Creating Dynamic Possibilities for Every Student CTE: Connecting Middle School to High School and Beyond 7th Annual Collaborative CTE Conference Creating Dynamic Possibilities for Every Student Friday, November 17, 2017 Constance H. Spohn, Ph.D. Assistant Director CTE TAC Intro Self Background Role on EESTW Leadership Team Next slide-Presentation Topics

Presentation Plan This session will detail specifics of the regulation change; share development of curricular guidance; and offer time for questions and answers. According to our conference program, there are 3 goals for this block of time. To: detail specifics of the regulation change; share development of curricular guidance; and offer time for questions and answers. So, let’s start with a little basics refresher and some background that led to this regulation change Next Slide – What is CTE?

What is CTE? Definition: “Career and technical education is a kindergarten through adult area of study that includes rigorous academic content closely aligned with career and technical subjects …The CDOS Learning Standards serve as the framework for CTE” CR 100.1 (l) Career and Technical Subjects Agricultural Education Business and Marketing Education Family and Consumer Sciences Education Health Sciences Education Technology Education Trade and Technical Education What is CTE? The definition of CTE is found in CR 100.1 Notice the definition includes the idea that CTE instruction is meant to be a continuum, beginning in elementary school and continuing through to post-secondary education. The regulation change we will study today is a step toward strengthening the middle-level piece of the CTE continuum Notice the definition refers to the career and technical subjects. In NYS, CTE is officially organized around 6 CTE content or subject areas The CTE content areas are: agricultural education, business and marketing education, family and consumer sciences education, health sciences education, technology education, and trade and technical education Next Slide –Background (Challenges)

Background Statewide School Leaders Advocating for Regulation Change 1 unit Technology Education ¾ unit Home and Career Skills Challenges Teachers Time Relevance Proposal- Elementary Model Alternate Proposal- “Introduction to CTE” At the end of March, a statewide telephone conference with representatives of the superintendents and middle-level principals was held. Initially, school leaders wanted to eliminate the middle level mandate. Many were struggling with three major challenges: the FACS and Technology teacher shortage; scheduling the discrete 1 ¾ units; and seeing the relevance of coursework that exposed students to only 2 of the 6 CTE content areas. They proposed an elementary model whereby individual schools would determine how to include CTE instruction for their middle-level students. There would be no formal time or teacher requirements. A CTE leaders group presented the NYSAFCSE draft framework of the “Introduction to CTE” model. School leaders on the conference call could “see” the potential of this model to address their challenges. The call to eliminate the mandate for middle-level CTE was quieted and the 1 ¾ unit was preserved. This led to the May Regents item

May Regents Item Board of Regents Emergency Action Unit of Study Requirements for Career and Technical Education in Grades 7 and 8  www.regents.nysed.gov/meeting-archives/2017-05 Emergency Action Timeframe Limited Implementation Revisited The item, “Unit of Study Requirements for Career and Technical Education in Grades 7 and 8” was presented to the Board of Regents in May. It is available in the archived section of the Regents webpage. This Regents item was originally scheduled for July (retreat item) or for September. This item was moved to the May Regents meeting in response to widespread advocacy by school superintendents. They were asking for a regulation change for the 2017-18 school year. It became an “emergency action item.” What does it mean when the Board considers an item for emergency action? Responding to a timeframe - There wasn’t enough calendar time between the May Regents meeting and the start of the 2017-18 school year to follow normal protocol and have the regulation change for 2017-18 as promised. Emergency actions generally allow only limited implementation The Board is required to revisit an emergency action; an affirmative vote continues the regulation change and generally allows for implementation by all. Contractual issues govern staffing in individual districts. The Board of Regents revisited this action at their September 11, 2017 meeting, and adopted the regulation change as a permanent rule effective on September 27, 2017. Next Slide –Current regulation

Current Regulation CR 100.4 (c) 1 ¾ unit “Career and Technical Education” Instruction can begin as early as grade 5 Teachers certified in any CTE content area 2017-18 Transition Year Limited Implementation Curricular Guidance Development http://www.regents.nysed.gov/common/regents/files/917p12a3.pdf Prior to this vote, CTE was represented in CR 100.4 through 1 unit of technology education and ¾ unit of Home and Career Skills (intermediate Family and Consumer Sciences [FACS]). CR 100.4 represents CTE in the middle level through “1 ¾ unit career and technical education.” Language allowing middle-level instruction to begin as early as grade 5 is extended to this regulation. Instruction in grades 5 and 6 must follow the time and certification requirements This instruction is for all students Only schools with openings for middle-level Tech or FACS for 2017-18 can use the flexibility allowed in this item to hire from the broad CTE pool We have anecdotal evidence that this option has been used in a few schools. Most are learning about the reg change and waiting for this project before making any decisions So, let’s take a quick look at the certification requirement for this instruction Next Slide – Teacher Certification

Teacher Certification http://eservices.nysed.gov/teach/certhelp/CertRequirementHelp.do Which certification titles qualify for instruction of Introduction to CTE? Any teacher certified in any of the CTE content areas is included under the broad CTE umbrella. In the NYSED certification system, CTE titles are found under 2 different categories: Classroom Teacher, and CTE Teacher (unfortunately named!) Go to Search Certification Requirements using link in slide show You will find that: Technology Education K-12 Classroom titles Agriculture, Business, FACS K-12 Classroom Titles and CTE titles Trade/Technical, Health Sciences CTE titles CTE category titles are qualified for grades 7-12 only, so not able to provide grade 5 or 6 instruction So it is up to the individual school/district to decide which teacher best meets the needs of the school/district And…Once the best teacher is in place, what will he or she do with this CTE time? NYSED senior leadership promised curricular guidance materials in time for the 2018-19 school year. How is that happening? Next Slide: Introduction to CTE Project Goals

Introduction to CTE Project Goals To produce a new curricular framework that will: Bridge middle level CTE to high school CTE Expose students to all CTE content areas Allow districts flexibility in delivery Foster acceleration into graduation pathways in CTE, CDOS, and STEM So what are the basic tenants for the development of this curricular guidance document? To develop the state curricular guidance that will: Bridge middle level CTE to high school CTE Expose students to all CTE content areas Allow districts flexibility in delivery Foster acceleration into graduation pathways in CTE, CDOS, and STEM The design for this curricular guidance has been approved by the senior management at NYSED. That approval is important because it is the promise from our leaders that this guidance will be posted as an NYSED document meant to steer decisions made by local districts about their middle-level CTE instruction. The work we do must conform to the SED expectations. Professional organizations can go beyond this guidance when providing pd for their teachers. So, what is the design for this new curricular guidance? Next Slide – Curricular Guidance Design

Introduction to CTE Partnership NYSED Regulation Posting CTE TAC Coordination Development Outreach Professional Organizations Writing Vetting PD This project is a partnership between NYSED (regulation and posting; strong working relationship with MBC and with CTE team), CTE TAC (coordination , development, outreach), and the CTE professional organizations (writing, vetting, and PD). Outreach includes asking for feedback from the broader educational community. Will be asking middle-level leaders for comments on theme modules and for suggestions of teachers to work with going forward. Next Slide- Curricular Guidance Design

Curricular Guidance Design CTE Content Proposed CTE Theme Modules Content Modules Representing Each CTE Content Area Career… Financial… Health… Communication Sustain- ability Research… Agriculture Business Family and Consumer Sciences Health Sciences Technology Education Trade and Technical Meaningful Middle-level CTE Learning Experiences The curricular guidance design has been approved by the senior management at NYSED. That approval is important because it is the promise from our leaders that this guidance will be posted as an NYSED document meant to steer decisions made by local districts about their middle-level CTE instruction. The work we do must conform to the SED expectations. Professional organizations can go beyond this guidance when providing pd for their teachers. So…. This project will create the framework for the Theme Modules and the Content Modules. This is the “what and the why” of Introduction to CTE. Local districts will determine the “how”. This is the difference between curricular guidance and actual curriculum. In NYS, curriculum is the right and responsibility of each of the 700 school districts. Strong curricular guidance is the state’s way of steering the curriculum decisions made by those 700 districts. Let’s start with a look at the themes Next Slide – Draft Framework: Themes

Draft Framework Model: Themes Proposed Introduction to CTE Themes Career and Community Opportunities Financial and Consumer Literacy Health, Safety, and Wellness Communication Sustainability Research, Design, and Innovation Characteristics of Theme Modules Foundational Cross-content Standards-based Module Format Supported by Content Modules This slide shows the Introduction to CTE Themes: Career and Community Opportunities; Financial and Consumer Literacy; Health, Safety, and Wellness; Communication; Sustainability; and Research, Design, and Innovation The characteristics of theme models are: Each theme will be foundational and standards-based Meaningful instruction provided by teachers certified in any CTE content area A cross-content Theme Team met on October 11, 2017 at the CTE TAC in Rexford. Tim joined us for the morning; Rie and I facilitated the meeting. They worked through a discussion that helped them come to a common understanding of the goals for the new Introduction to CTE curricular guidance. They are drafting the theme modules building on the FACS drafts and following the CFM format. They are creating foundational CTE standards-based curricular framework for middle-level that has CTE themes as the base. It will be developed in a flexible modular format that will allow schools to customize the delivery to meet their school goals and the needs of their students and their communities. Next Slide-Draft Framework: Content Modules

Draft Framework Model: Content Introduction to CTE Content Agriculture Business FACS Health Sciences Technology Trade and Technical Global Food Access and Security Interior Design Human Development Characteristics of Content Modules Standards-based Specific to each CTE content area Developed by teachers representing each content area Supply context for instruction in the themes Connect middle-level to high school Instruction by teachers certified for that content Content modules will be designed to address the themes, using state and national standards as the base Content modules are specific to each CTE subject area Example- FACS has 3 main learning strands (Foods and Nutrition, Textiles and Design, and Human Services and Family Studies), so 2 content modules models were developed for each strand; 6 in all (3 examples included on this slide). All 6 draft models are in the dropbox. Content module instruction requires a teacher certified for that content So how will themes and content work together? Next Slide-Curriculum Decisions

Curriculum Decisions How can schools design project-based learning experiences that will help middle-school students gain foundational CTE knowledge and skills through the lens of the CTE content area(s) they have represented? Career and Community Opportunities Financial and Consumer Literacy Health, Safety, and Wellness Sustainability Development of curriculum is a school-by-school right/responsibility – early in process for this How can schools design project-based learning experiences that will help their middle-school students gain foundational CTE knowledge and skills through the lens of the CTE content area(s) they have represented in their system? Resources: Exemplars included in each theme and content module Professional Organizations Best/model practices Professional development meetings School conference days Next slide – Delivery Options Research, Design, and Innovation Communication

Sample Delivery Options This is a screen shot from the slide deck and Attachment A presented to the Board of regents on May 9, 2017. It shows 4 of the possible delivery models for an Introduction to CTE: current model; middle-level only; with CFM; with focused High school CTE coursework Notice that the first column shows the Current Delivery Model. The item was explicit in saying that the current model ( I unit technology education and ¾ unit Home and Career Skills) is within the new regulation language Second column shows students addressing intermediate-level learning standards only. This represents a strong foundation in CTE preparing students for any program they might choose in high school, CTE or otherwise Third column shows an opportunity for acceleration in CTE. Acceleration in CTE is already in CR 100.4, so no regulation change was needed for this option. Grade 8 students showing readiness could accelerate, perhaps into CFM, which is required in all CTE approved programs; the basis for the CTE graduation pathway Final column shows acceleration into a focused CTE course. Examples already in our state—DDP– in grade 8 to prepare students for pre-engineering pathways Consider 2017-18 to be a transition year Next Slide – How can you help?

How can you help? Next Steps Complete Drafts of Theme Modules Develop Content Modules for all CTE content areas Plan for Professional Development Joint CTE Conference – June 2018, 2017 Syracuse , NY Outreach to the broad educational community Ways to Participate Volunteer as a content editor for theme and content module drafts Encourage teachers to prepare learning experience models showing how themes “come to life” through their content Participate in the Joint CTE conference Share information with your education colleagues We are facing an aggressive timeline, and we can do this! On the left side of the slide is a list of the “Next Steps” for this project. On the right side, some suggestions about how you can help in the development of Introduction to CTE Timeline: Fall – a writing teams representing all CTE content areas will work to create the draft theme modules; separate teams from each content area will work on content modules Winter – editing and revising Spring – outreach and release of materials Summer – professional development Sharing via professional organization meetings ACTEA Board – October 19 NYS Middle Level Association – Oct 20 Technology Association – Oct 26 FACS Association - Oct 27 Middle-level Liaisons- Dec 7 Joint CTE Conf – June 2018 Content Module Team is next big part of this project Next slide –Your Questions

Your Questions Contact Information: Constance Spohn, Assistant Director CTE TAC connie@spnet.us Dawn Mastroianni Senior Consultant dbmastroianni@gmail.com Marybeth Casey Middle-level Associate NYSED Marybeth.Casey@nysed.gov