1. From Voc Ed to CTE and the Research Base BLUE RIBBION TASK FORCE ON CTE Syracuse City School District September 13, 2012

2. “Strong academic skills and the ability to apply those skills to solve real-world predictable and unpredictable problems and situations has become a minimum requirement for the vast majority of American jobs.” Dr. Willard Daggett, Ed.D. International Center for Leadership in Education

3.  Leading economy in the world  Propelled by:  High Quality K-12 and Post Secondary Education  Innovation  Competitive Character of Capitalism  Thrived by Setting Standards and Pace for the World Economy

4.  National and European Fiscal Crisis  Developing embrace of Capitalism and Democratic Institutions across the world  Emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India & China) Economies  Hyper-connected World  Highly Competitive Education Systems  Outsourcing of Blue and White Collar Jobs  Developed economies must depend on High Imagination Manufacturing and Services 4

5. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION  Learning to do  Job specific skills in the skilled trades  Prep for lifetime employment  A non college track  Apart from academics  Credentialed by Diploma  Text and manual based information  Trade and Technical High Schools CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION  Doing to learn  Specific and “soft” job skills  Prep for employment based on skills and projects  College and Career ready  Convergence with academics  Credentialed by Diploma and Certification  Digitally based information  All schools and all students

6.  Career and Technical Education is:  Adapted to meet the dynamic demands of the Global Economy  Career Clusters and Common Career Technical Core  Reflects the modern workplace  Rigorous academic and technical standards  Critical workplace intelligence or “soft” skills

7. The blending of academic and CTE content and instructional design and delivery to create a new contextual way of learning  Integrated academics aligned to the NCCSS in CTE  Application of student engagement strategies used in CTE in academic disciplines  Balance across all instruction of informational and literature text at 70% to 30 % in Grades 10-12  Engagement of students in all disciplines in text complexity consistent with that which they will encounter in entry level work, college, the military and life 7

8. 8 Reading Framework for NAEP 2009 Grade Literary Informational 4 50% 8 45% 55% 12 30% 70%

9. 9 Text Complexity Grade Bands and Associated Lexile Ranges Text Complexity Grade Band in the Standards Old Lexile RangesLexile Ranges Aligned to CCR expectations K-1N/A 2-3450-725450-790 4-5645-845770-980 6-8860-1010955-1155 9-10960-11151080-1305 11-CCR1070-12201215-1355

10. 10 600 800 1000 1400 1600 1200 Text Lexile Measure (L) High School Literature College Literature High School Textbooks College Textbooks Military Personal Use Entry-Level Occupations SAT 1, ACT, AP* * Source of National Test Data: MetaMetrics Interquartile Ranges Shown (25% - 75%)

11.  Engagement Crisis -when students speak of boredom they refer to the lack of engagement in class and lack of connection between what is presented and how it applies to their life or future  The Silent Epidemic -high school dropouts reported that the most frequent reason for leaving school was that classes were not interesting.  46 percent of high-school students were bored in school because the curriculum was not relevant to the real world.  Just 26 percent thought that high school provided skills necessary for work after graduation. 11

12. Source: “The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts” Civic Enterprises, 2006

13.  Lack of meaningful exposure to career experiences to begin developing personal career aspirations;  A highly technological environment with lots of immediate distractions and alternative access to information;  Family and neighborhood stresses which make it difficult to learn and envision a positive future; and  Core academic classes that are highly abstracted and devoid of engaging teaching and learning strategies. "we have to build a positive, engaging culture inside of education that trumps the negative culture kids experience in other parts of their lives." 13 Hans Meeder, National Center for College and Career Transitions

14.  The underlying assumption has been that an academic, classroom-based approach is capable of preparing nearly all adolescents and young adults for success in the 21st century  But after 20 years of effort, and billions of dollars the time has come for an honest assessment.  Marginal gains in the bottom line measure of success- college completion. We have still been unable to get more than 30 percent of young adults to earn a bachelor’s degree by their mid-20s. 14 The College Completion Agenda-Pathways to Prosperity

15.  Only 30% of young adults earn a bachelors degree by their mid-20’s  27% of those with post secondary licenses or certificates - credentials short of an associate’s degree – earn more than an average bachelors degree recipient  By 2018 there will be 8 million openings in blue collar fields and 2.7 million will require a post secondary credential. This type of education-as opposed to a BA-is a ticket to a well-paying job and more education

16. COLLEGE  Community College  Bachelors Programs  Technical School OTHER POST SECONDARY OPTIONS  Apprenticeships  Corporate Training  Military  Certificate programs 16

17.  23% who enter complete community college in 3 years (2004 Cohort)  Only 61% entered the second semester  34% who enter community college complete in 10 years (1997 Cohort)  58 % who enter a four year college complete bachelors degree programs in 6 years NYSED and the College Board 17

18. MIDDLE SKILL WITH CERTIFICATES  Plumber  Electrician  Construction Manager  Dental Hygienist  Paralegal  Police Officer  Licensed Practical Nurse  others COMPENSATION  Premium over High School diploma  Pay more than many jobs held by BA graduates 18

19. “Career readiness is not synonymous with college readiness. They can be complementary as there is a clear interface between career and college readiness. “The ideal high school curriculum would incorporate the best aspects of both tracks: academic rigor and cutting-edge career preparation…pathways that ‘include both academically rigorous, college-preparatory requirements and challenging professional and technical knowledge grounded in industry standards.” 19

20.  Improved learning: students learned faster and retain concepts better when taught rigorous and relevant academic material in a context of real world application.  Higher academic achievement: CTE students have increased graduation rates and improved exit exam passing rates than students from the general population.  Higher wage earning potential: postsecondary students who participated in high school CTE combined with integrated curriculum and work-based learning achieved higher wages  Lower dropout rates: risk of dropping out was four times higher when students took no CTE courses than when students completed three such courses www.connectedcalifornia.org/linked_learning/evidence National Longitudinal Study 20

21.  Students reported:  they liked working in teams  indicated improvements in both attitude and work habits  Students demonstrated:  better self-direction  higher attendance  improved levels of homework completion  Students at schools with highly integrated rigorous academic and CTE programs have significantly higher student achievement in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies than students at schools with less integrated programs. Gene Bottoms, High Schools that Work, SREB (2008) See also Developing College and Career Ready Students at TAC web site

22. Student Outcomes improve when CTE programs use a robust integrated curriculum aligning core academics and Career and Technical Education National Education Longitudinal Study and ConnectEd: California Center for College and Career 22

23.  Transitions  A Career Plan  Pathways to Graduation  Work-Based Learning  Project-Based Learning  Support Services 23

24. WHAT WE LEARNED!

25.  Strong and highly engaged facilitator or teacher who demonstrates a rigorous and relevant approach in instruction  High level program support from administration, faculty, guidance and others across the school who value the integrated approach.  Clear student expectations, data driven decision making and measurement to support student achievement and improve outcomes  Active understanding of program goals and outcomes by school faculty, guidance, parents and business and post secondary partners  Curriculum is aligned to CCSS and CDOS standards.

26.  Integrated curriculum and instruction with a focus on literacy throughout the program  Passing rate is higher when all students are expected to challenge the technical assessment  Teachers with trade and technical credentials out perform their non credentialed peers in students passing the technical assessments  High levels of learner engagement is apparent and measurable in the classroom  Highly structured and well supported work based learning experience

27.  Build leadership capacity  Establish a shared vision  Create a culture  Align organizational structures and systems to vision  Align teacher/administrator selection, support, and evaluation  Support decision making with a comprehensive data system

28.  Use research to establish urgency for higher expectations  Align curriculum to standards  Integrate literacy and math across all content areas  Provide opportunities for focused professional collaboration and calibration of assessment criteria  Facilitate data-driven decision making to inform instruction

29.  Embrace rigorous and relevant expectations for all students  Build strong relationship with students  Possess depth of content knowledge and make it relevant to students  Facilitate rigorous and relevant instruction based on how students learn  Use assessments to guide and differentiate instruction  Demonstrate expertise in use of instructional strategies, technology, and best practices

30.  What are the challenges the district confronts to transform existing CTE courses to a contemporary program model?  What are the leadership and staff doing to foster student engagement and passion in their learning?  Where should the district focus its attention to strengthen the rigor, relevance, and measurement of student success?  How are the board, leadership and faculty building relationships between CTE staff their academic peers and business and post-secondary partners to drive Career and College readiness for our students?