From the Director

Deconstruction Workforce Training Program

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - August 31, 2010) - The Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County will launch its first-ever Deconstruction training program next month, as part of a $3.6 million program, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The training program, provided by CleanEdison, will educate 40 participants in two sessions of 10 days each, with the first session beginning September 20th.
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Lack of skilled workers threatens recovery

Workers with specialized skills like electricians, carpenters and welders are in critically short supply in many large economies, a shortfall that marks another obstacle to the global economic recover
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More college-educated jump tracks to become skilled manual laborers

Armed with a bachelor's degree in theology from Notre Dame, Adam Osielski was pondering a route well traveled: law school.
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Rod P. Githens, University of LouisvilleCenter Research Cited in New York Times

Rod Githens, co-principal investigator of Online Occupational Education in Community Colleges: Prevalence, Context, and Organizational Approaches, has been featured in an August 25, 2010 New York Times article about how community colleges are responding to the increasing number of green jobs and green industries by creating new degrees, courses, and training programs.  The article by Elizabeth Olson, "Community College Training for Managing Green Jobs," cites Dr. Githens' survey study of online community college programs (read the full study report - PDF document). The study's co-principal investigators are Fashaad Crawford, Kent State University, and Kristin Wilson, University of Louisville; Timothy Sauer, graduate assistant at the University of Louisville, also served as a co-author on the report. Learn more about the study.

From the ACTE CTE Policy Watch Blog - Using Perkins Funds for CTSOs

As ACTE staff have interacted with members around the country this summer at conferences and through other avenues, we've gotten several questions about the use of federal Perkins funds for CTSOs. The Perkins Act does list "to assist career and technical student organizations" as a permissive use of local funds and recognizes the important role these organizations play in CTE student success. Read more from Alisha Dixon Hyslop's posting at the ACTE CTE Policy Watch Blog.

New Video, Upcoming Webinar on Green Programs of Study at Los Angeles Trade-Tech College

The NRCCTE visited Los Angeles Trade-Tech College (LATTC) to learn more about its groundbreaking green workforce education programs, commitment to serving the needs of the local community, and partnerships with business and industry. We spoke to administrators, faculty, and students and visited programs in construction technology, alternative fuels, electrical and solar, and architecture. Visit our LATTC page to learn more and watch the two-part video. Want to receive notice of an upcoming webinar with LATTC faculty and administrators? Email nrccte@louisville.edu.

Green-Focused Programs of Study: Five States Present Their Work at the 2010 Career Clusters Institute

The NRCCTE's Technical Assistance Academy, led by the Academy for Educational Development (AED), is supporting states in developing green-focused programs of study (POS). The Academy process is a strategy for building replicable implementation models to bring POS to scale. Five states have been participating in the process-- Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, and Oregon-- and recently presented their work at the 2010 Career Clusters Institute in a special green strand of sessions. The overview session, led by NRCCTE Director Jim Stone and Ivan Charner, director of the TA Academy, explored the implications of the emerging green labor market for the delivery of CTE and the larger role that POS play in the NRCCTE's research agenda. Read more about these and related green-focused POS sessions and download the states' presentations.

New! Listen to a podcast with Tom Thompson of the Office of Educational Improvement and Innovation in the Oregon Department of Education about how Oregon worked with the TA Academy to develop green-focused POS.

Going Green Online - Community College JournalCenter Research in Community College Journal

Rod Githens and Timothy Sauer of the Online Occupational Education in Community Colleges: Prevalence, Context, and Organizational Approaches project have an article entitled "Going Green Online: Distance Learning Prepares Students" in the June/July Community College Journal.  The article references Dr. Githens' survey study of online community college programs. Read the full study report or download the article (PDF documents).

Center Report - A Common Postsecondary Data Dictionary for Perkins Accountability Postsecondary Data Dictionary

The NRCCTE's data dictionary project focuses on developing a common postsecondary CTE data dictionary for use by practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. It is the result of a collaborative partnership between NRCCTE, MPR Associates, Inc., and Perkins accountability specialists in 12 states. This project assesses the feasibility of creating a voluntary, nationwide data dictionary that can be used to standardize the reporting of postsecondary accountability reporting requirements for Perkins IV. A critical finding of the project is that participating states were able to uniformly define many data elements that can be used to construct and report on postsecondary accountability measures required by the Perkins Act. States and the project team selected data elements with a view toward what information might be needed if and when the Perkins Act is reauthorized. To read more, download the full report (PDF document).

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Researcher Corinne Alfeld in AED's The Hub Blog

NRCCTE researcher Corinne Alfeld contributed an op-ed entitled Is CTE the Key to Post-Secondary Success? to the September 1, 2010 edition of AED's The Hub, a news and analysis blog. Dr. Alfeld discusses the public's misperception of the link between education and the economy.

Techniques Magazine Cover

Center Research in Techniques Magazine

NRCCTE researchers and faculty actively publish in Techniques magazine, the award-winning official magazine of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE).

Read more on our Techniques page.

ACTE Region II Conference, September 30-October 3, Louisville, KY

From our partner ACTE: The Kentucky Association for Career and Technical Education is pleased to be the host for the 2010 ACTE Region II Leadership Conference, Race to the Lead: Leadership Is a Matter of Choice. The program features a keynote address on Friday, October 1, by Dr. James R. Stone III, Director, NRCCTE. Professional development breakout sessions will focus on program showcases, new trends, leadership development, and legislative/policy developments.

Preparation for Tomorrow: SREB's Curriculum Project will be explored in the Saturday morning general session. SREB's Sharon Stone will present an overview of HSTW and the "Preparation for Tomorrow" project. Kentucky's Pathway Project coordinators Debbie Anderson and Karen Smith will explain Kentucky's participation to join a college-ready academic core with intellectually demanding career/technical courses. Projects are being developed in 12 states, including Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina in ACTE Region II. Registration can be completed online by visiting the ACTE Web site. Please register by September 10 to take advantage of the regular registration fee. The meeting is being held at the Galt House Hotel and Suites.

Two Videos, Archived Webinar Available for the NRCCTE Seminar on Programs of Study at NPS 2010

Center director James R. Stone III and principal investigators from the Center's four field-based projects on Programs of Study presented early observations, answered questions about their findings, and discussed the evolution of Programs of Study at the ACTE 2010 National Policy Seminar. Two videos, the archived webinar, and the downloadable presentation are now available. Read more here.

Check out our latest podcasts!

Use of Assessment Data at High Desert Education Service District - A Podcast with Ray Hasart

Site Visit Update: Authentic Literacy Applications in CTE – A Podcast with Liz van der Mandele

Site Visit Update: Rigorous Tests of Student Outcomes in CTE Programs of Study: A Podcast with Marisa Castellano and Kirsten Sundell

The Center's latest multimedia content is available on our Videos and Podcasts page. Listen to our researchers'  updates on their on-going projects related to programs of study, curriculum integration, and more, all available for free through the iTunes storefront or direct from the Center's page at Podbean.com.

The Idea Center

The Idea Center

Join us on the new Vanguard, Promising, and Practitioner Wisdom Practices webpage, the Idea Center. We'll be discussing our latest finds,the Hot Air Balloon project, the Wellness Project, and the Inquiry-Based Learning project, the subjects of our latest podcasts.

Want to nominate a potential promising or practitioner wisdom practice for consideration? Email nrccte@louisville.edu and visit the project's overview page for more information.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New OVAE Newsletter

OVAE Connection is a weekly electronic newsletter published by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education to provide information to state officials involved in adult education, CTE, and community colleges, as well as to practitioners, researchers, education groups and others interested in community colleges, CTE, and adult education. To subscribe, please contact Peirce Hammond.