Leading Information Technology (IT) and New Media professionals, organizations and foundations gathered this week in West Contra Costa County to tour three Career Technical Education (CTE) orientated high schools that teach Networking fundamentals, Multimedia and Web design in West Contra Costa County.

Organized by the College and Career Readiness Collaborative, the West Contra Costa Unified School District and the California Department of Education California (CDE), industry partner’s and stakeholders from organizations ranging from the National Academy Foundation (NAF), Adobe Systems Inc, Cisco, WebProfessionals.org, Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME) and National Outreach, Exploring Computer Science, were introduced to CTE programs at three local schools including El Cerrito, De Anza, and Kennedy High Schools.

The college and Career Readiness Collaborative West Contra Costa Unified School District outcomes for this visit included:

• Inform visitation group about IT Academies/ICT Pathways in WCCUSD
• Deepen understanding of the Linked Learning Approach in the context of California Partnership Academies (CPAs) in WCCUSD
• Identify areas of engagement/support/partnership
• Develop/expand a Professional Learning Community focused on ICT in California High Schools by connecting teachers to resources
• Debrief observations and network

Individual participants included:

•Jennifer Bruckner, Executive Director, Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME)
•Bill Cullifer, Executive Director, World Organization of Webmasters (WOW)
•Johann Zimmern, Senior Manager, Worldwide Education (Adobe)
•Dane Riley, Territory Account Manager Education (Adobe)
•John Bjerke, Western Area Cisco Academy Manager, (CISCO)
•Gail Chapman, Director of National Outreach, Exploring Computer Science (UCLA)
•Beth Kay, Regional Director (West), National Academy Foundation (NAF)
•James Jones, Executive Director, Mid-Pacific ICT Center (MPICT)
•Olivia Herriford, Associate Director, Mid-Pacific ICT Center (MPICT)
•Ron Whittier, Co-Founder, Techfutures
•Richard Grotegut, Professor, Ohlone College
•Dr. Scott Wilbur Principal, Hillcrest High School, Riverside California
•Mark Rassmussen, Computer Information Systems Teacher, Hillcrest High School, Riverside California
•Dr. Oghwa Ladner, Teacher on Special Assignment, Secondary Math, Riverside California
•Gary Page, ICT Sector Lead Consultant, California Department of Education (CDE)
•Ben Crosby, Internal Coach, College and Career Readiness Collaborative, West Contra Costa Unified School District
•Sheryl Ryder, CA Business Education Leadership Project, Napa County CTE/ROP Manager (NCOE)
•Dave Fendel, Principal Student Programs West County Region, CCCOE

Interview with John Means, Kern Community College District

According to the California Community College Association for Occupational Education, the primary missions of California’s 112 community colleges are to offer academic (transfer) and vocational education at the lower division level for younger and older students, including those persons returning to school. Another primary mission is to advance California’s economic growth and global competitiveness through education, training, and services that contribute to continuous work force improvement and to offer basic skills instruction.

In this five minute interview with John Means, Kern Community College District Associate Chancellor, Economic & Workforce and President of the California Community College Association for Occupational Education, we learn why Career Technical Education is important for Californians and the mission and goals for the 2012 California Community College Association for Occupational Education CTE Conference taking place March 21-23, 2012 Westin Hotel, San Francisco Airport Millbrae, CA.

Despite the United States going through the worst job market in decades, some businesses are in high demand for skilled labor. Elaine Quijano reports on how Allentown, Pa., may have found the answer to the country’s unemployment crisis.

Standards in the Classroom – California Industry Leads the Way – Convenes California Business and Industry Stakeholders in Folsom, CA for a two day Event

Leading business and industry representatives representing New Media and Digital Media professional organizations and associations including education professionals in the Arts, Media and Entertainment sector convened this week in Folsom, CA to review and update the California Career Technical Education (CTE) Model Curriculum standards.

In this five minute video podcast interview with Paul Minicucci, Executive Director Nevada County Digital Media Center and Nevada County Television, Mr. Minicucci explains why the CTE event was important, the highlights of the work completed by the Arts, Media and Entertainment sector and why California legislators need to support Career Technical Education and New Media and Digital Media education and pathways in California.

For additional information about careers in New Media in California visit http://newmediacareers.org
For additional information about Digital Media visit

According to Patrick Ainsworth, Director Secondary, Career and Adult Learning Division at the California Department of Education the purpose of the meeting was to gather input from education and business and industry professionals to update the CTE Model Curriculum Standards

The standards were initiated nearly 10 years ago and approved by the State Board of Education in 2005. The California State Plan for Career Technical Education A BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE 2008-2012 which provides guidance for California CTE programs states, “CTE programs are dynamic; curricula need to stay current with rapid changes in the workplace, requiring ongoing updates and learning on the part of CTE faculty,” To that end the review process is being initiated.

Industry Sector review teams included:

•Agriculture ad Natural Resources
•Arts, Media and Entertainment
•Building Trades and Construction
•Education, Child Development and Family Services
•Energy and Utilities
•Engineering and Design
•Fashion and Design
•Finance and Business
•Health Science and Medical Technology
•Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation
•Information Technology
•Manufacturing and Product Development
•Marketing Sales and Service
•Public Services
•Transportation

Highlights of the two day event included;

•The introduction of recent surveys and reports on what both employers and postsecondary faculty expect high school graduates to know and be able to do upon entry
•Discuss Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) content and standards
•Introduce entrepreneurship preparation
•Introduce green content and career options
•High School Transformation
•Industry Sector review teams examine foundation, technical and academic standards

The Emergency in our Schools: Questions for Tom Torlakson, California Department of Education (CDE) including Why CTE

by Emily Alpert, VoicesofSanDiego.org

In November, former state legislator and science teacher Tom Torlakson became the new state superintendent of public instruction. It is the chief education job in California and it promises to be a hard one as schools grapple with another threatened round of budget cuts. As a legislator, Torlakson is known to educators for writing a law that afforded extra funding and smaller classes to troubled schools. As educator-in-chief, he kicked off his tenure by calling a state of financial emergency in California schools.

I joined him for a quick chat at a coffee shop in La Jolla yesterday during his visit to San Diego.

Education funding depends on tax extensions in Gov. Brown’s plan. How optimistic are you about voters will approve them

I’m a teacher, so I’m optimistic to begin with. It’s overdue in California to have a big debate about what the state budget needs to provide high quality schools.

A lot of information has to get out. That’s one of my reasons for calling a state of financial emergency. For a lot of the public, the cuts have been invisible. Class sizes have crept up from 20 to 22 to 27 to 29 to 30. Parents drop their kids off. The school somehow takes care of them. But their learning is diminished.

When we get the word out, voters want to invest in the future of our state.

As budgets are cut, do you think there are creative ways that schools can ensure that students have more individual attention without necessarily investing in small classes?

Computers and educational software allow for instant feedback. We’re way behind the nation on that. It’s embarrassing because California invented a lot of the technology and the software and gadgets and gizmos.

That is something we should be doing regardless of whether we have this budget crisis. But it will also help teachers cope with the overcrowding. A teacher who has a set of computers in a class can work with 10 students while others students are on computers doing remedial or advanced work.

What do you think is the best educational idea that’s not getting enough attention in California?

Wow. The best one? (Laughs.)

Okay, a really good one.

Voters and parents want young people to graduate with skills so they can be employed. Having some kind of renaissance in career tech, not the old shop classes, but new, modern career tech programs is really important.

Interview conducted and edited by Emily Alpert. For the complete story including Tom Tolakson’s perspective on CTE visit the Voices of San Diego wesbite.

Career Technical Education California

The Career Tech program, which will take students on tours of local businesses through March, now includes as many as eight stops — up from two visits last year.

The program also has expanded a student-training program with the Groppetti Automotive Family from 16 to 20 students. The student-training program started last year in an effort to fill the local automotive industry’s need for qualified employees.

The program is a part of Visalia Partners in Education, a partnership of the Visalia Economic Development Corporation, Visalia Chamber of Commerce, Visalia Unified School District and Tulare County Office of Education.

“This program is extremely important because it gives our students a chance to explore numerous careers while learning about Tulare County’s business environment,” said Bill Davis, career technical education project coordinator for Visalia Unified School District. “The partnership with The Groppetti Automotive Family has also been a tremendous success and a great learning experience for our students.”

The Groppetti training program, which runs through May, is made up of 20 students from Golden West, Redwood, Mt. Whitney and El Diamante high schools. Students are exposed to all aspects of the retail, automotive parts and service Departments.

Last year, the process started with half-day job-shadowing and ended with half-day internships. Students also had the opportunity to apply for three full-time internships this spring.

“We do this because these students are the future of our industry,” said Don Groppetti, owner of the Groppetti Automotive Family, noting that the company hired a student from last year’s training program. “Through this program students get a glimpse of their future and get an understanding of how important it is to make a career out of what they are passionate about.”

Already this year, students have visited Buckman-Mitchell Insurance and Quad Knopf. The following visits are scheduled through March:

> Oct. 28 — Visalia Community Bank.

> Nov. 3 — Metropolis Salon & Western Milling.

> Jan. 20 — Kaweah Delta Medical Center.

> February — Jostens.

> March — VF Outdoor.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that Alabama will receive $149.5 million, Iowa will receive $96.5 million, Maine will receive $39 million, Massachusetts will receive $204 million, Nebraska will receive $58.9 million, and Tennessee will receive $195.9 million to support education jobs.

View full post on Press Releases | U.S. Department of Education

WSWHE BOCES provides Career & Technical Education programs educating students and adults based on their interests and abilities. CTE Programs provide students with the knowledge, skills, and credentials needed to succeed in college, the workplace, and opens career path choices. For more information on the Early Childhood Education program, visit www.wswheboces.org.

MCTI auto program certified nationally
Monroe Career and Technical Institute’s automotive training program has been certified nationally for quality.

Read more on Pocono Record

Kim Green is the executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education. She discusses career academies and how she sees them fitting into the larger career and technical landscape.