Seamless High School Pathways with Postsecondary Credit, and Industry Certifications Candi Norwood, Director of Student Success Heather Justice Executive Director, Office of CTE

Agenda Career Preparation through CTE Seamless Pathways Early Postsecondary Opportunities (EPSOs) Industry Certifications Seamless Pathways Revisited

Objectives for Today Understand how your regions, districts, and schools can develop seamless pathways complete with offerings for postsecondary credit and capstone industry certifications Be prepared to design a plan for students to leave high school prepared for postsecondary or employment with credits and credentials in hand

Career Clusters

Our Goal for Our Students Governor Haslam has challenged our state with a critical new mission: the Drive to 55 – the Drive to get 55 percent of Tennesseans equipped with a college degree or certificate by the year 2025. It’s not just a mission for higher education, but a mission for Tennessee’s future workforce and economic development. As secondary educators and community members this changes our goal for our students from high school graduation to postsecondary success.

What Does a Pathway Look Like? Middle School Career Exploration Intro Courses High School Industry Certifications CTE Program of Study General Education Courses TCAT Certificate and Credential programs Industry Certification Community College A.A./A.S. University B.A./B.S. Post-baccalaureate Job Entry Job Continuum Career The question we want to be asking is, do our stars align? Regional Business & Industry High Skill, High Wage, High Growth

Program of Study

What Does a Pathway Look Like?

Program Choices at the District Level If a district has determined that a significant number of employees will be needed in the field of advanced manufacturing, a program within this cluster should be selected from the state-offered programs of study. If a district discovers it is offering a program of study that no longer has industry and postsecondary options for students, the district should then plan for how to retire the program of study to avoid offering dead-end paths to students. In Tennessee, under the advanced manufacturing career cluster, there are four available programs of study: machining technology, electromechanical technology, mechatronics, and welding. )Two are shown here) Each program of study has a sequence of four courses including opportunities for work-based learning, industry certifications where applicable, and early postsecondary opportunities such as dual credit and dual enrollment courses in partnership with local community colleges and technical schools. Once a program of study is chosen, an implementation plan needs to be created. Administrators may need to hire a teacher, market the program of study to parents and students, recruit industry advisory council members for emerging work-based learning opportunities, and begin discussions with local postsecondary institutions to create partnerships for articulation agreements and dual credit/dual enrollment opportunities. Conversely, once a district determines a program of study should no longer be offered, the district can plan through a transition year to assist in exiting students from that program of study, planning for personnel adjustments and communicating with stakeholders.

Communicating Information It is crucial that school counselors understand the data and the interplay with program and course offerings. In many cases, counselors are gatekeepers to student selections of CTE programs. Course names on a master schedule do not provide adequate information to allow them to assist students in making educational and career decisions. Counselors must be informed of regional workforce demands, postsecondary opportunities, and how the CTE programs take advantage of these facts to ensure students have real choices. While the data is certainly helpful, some programs may require the addition of some public relations. For example, the advanced manufacturing industry in 2016 is not the same as it was even ten years ago. Facilities are no longer grease-laden, dark spaces for workers performing monotonous tasks. Workplaces are well-lit, spotless environments with employees working alongside robots. Well-paid workers are trained in multiple jobs and have access to additional industry-based education so that they may move up the chain. If a school district simply says to a parent, “Your student may enjoy a career in advanced manufacturing,” the initial reaction may not be positive. To combat this, it is helpful if parents are invited to career fairs and/or industry tours with industry and salary information available. This information should be connected to meaningful career counseling that begins in the early grades to allow young students to understand the full spectrum of opportunities available to them. In Tennessee, career cluster consultants created marketing materials for schools to showcase programs of study, postsecondary opportunities, and labor market data. These downloadable Word documents can be customized to show regional information and school articulation agreements and postsecondary opportunities. You have been provided a copy of one of these in your materials today. See more marketing materials here.

Early Postsecondary Opportunities ALL MEANS ALL Earn postsecondary credits while in high school Become familiar with postsecondary expectations Develop the confidence and skills for success in postsecondary Decrease the time and cost of completing a certificate or degree

Early Postsecondary Opportunities Available Dual Enrollment Local Dual Credit Statewide Dual Credit Advanced Placement (AP) International Baccalaureate (IB) College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Student Industry Certification (SIC) Course Course & Exam Exam

Aligned Industry Certifications Industry recognized and valued Aligned to CTE course and/or program of study Transference to postsecondary Transference to high quality employment Industry Recognized and Valued For any certification to be promoted, it is essential that the certification is recognized and valued by the targeted industry. The industry certifications promoted by the department have been vetted by respective career cluster advisory councils (composed of Tennessee industry representatives). If an identified certification was recognized but not valued, it was not included in the final department-promoted list. All promoted certifications must show both. Aligned to CTE Course and/or Program of Study Department-promoted industry certifications should be representative of the learning a student has mastered through the successful completion of an aligned CTE course and/or program of study. It is important that this alignment exists and that the content in the certification is not simply representative of a few standards within a course. Industry certifications can be stackable credentials such as Microsoft Office Suite certifications (as identified with the Office Management program of study), or they can be capstone, meaning they represent the culmination of acquired skills through the completion of a particular program of study Transference to Postsecondary Transferability to postsecondary refers to industry certifications that are accepted for credit or hours by postsecondary institutions. For example, all of the department-promoted capstone industry certifications count for postsecondary credit at Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (Figure 5). Students who obtain these certifications can transfer clock hours toward the aligned program offered by Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology. Transference to High Quality Employment In addition to being industry valued and recognized, department-promoted industry certifications must lead to high quality employability. Therefore all promoted certifications should translate into job opportunities above entry level positions. For example, the attainment of a Level I Siemens Certified Mechatronic Systems Assistant certification through the Mechatronics program of study (Figure 6) allows a student to qualify for a position as a Technician Assistant in the advanced manufacturing industry sector.

Aligned Industry Certifications

Excellence | Optimism | Judgment | Courage | Teamwork Districts and schools in Tennessee will exemplify excellence and equity such that all students are equipped with the knowledge and skills to successfully embark on their chosen path in life. Excellence | Optimism | Judgment | Courage | Teamwork