Career Clusters: Focusing Education on the Future The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium: States’ Career Clusters Initiative

Career Clusters: Presentation Objectives Provide an Overview of the Career Clusters Initiative. Review Career Cluster Resources available from the national initiative. Discuss Career Cluster Sustainability and Implementation.

Career Clusters Initiative Overview: Career Clusters Initiative

Career Clusters: Definition Career Clusters represent a grouping of occupations and broad industries based on commonalities. includes occupations not usually found in in vocational or career tech education. Such as scientific research and government. In Arts Audio Visual and Communications we are looking at the Performing Arts. Our charge is to develop these clusters into an organizing tool to help schools and to help students and parents make better career choices and to better prepare students for postsecondary education and work and help students advance at a faster pace.

Career Clusters: Titles Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Architecture & Construction Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications Business, Management & Administration Education & Training Finance Government & Public Administration Health Science Hospitality & Tourism Human Services Information Technology Law, Public Safety & Security Manufacturing Marketing, Sales & Service Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

Career Clusters: Purposes The 16 Career Clusters are an organizing tool for schools to offer a broader, more durable preparation for the world of work. Re-training the Workforce Cross-training the Workforce Preparing the Emerging Workforce

Career Clusters: Student and Community Benefits Help develop workplace, academic and technical skills Build links to the community Add relevance to the curriculum Provide real-world learning

Career Clusters: Workforce Development and Education System Benefits Provide a common theme for communication from state to state Enhance academic achievement of all students - “leaving no child behind” Integrate into current Career Technical programs Prepare students for entry into college/university Provide a well-prepared, qualified workforce for employers

Career Clusters: Goals High Academic Attainment (meet state requirements) Successful transition to post-secondary education and training Preparation for Success in Careers (academic, skills, technical skills, employability skills) Promote/Support Economic Development to Increase Productivity Enhance Career Development Outcomes

Career Clusters Initiative Resources: Career Clusters Initiative

Career Clusters: Resources Career Cluster/Pathway Model Knowledge & Skill Components O*Net Crosswalk Report Cluster Profile and Advisory Committee List of Existing Credentials Validation Overview/Results Protocol for Assessment & Certification Brochures www.careerclusters.org, www.nchste.org Pam Stacey, 405.743.6850, pstac@okcareertech.org

Career Clusters: Model Organizes the occupations, within each cluster, into pathways that group the cluster occupations based on commonalities.

Career Clusters: Framework Cluster Level Represents the skill and knowledge, both academic and technical, that all students within the cluster should achieve regardless of their pathway. Pathway Level Represents the skill and knowledge, both academic and technical, necessary to pursue a full range of career opportunities within a pathway - ranging from entry level to management, including technical and professional career specialties. Career Specialties Represents the full range of career opportunities within each pathway.

Career Clusters: O*Net Crosswalk Report Each occupational specialty identified within Career Clusters was cross-walked to a related O*NET occupation. O*NET is a nationally recognized taxonomy with detailed descriptions and a rich database of information for each occupation.

Career Clusters: Cluster/Pathway Knowledge & Skills Identify existing and/or establish the knowledge and skills common across the Cluster as well as in each of the Pathways.

How Do You Differentiate Between Cluster Level and Pathway Level Knowledge and Skills (K&S)? K&S represent all occupations within the scope of the cluster. Pathway K&S represent all occupations within a pathway.

Cluster Level K&S Topics Academic Foundations Communications Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Information Technology Applications Systems Safety, Health and Environmental Leadership and Teamwork Ethics and Legal Responsibilities Employability and Career Development Technical Skills

Format: Knowledge and Skills Structure Components Cluster/Pathway Topics K&S Statements Performance Elements Measurement Criteria

Validation Overview/Results What Do We Mean by Knowledge and Skills “Validation”? In this initiative, valid means: Common (common, applicable across pathway or cluster) Important (relevant, meaningful) Accurate (technically correct)

Validation Process Validation by Advisory Committees National Web-based Validation or Pilot Site Validation Continuing Review by Advisory Committees, Pilot Sites and Subject Matter Experts

Career Clusters: Advisory Committee Membership includes business and industry, associations, government agencies, labor and secondary and postsecondary educators. Membership is broad-based in terms of geographic location. Membership reflects occupations within each of the pathways. Membership is responsible for resource development.

Career Clusters: Existing Credentials Credentials include licenses, certificates, and degrees. Listing includes both web sites and individual credentials. Existing credentials, when applicable, were used as resources in the development of knowledge and skill components.

Career Clusters: Assessment Protocol Protocol for Career Clusters Assessment Minimum criteria/expectations Content Form Applications and Uses Administration Validity and Reliability

Career Clusters: Certificate of Achievement Protocol Minimum criteria/expectations Defines the purpose and scope of certificate Bases issue on assessed learner proficiencies Confirms knowledge & skills of certificate to the public Contains date and issuing organization

Career Clusters: Brochures Description of how to pursue education and career success in the cluster Career Pathways at a glance Overview of each Pathway Sample occupations Overview of credentials Employment outlook

Sustainability and Implementation: Career Clusters Initiative

Career Clusters: Sustainability National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium Assessment States Voluntarily Reporting Student Enrollment by Cluster Central Distribution System for Resources Maintenance/Updating of Web Site Continuing, Consistent Process for Review and Validation of Knowledge and Skills

Career Clusters: Implementation Pilot Site Implementation Technical Assistance Training and In-service Guide to Career Cluster Implementation Implementation Briefs by State on the Web Site National Career Cluster Institute

Tips for Implementation Making Skill Standards Work: Highlights from the Field Education Development Center, Inc. 800-225-4276 Career Academy Toolkit Bright Futures Press 919-426-3843 http://casn.berkeley.edu/formbanklist.html Using Skill Standards for Vocational-Technical Education Curriculum Development http://v-tecs.org/Documents/Using%20Skill%20Standards.pdf

Tips for Implementation (cont.) Arts, A-V Technology and Communications www.artavcomm.org Health Science www.nchste.org Information Technology www.edc.org/EWIT/bltext.htm   Manufacturing www.mfglinks.org Transportation, Distribution and Logistics http://tdlcluster.org All Clusters www.careerclusters.org

Tips for Implementation (cont.) Use resources to enhance existing programs. Use resources as frameworks to create/develop programs. Use resources for career academies, small learning communities, schools within schools, charter schools, home schooling and magnet schools.

Identify the Stakeholders and Challenges Leading to Cluster Implementation Teachers with decreasing enrollments Teachers charged with increasing academic performance Parents and students lacking knowledge of opportunities Business and Industry needs for qualified workers Post high school trainers and educators looking for feeder programs

Present Career Clusters as a Solution to Stakeholder Challenges Potential enrollment increases with broader programs that appeal to more students. Contextual learning increases academic performance for all students. Enhanced guidance services are available for parents and students through the cluster models’ identification of many jobs. Broader preparation meets Business and Industry needs for qualified workers. Career Cluster Knowledge and Skill structures provide the linkage from post high school trainers and educators to feeder programs.

Conduct Clusters Rollout Planning with Stakeholders Analyze current delivery system. Review curriculum content. Identify instructor knowledge, skills, and abilities. Determine desire to change the system. Present “Career Cluster Principles for Success”.

Career Cluster Principles for Success in Technical and Academic Education: What does a Career Cluster program look like? 1. The curriculum includes the cluster foundation knowledge and skills. 2. The curriculum includes pathway knowledge and skills. 3. Academic and technical instructors jointly plan the curriculum. 4. The specific state academic standards reinforced in the curriculum are clearly identified.  

Principles for Success (cont.) 5. Communication (reading, writing, and presenting) activities are pervasive in the curriculum. 6. The curriculum reflects multiple careers associated with the cluster.  7. The curriculum reflects the economic development plans of the local/state community. 8. Instructors provide direct support to students in developing a career/educational plan. 9. Data is collected and used for quality control and improvement.

Conduct Clusters Rollout Planning with Stakeholders (cont.) Identify where changes are needed/desired. Determine barriers using Rollout Planning process. Identify resources (human, policy, fiscal) needed to overcome barriers. In matrix format, present delivery system elements/content vs. desired cluster elements/content.

Assess Acceptance/Buy-in of Implementation Staff Determine resources needed (human, policy, fiscal) to assure staff buy-in. Determine the availability of needed resources. Assess implementation challenges given available resources.

Develop Implementation Plan Identify resources needed (human, policy, fiscal). Identify time frame for implementation. Identify individuals responsible. Identify specific goals, objectives, and time line. Identify assessment processes to be used. Determine if credentials will be awarded.

Implementing Career Clusters Review implementation plan with stakeholders/community. Revise plan responding to feedback. Access resources needed. Confirm the reality of proposed plan Implement plan. Revise plan according to implementation feedback.

Contact Information www.careerclusters.org Pam Stacey 405.743.6850 Pstac@okcareertech.org