Career and Technical Education: Lost in the mix?

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Earlier this week, I attended a "Career / Technical Education Advisory Board" meeting in Knox County.  Looking around the room, I saw quite a few businesses, local union representatives, and people from the Chamber represented.  Learn more about the CTE efforts HERE.  In fact, this area is fertile ground for BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS in education--something that the United Way / Public School Forum's regional coalition has focused on. 

I heard an interesting statistic: Students who do a formal course of study (which basically translates into taking a series of courses in one focused area) in CTE graduate at a 97% rate. 

It seems as though there's a resurgence of CTE in some circles, but it seems to be getting lost in the college-ready push.  Something close to United Way's heart is ensuring that students can transition into lives of productive adulthood after graduating from high school.  CTE offers a path.

Many people don't necessarily realize that there are lots of opportunities to "POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION" in the CTE arena.  For instance, the Tennessee Technology Centers are part of the Tennessee Board of Regents.  In fact, Bill and Melinda Gates recently visited Tennessee and were MOST impressed with the TN Technology Centers. Heck, some of the local union apprentice programs (Like the Local 760 IBEW) offer education and practical experience for zero dollars. 

Am I alone in thinking that CTE feels a bit like the red-headed stepchild?
One of the efforts that recently happened in Knoxville was a simple meeting between CTE professionals and Knox County guidance counselors that encouraged them to get familiar with the Program of Study and encourage some students to go that direction.  Someone mentioned at the meeting earlier in the week that guidance counselors sometimes get positive praise from administrators if they encourage a student to apply for college...not so much praise is given if they encourage a student to take the CTE route. 

I just hope that CTE doesn't get lost in the push to get everyone graduated and onto traditional 4-year colleges.

IN THE NEWS:
Tennessee ends pre-college savings plans.  Check this out, too.  It's the related Cash 4 College program.
Transforming rural schools.  Wow.
New teacher residency program at UTK gets $2.8 million grant!
Family engagement in the state of TN will now be on report cards.
Higher education partners with West Tennessee schools to help with education reform.  What a concept!
Benwood has been hard at work in Chattanooga...and has been working...so they want to expand.  Great!
Cleveland, TN schools launch new math initiative.  Race to the Top seems to be spurring innovation.
Oak Ridge considers year-round schools. 

Race to the Top Implementation, Chattanooga Showcase, a Note About Getting Stuff Done

THEC tells us how "Race to the Top" is going from their perspective
For those interested in keeping track, this was recently released the Tennessee Higher Education Commission in Nashville. 

Chattanooga showcase
Chattanooga's public radio station is highlighting a program done by the Benwood Foundation and the Public Education Foundation in Chattanooga that's aimed at exactly what Tennessee is trying to do: Improve teacher effectiveness.  On NOVEMBER 21 from 12 - 2 PM on WUTC (88.1), they will examine how thier initaitive, which is really based around teacher and administrator collaboration, helps teachers get better at what they do.  Talk about providing the tools to teachers so they're empowered! How can East Tennessee learn from this program that's received national attention?

Getting Stuff Done Through Shared Leadership
After yesterday's regional coalition meeting at the United Way, I looked around at Sen. Jamie Woodson from the TN Senate, Alene Arnold from SCORE, Jessica Holman from the KCEA, Pam Trainor from the School Board, Jennifer Evans from the Chamber, Karen Davis from the Public School Forum of East Tennessee, Dr. Susan Benner from University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and several school system representatives ALL TALKING about what's happening in the state of Tennessee around education...from AYP scores being released to the new teacher evaluation system. 

I started to think: How great is it that these people are all at the same table? Instead of a variety of groups trying to do their own initiatives in isolation, it seemed refreshing that the group talked about SHARED LEADERSHIP.  Shared leadership, as many in education will tell you, is essential to getting stuff done.  The United Way helped to convene the discussion, but that doesn't mean the United Way has to own it. 

Just my reflections from my meeting held yesterday.  I was excited.  And I posted this.  Your thoughts/reactions are welcomed!

First to the Top Coalition, Uncertainty about value-added, Other news

Many apologies for not updating this blog in quite a while.  There are so many things happening in my world, so many things that are up in the air with the new standards, and so many things to give updates on. 

First to the Top Coalition
Across the state of Tennessee, there is a "First to the Top" coalition made up of groups from the Hospital Alliance to the TN School Board Association to the United Ways to the Chambers of Commerce to the Broadcast Association that have come together to think of how to support the changes happening under Race to the Top (supporting the schools as test scores drop, making changes to TN's education system that are long-lasting, and making sure the public knows what's happening).  After a meeting in Nashville, a few things have become clear...
- Helping the public understand that school-wide scores will likely be lower on the aggregate (and that's OK because we're all in the same boat)
- Parent and Teacher Engagement needs to remain at the forefront of our minds (ESPECIALLY as it relates to the release of school-wide scores AND concrete strategies that will help students do better as the standards went up)
- Accountability for Race to the Top spending and impact
If anyone reading this has an interest in getting your organization involved, let me know. 

Uncertainty about value-added
I saw this article about value-added metrics last week. 
You're seeing some serious uncertainty about what value-added scores mean and what they don't mean.  If you read the comments, you'll get an even better sense of how passionate people get about this area.
This concern around value-added data seems, in large part, to go back to a fear of the limits of standardized testing.  Recently, a book was written called Don't Shoot the Messenger: The War on Standardized Testing.  By no means am I promoting that everyone go out and read this book, but the preface offers an insight into how heated the argument gets. 
There are other sources who weigh in on this... Like THIS from Illinois, THIS from California, and THIS most recently from Boston.
After exchanging many e-mails with some close colleagues, it seems like there should be a serious conversation around the terms that surround value-added.  The Department of Education, in conjunction with groups like TEA, SCORE, etc, should be leading this effort to make sure everyone's clear about value-added scores. 

In other news...
- What will it look like for TCAPs to be counted as 15-25% of a student's final grade? Murfreesboro struggles to make this a reality.
- What are TN colleges doing to try and prepare teachers better? They're adjusting licensure requirements. 
- What if teachers ran schools? Nashville weighs its options.
- In terms of AYP (a calculation of schools "on the list"), the state of Tennessee is struggling with how to keep the Feds happy without losing major resources.
- If you're a teacher and want input on the new teacher evaluation system, check this out.