensure barriers and/or are developing new pathways to licensure as an approach to strengthening CTE instructor pipelines.

Key Innovations

• Oregon aims to recruit teachers from cultural and linguistic backgrounds that reflect the state’s learner population. To achieve this goal, the state plans to partner with the Educator Advancement Council, a statewide education network focused on ensuring that the state has high-quality, well-supported and culturally responsive educators. Through this partnership, Oregon aims to create a comprehensive strategy focused on recruitment efforts in underrepresented and underserved communities. In addition to this work, the state is clarifying alternative pathways that lead to the CTE teaching profession as a means to attract industry experts and potentially further diversify the field.
• Oklahoma is dedicating more than half a million dollars annually to provide targeted scholarships for individuals seeking teacher and administrator certifications. As part of its wider efforts in this space, the state has developed a new teacher institute that provides a full year of training, coaching and mentoring for new CTE instructors. Oklahoma also makes use of a statewide learning management system — CareerTech’s Master Educator platform — to structure and provide professional development that promotes continuous learning and improvement of its CTE teachers. Finally, the state is working with local universities to provide shorter-term courses and online programs conducive to incumbent CTE teacher needs.

The Work Ahead

One area of future work is ensuring that the CTE instructor workforce is representative of the learners they serve. Only five states included any explicit recruitment activities focused on diversifying the CTE teaching field in their Perkins V plans.

Recruiting, developing and retaining qualified teachers and faculty are critical for CTE programs to be successful. As noted previously, instructors are among the most important in-school factors that contribute to the success of learners. No single policy or strategy will fully address

the challenges facing states with regards to this issue. Some of these challenges have to do with issues outside the realm of CTE, such as broader terms negotiated by labor and management (e.g., teacher/faculty pay scales or tenure requirements), lack of teacher preparation programs at universities, and accreditation requirements or limitations. Only through a coordinated set of approaches can states begin to make progress on this critically important topic. Through the Perkins V planning process, states have certainly started to make significant progress in this area.

Resources

• Advance CTE Resource Center: Instructor and Leader Quality
• The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities
• Policy Benchmark Tool: CTE Program of Study Approval
• The State of Career Technical Education: Increasing Access to Industry Experts in High Schools
• CTE on the Frontier: Strengthening the Rural CTE Teacher Pipeline
• ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework

This blog is cross-posted on Advance CTE’s blog.

High-quality CTE: Planning for a COVID-19-impacted School Year

As the country continues to grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, CTE stakeholders around the nation are thinking ahead to what education might look like in the future. Whether schools and postsecondary institutions will be able to open fully for the 2020-21 school year using social distancing methods, utilize a blended approach or continue with remote learning, there are significant implications for CTE programs, students and educators.

High-quality CTE: Planning for a COVID-19-impacted School Year is a guide for helping CTE stakeholders identify the key considerations, guiding questions and emerging best practices that should shape future planning. The guide is organized around the 13 elements of ACTE’s Quality CTE Program of Study Framework to capture the breadth of issues important to maintaining CTE program quality within any of the possible educational environments being considered for the new school year. It is accompanied by a webinar series that is exploring issues and sharing ideas from the field about CTE planning for the 2020-21 school year.

Read the full guide, or excerpts of particular sections, at https://www.acteonline.org/professional-development/high-quality-cte-covid-19-planning-guide.

Online/Distance Learning Resources

Are you one of the many CTE teachers and faculty members around the nation facing an abrupt move to online teaching, owing to COVID-19?

While your district, school or institution will have the most relevant resources to help you make this switch, ACTE is compiling a list of resources about online and distance learning that can supplement this official guidance and build your confidence in your online teaching abilities.

If you have suggestions of tools, guides or lesson plans that could help your fellow CTE educators during this challenging time, please leave your ideas and recommendations in the comments.

Grant Announcement – Department of Agricultural Workforce Training Grant Programs

The Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced the availability of $29 million in grant funding for their Education and Workforce Program (EWP), which includes the Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy and Agricultural Workforce Training Grants.

These programs, listed in more detail below, offer eligible institutions grants for professional development opportunities, in order to provide K-14 educators an increased awareness of food and agricultural science disciplines and career opportunities, and to help them develop an enriched curriculum for training the next generation of the agricultural workforce.

Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy Grant program: Participants are expected to develop skills necessary for integrating food and agricultural science concepts in their classes; explore the opportunities available in food and agricultural science career paths; and/or forge mentorships with professional and business leaders, and faculty. Grants can be for up to $300,000 for four-year projects. Deadline for submitting an application is June 13, 2019.

Agricultural Workforce Training Grant program: The goal is to expand job-based, experiential learning opportunities that lead to the development of the food and agricultural science workforce through curriculum development at community, junior, and technical colleges/institutes. Grants can be awarded for up to $500,000. Deadline for the Letter of Intent is June 11, 2019, and the application deadline is Aug. 22, 2019.

Institutions who are eligible to apply and receive grant funding under these programs include, but are not limited to land-grant institutions, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, individuals, nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS status, nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS status, private institutions of higher ed, small businesses, state agricultural experiment stations, and state controlled institutions of higher ed.

For more information on the grants and submission details, please visit the grant announcement page on NIFA’s website.

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Address CTE Teacher Shortage

Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) recently introduced the Creating Quality Technical Educators Act, S. 2737. The bill establishes a grant program to stem the CTE teacher shortage plaguing programs all across the country. The bill, intended to encourage and support prospective educators, would add a new section related to CTE teachers under the Higher Education Act's partnership grants. The full bill can be found here.

Upon introduction of the bill, a press release noted the bill aims to encourage "mid-career professionals in related technical fields, recent college graduates, veterans or currently licensed teachers with a desire to transition to a CTE focus."

ACTE member Toinette Outland, a CTE instructional supervisor for Newport News Public Schools, was quoted in the press release in support of the bill:

“The American economy relies on a skilled workforce, and career and technical education is the important link helping students succeed in the classroom and in their careers. Today we see critical shortages in the CTE educator workforce that threaten students' access to high-quality CTE. The Creating Quality Technical Educators Act will help fuel the CTE educator pipeline, creating positive benefits for both students and the economy.”

In introducing the bill, Sen. Kaine cited the bill as "a big step forward in equipping the next generation with the skills they need to succeed." Sen. Portman highlighted the critical role CTE educators play in expanding high-quality programs and ensuring students and parents are aware of the opportunities CTE provides. Sen. Baldwin cited her own experience meeting with students and businesses in her home state of Wisconsin as evidence that CTE prepares students for the "high-skilled jobs of today and tomorrow." Sen. Capito added that CTE educators are essential to students' academic and career success, and are therefore essential to America's "economic growth and development."

Senators Kaine, Portman, and Baldwin are all co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus. Senator Capito is a caucus member. All four senators introduced a similar bill in the 114th Congress. ACTE endorses S. 2737 as an innovative way to expand access to high-quality CTE to all students and to help meet the demand for CTE educators. ACTE also endorsed the similar bill in 2015.

Research Round-up: Non-degree Credentials, High-quality CTE, Rural Teachers

The following publications are on our CTE reading list for early spring.

Non-degree Credentials in the Labor Force: Fifty-eight percent of working U.S. adults have a postsecondary credential, including 13 percent with a postsecondary certificate, license and/or industry certification. Licenses are the most common non-degree credentials.

In addition, 18 percent of the labor force has both a degree and a non-degree credential. This data is from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Adult Training and Education survey, which has recently expanded its data collection about credentials beyond two- and four-year degrees to give a more accurate picture of Americans’ education and training beyond high school.

CTE in Massachusetts: A new white paper from the Alliance for Vocational Technical Education, a coalition of partners from across Massachusetts, looks at how to define high-quality CTE in the commonwealth. The analysis relies heavily on ACTE’s Quality CTE Program of Study Framework.

Rural Teacher Certification and Development: In Advance CTE’s final brief in its series, CTE on the Frontier, the organization looks at how states are developing and supporting CTE teachers, particularly in rural areas. State examples include:

• Kentucky’s adjunct certification program, in which industry experts can teach CTE students part time while remaining in their industry jobs
• Hawaii community colleges’ sliding pay scale to attract talent into teaching STEM fields
• Career academies specializing in education pathways in Mississippi and Tennessee
• Missouri’s New Teacher Institute and mentorship program
• Louisiana’s virtual externships to support teacher professional development
• New Jersey’s pilot program to train general education teachers in high-demand CTE fields

CTE on the Frontier: Strengthening the Rural CTE Teacher Pipeline was developed through the New Skills for Youth initiative, a partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group, and funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

ACTE Co-Hosts Briefing on Professional Development for CTE Educators

On October 25, ACTE worked with the National Writing Project (NWP) and the Senate CTE Caucus to organize a briefing on increasing access to and opportunity for professional development for CTE educators. LeAnn Wilson, ACTE’s executive director, and Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, NWP’s executive director, both gave opening remarks before the panel offered presentations stressing the importance of professional development for CTE educators.

The panel presenters included:

• Carri Risner – Chef Instructor and Lead Teacher of the Columbia Area Career Center; Columbia, MO
• Jon Graft – Superintendent/ CEO of Butler Tech; Hamilton, OH
• Ruth Neild – Director of the Philadelphia Education Research Consortium; Philadelphia, PA

In her introduction, Wilson gave an overview of the CTE landscape and challenged audience members to consider how, if placed into a classroom, they would teach the skills they use in their own professions. Highlighting how even someone with vast experience in an industry can struggle to effectively communicate their knowledge to students, Wilson spoke to the importance of professional development for CTE educators. Eidman-Asdahl stressed that NWP’s mission serves the interest of all educators across the curriculum and in all disciplines, including CTE.

In her presentation, Risner shared her experience in industry as a chef/owner, and how she originally had limited training in teacher methodology. While the courses she took as a requirement for her teaching certificate were informative, they were insufficient. As a result, she embraced continued professional development throughout her career.

Graft spoke from the perspective of a superintendent, and in affirming his support for professional development for educators, said that “all effective teaching is the result of study, reflection, practice, and hard work.” This, he said, requires high-quality professional development.

Nield conveyed the critical role communication plays in many occupations. She spoke to the importance of ensuring CTE educators have the pedagogical knowledge to help integrate their CTE curriculum with communications, writing, and other skills. Specifically, she highlighted the existence of “rigorous evidence of professional development programs that help teachers hone their ability to provide writing instruction.”

Following the presentations, panelists participated in a Q&A session where they reiterated the importance of high-quality professional development. They also urged policymakers to invest in professional development opportunities for CTE teachers. Photos from the event can be found here.

Teacher Pathway Initiative Grants Awarded by OCTAE

Earlier this summer, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education launched the High School Career and Technical Education Teacher Pathway Initiative (CTE-TPI). This initiative, funded out of Perkins National Programs dollars, was launched in response to numerous states reporting to OCTAE that they were experiencing a shortage of teachers in key CTE areas. A grant competition was opened to help increase the supply of high school CTE teachers available to teach students in CTE programs that align to in-demand industry sectors or occupations in States and communities where shortages of such teachers exist.

After reviewing applications, OCTAE recently announced the five winners of the grant competition, who will receive a total of $4,046,951. The five individual grants each cover a three-year project period. Below you can find a list of the winners and a short summary of their project plans (drawn directly from information posted by the Department of Education). Full details can be found at http://cte.ed.gov/initiatives/high-school-cte-teacher-pathway.

• The School Board of Broward County: The Broward Educating Superior Technology Teachers (BESTT )program seeks to increase the supply of high school CTE teachers in Computer Science (CS) and Information Technology (IT) because CS/IT In-Demand industry occupations compose approximately 39% of the hard and system specific skills gap in Broward County, Florida.
  
  
• Southeast Kansas Education Service Center: Southeast Kansas Education Service Center seeks to create a Kansas Statewide CTE Mentoring Network to improve retention of CTE teachers in program areas aligned with Kansas' In-Demand occupations.

• New Jersey Department of Education: The New Jersey Department of Education's High School CTE Teacher Pathway Initiative project seeks to increase the supply of high school CTE teachers in program areas aligned with New Jersey's In-Demand industry sectors of Advanced Manufacturing; Life Sciences; Healthcare; Technology; Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics; Food Manufacturing; and Construction & Utilities.
  
  
• Portland Community College: The Oregon High School CTE Teacher Pathway project seeks to increase recruitment and retention of skilled high school CTE teachers in the Portland Metropolitan Area and Lane County, Oregon in program areas aligned with the In-Demand industry sectors of Healthcare, Construction, Advanced Manufacturing, and Information Technology.
  
  
• Tennessee Department of Education: The Tennessee Department of Education's Experienced Professionals in the Classroom (EPIC) project seeks to improve recruitment, preparation, and retention of effective CTE educators for program areas aligned with Tennessee's In-Demand industry sectors of Advanced Manufacturing, Health Science, and Information Technology.

Reach Higher Career App Challenge Winner Announced

With 16 Career Clusters® and more than 75 different career pathways, today’s CTE offers students a wide variety of professions to pursue. Career pathways cover nearly every sector of today’s economy—and it’s no wonder why. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the five fastest growing occupations, all five require an associate degree or less. From agriculture to health care, CTE is a critical component to building an American talent pipeline that will meet 21st century workforce demands. However, for students looking to enroll in CTE programs, navigating the many different options can be overwhelming.

Last October, Mrs. Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative and the U.S. Department of Education partnered to launch the Reach Higher Career App Challenge. The Challenge encouraged mobile app developers to build software to help students navigate the many different career and education paths available to them. Today, the First Lady announced the winner of the Challenge, ThinkZone Games, developer of “Hats & Ladders,” an app geared to assist secondary students navigating their career and education options.

The app includes an interactive self-assessment tool, mini-challenges, and other engaging activities to allow students to explore their many opportunities. Hats & Ladders is a good example of the new and innovative thinking in the CTE arena brought about by strong collaborations between policymakers, industry stakeholders, educators, parents and students.

As the First Lady said, “[Hats & Ladders] is a cool, new, exciting app that will open up a whole new world for young people.” ACTE congratulates ThinkZone Games and the other app submission finalists for their commitment to CTE and the next generation of American workers.

Note: Hats & Ladders will be available for beta testing in the spring of 2017. Click here to learn more and sign up to participate.