Author: acte

Ernie Gomez will go down in history as the best mentor for 2018 ACTE Fellows Program

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Ernie is currently from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Ernie was a 2017 ACTE Fellow and is currently serving as the 2017-18 President for Oklahoma Career Freie ShawnTech Post-Secondary Adult and Continuing Education Division (PACE).

Ernie was born and raised in the Southwest part of Oklahoma known to some as the Indian Capital of the World, Anadarko. Ernie is employed by Moore Norman Technology Center, where he serves as an Adult Program Supervisor. He oversees the operation of the campus where his program is housed. As a Adult Program Supervisor he is also responsible for scheduling classes and hiring adjunct instructors. Some of Ernie’s creditientals include Certified Faculty Developer and Business and Industry Services Coordinator Certification.

Before coming to the Career Tech, Ernie worked for Southwestern Bell, presently AT>amp;T. He retired with 28 years of service. During his tenure at Southwestern Bell he served the organization as a Service Order Supervisor and an External Affairs Manager. As the External Affairs manager, he was responsible for serving several communities in the Central region of Oklahoma. Serving the communities consisted of lobbying, media relations and education. Ernie served on several Chambers of Commerce boards. He was a member of the El Reno Rotary Club. He is very proud of the accomplishment of promoting a video in the Hispanic community entitled, “Hispanic Dropouts,, America’s Time Bomb.” Ernie also worked with the Fund Development and Housing Director for the Latino Community Development Agency. Ernie was responsible for corporate donations and fundraising.

Ernie is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City, Leadership Oklahoma and Team South of the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma and has a MBA from Oklahoma City University.

Ernie enjoys being able to connect to his clients and meet their training needs and does not regret any decisions he has made along his career path. He is very happy with his position in the Oklahoma Career Tech Organization and truly believes in the mission of Oklahoma Career Tech.

Global Competency in CTE

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My district’s career center recently adopted a Project-Based Learning (PBL) platform for our Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses.  As a teacher coming from a special education and ESOL background, I knew that PBL was going to look different for many of my students who come from other countries, speak other languages, and in some cases, have had several years of interrupted education.  These students’ ideas of what is a problem, how it can be solved, and what resources are needed never fails to surprise me.  Many of my English Language Learners (ELL) have different perspectives on working in teams than their peers. These learners also bring different views on the division of labor, and often work under different cultural norms, depending on their backgrounds.  As a school, we are working to ensure that our CTE programs value and respect the diversity our students and staff bring to class every day.

In response to students, families and educators, the Virginia Department of Education developed a “Profile of a Virginia Graduate”, to better prepare all of our learners for the real world.  This profile includes curriculum and learning experiences that include content knowledge, career exploration, workplace skills, and community engagement and civic responsibility.  While this is a solid foundation for preparing our graduates, a gap exists between the profile and the expanding definitions of community and civic responsibility in our ever changing world.  CTE has the unique advantage of addressing all four of the Portrait’s domains, while also connecting them to the global workforce and economy.

The Asia Societies’ Center for Global Education has created the Global Competence Through CTE online course as an invaluable resource for educators starting to think about connecting what we do in the CTE classroom to international markets, policies, and practices.  With the Global CTE Toolkit’s standards crosswalks and grading rubrics, CTE content area teachers and I are connecting curriculum to build students’ understanding of four identified themes: Food Security, Clean Energy, Women’s Health, and Cybersecurity.  A project planning template on the site also introduces students to the basics of project management through guided practice in investigating the world, recognizing perspectives, communicating ideas, and taking action.  Using the Global CTE Toolkit’s four themes and project planning template, students are able to access project ideas, videos, and other resources on 16 different career pathways.  These pathway portals are each designed for students to explore their relationship to others in a global workforce.

This free course, and the accompanying suite of online resources, have helped my co-teachers and I to align our CTE programs with globally competent PBL. I look forward to watching how our students from every linguistic and cultural backgrounds adapt to learning about their career choices in global village, while also sharing the diversity they bring to our school and our community.

Michael Cruse is a special education and ELL resource teacher at the Arlington Career Center, in Arlington, VA.  He is a 2017-2018 Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Fellow, and is studying youth immigration and entrepreneurship in Israel, and the Middle East.

ACTE would like to acknowledge the generous sponsorship of PMIEF for the Global Competence Through CTE project. 

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The Human Element in Artificial Intelligence

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Technology is ever changing and serves to make the life of the end-user easier without the hassle of thinking. Imagine that…problem solving, critically thinking,
and reasoning our way through life’s successes and challenges without an instantaneous click, drag or drop. Technology allows for easy access living, predictability, and less interaction with the human touch. Ironically, the people who develop and create such technological products and tools – the innovation, requires the hassle of a person who thinks critically, problem-solves and reasons to fill a gap in the market and to meet the prognostic needs and desires of the end-users.

Many of the tech industry’s biggest companies, like Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft, are jockeying to become the go-to company for Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). In the industry’s lingo, the companies are engaged in a “platform war” (New York Times, 2016). The thought of A.I. as part of our everyday lives may be daunting and invigorating all at the same time.  A.I. can be defined as the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages (Merriam-Webster).

As great as technology is, it requires human input for development.  Just as in the classroom, a teacher must be willing to purposefully plan and prepare instruction even when technology is integrated. Programmers and coders can provide the infinity of engaging scenario-based simulations, but technology cannot self-populate relevant and meaningful content. It still requires human input. Technology can’t think for itself to create for itself. Technology is like a new mode of transportation but it is not an organism that can live and breathe on its own.

This is because such intentional behavior from an A.I. would undoubtedly require a mind, as intentionality can only arise when something possesses its own beliefs, desires, and motivations. The type of A.I. that includes these features is known amongst the scientific community as “Strong Artificial Intelligence”. Strong A.I., by definition, should possess the full range of human cognitive abilities. This includes self-awareness, sentience, and consciousness, as these are all features of human cognition (Rawstory, 2016).

We have an intentional and purposeful commitment to be cognitive thinkers and to stay abreast of technological advances. We should seek to consistently identify the missing links or holes in the market that needs filling. And lastly, examine a technological solution for an identified, yet not quite addressed pain point in our educational settings, which is a CTE MATTER!

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Eboni Camille Chillis, PhD

Coordinator of Career, Technical >amp; Agricultural Education

Clayton County Public Schools

Creating Innovative Partnerships

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Growing a supportive community around my programs has been essential to ensuring their success. Here are some examples of connections I’ve made in and outside my school that have improved opportunities for my students:

  1. Local Businesses: Growing partnerships with local businesses is hard work, but I believe well-worth the extra effort. As a result of the connections I’ve made, many of my students have gone on to internships in their field of study. I particularly enjoy hearing about how great my students have been as interns when I open my inbox and receive rave reviews from these companies I’ve partnered with for several years.
  1. Local Banks: A few years ago, I began working with the local Municipal Credit Unions’ (MCU) Business Development Relations department. They host a “youth empowerment event” annually that incorporates professional lawyers, judges, celebrities and local leaders who once walked the tough streets of those many students in the audience. I attend this event every year with 25-50 students who depart the event amazed at how much they can use the event discussions to advance their CTE careers. Additionally (and for free), MCU has had one of their professionals come to my school for the past four years to present “Financially Fit,” an appealing and enlightening presentation on credit awareness for students with a specific focus on the credit pitfalls when entering college.
  1. The School Administration: Your school administrators can be strong allies in bringing engaging CTE programs outside your curriculum into your house of education. While I was at ACTE’s CareerTech VISION in Las Vegas several years ago, I was able to connect my principal with representatives from the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) and proposed starting a chapter at our school. Unlike the National Honor Society, this student-led organization specifically benefits and honors the academic and technical accomplishments of CTE students. My principal agreed, and five years later many of our students have won the NTHS Jon H. Poteat scholarship to help ease the burden of college costs. Additionally, via consultation and approval from the school principal, the students of the NTHS organization and I have put together several high school fair events where CTE student presenters of varying disciplines share their learned experiences with middle school students and their parents on each event date.
  1. The Local Teacher’s Union: I am very happy that I made the conscious choice to not only sign on to be a union member many years ago, but also to become a steadfast advocate, representative and elected delegate. You truly learn so much about the business of education and advocating for yourself, your fellow staff members and of course, your students. I have met and learned from members of the American Federation of Teachers, New York State United Teachers, and United Federation of Teachers over the years. Because of these affiliations, my footprint far extends the classroom. UFT hosts various events that directly advance CTE, i.e. the annual UFT Spring conference, which includes CTE exhibits—all NYC CTE schools are welcomed to present their specialized programs to hundreds of citywide visitors. If, feasible, your participation in union activity absolutely gives you a greater ability to advance your CTE agenda to help your students.

Finally, I always encourage my students to consider giving back to the field by considering a future in education. I’m proud to say our school has a record of drawing our alumni back through our doors, including two former students of mine who are teachers and another who is now our school principal. Across several generations, our school has become a strong community with many stories of young lives changed, enhanced and empowered.

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Alexander C. Bell

2015 ACTE Region I Teacher of the Year

Teacher, Thomas A. Edison CTE High School

Jamaica, New York

abell3@schools.nyc.gov

#PublicSchoolProud

Innovating in a Computer Sciences Classroom

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I teach computer technology and CompTIA A+ certification at Thomas A. Edison CTE High School in the New York City public school system.
Here are some of the strategies I’ve used to make my program successful:

  1. Hands-On Performance Exams: I use official and approved online course data to give my students the best possible chance to be certified just like professionals. When it comes to testing my students though, I add fun, teamwork, and critical thinking to my course by creating what I call “Hands-On Performance Exams.” Teams of 2-3 students must show, discuss and prove a given learned task to me in response to surprise question on a topic they have prepared for. I always put a primary focus on making these exam scenarios as “real-world” for my students as possible while challenging their critical thinking skills.
  1. Technical Notebooks: To help my students foster good organization habits, I have them create a “Tech Manual” that includes their classmate names; teacher names; a grading/comments page; index; signed documents by student and parent illustrating commitment; course data with graded assignments and homework; and vocabulary. I inspect their books for completeness and organization 2-3 times per marking period. As a result, my students leave proud of themselves for making a useful resource that they can use to reflect on at the end of the year.
  1. Student-Run Services: The MOUSE (Making Opportunities for Upgrading Schools >amp; Education) Squad is an engaging CTE program that I have advised at my school since 2004. This program is an in-house help desk paid internship via the Department of Education’s Work-Based Learning program. The top students enrolled in my program are recruited to join the MOUSE Squad, where they develop their IT and leadership skills by directly responding to incoming live service calls throughout the school for assistance with printers, smart boards, internet, and other computer-related problems. Beyond making our school’s staff members really happy by resolving computing hardware problems within minutes, this program also saves our school thousands of dollars annually in IT support.
  1. Marketing CTE Accomplishments: Display, display…display!!! I like to hang motivational accomplishments in my classroom, including student certifications, posters, partnership posters/promotional data, awards, and other CTE accomplishments. I also currently have three themed billboards outside of my classroom that I use to promote my A+ Certification course, the National Technical Honor Society which I advise, and the MOUSE Squad. This strategy is a very effective way to market your program(s) daily toward the students, staff, visiting parents, and political guests, and allows your programs and activities to market themselves even when you’re not in the building. Be sure to frequently update the data and images.

Feel free to email me for examples of any of these activities, or read my next post about the important partnerships I’ve created for my program.

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Alexander C. Bell

2015 ACTE Region I Teacher of the Year

Teacher, Thomas A. Edison CTE High School

Jamaica, New York

abell3@schools.nyc.gov

#PublicSchoolProud

Challenging the Status Quo: Innovation in CTE

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In my many years as a teacher of technology in the New York City public high school system, I’ve found that my drive to not follow the status quo—whether it’s
integrating something new into my classes each school year or finding fresh ways to advocate for my program—has been a constant underlying factor to my success as a CTE instructor. Not only that, “innovating” has truly made – and continues to make—my teaching career vastly engaging, tremendously satisfying, and even therapeutic in the midst of the hard-lined politics that surround the business of education.

Despite the challenges we face as teachers, I thrive on the success stories of my students. I’ve lost count of how many of my former students have created rewarding careers and comfortable lifestyles because of the technology skills they directly acquired and still utilize from their tenure in my CTE classroom.

“Innovation” to me has been integral to two main areas of my role as an instructor:

  1. Developing learning components that are unique to my class
  2. Finding new opportunities to partner and expand my program’s reach

I’ve provided detailed strategies that have helped me succeed in these areas in the two posts linked above.

One of my keys to success is that I love my discipline. Passion and a willingness to innovate are crucial for a great program, but more fundamental and equally as important is taking the time to stay on top of the changes in my field. I’ve found it critical to stay current with my skillset and the state of CTE nationally, and I’ve done this by attending professional development conferences, local seminars and online webinars to stay up to date on the newest trends.

If you love your discipline, know your discipline, and are willing to try new things, then you can be fearless in making a difference every day in those lives that sit before you in your classroom!

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Alexander C. Bell

2015 ACTE Region I Teacher of the Year

Teacher, Thomas A. Edison CTE High School

Jamaica, New York

abell3@schools.nyc.gov

#PublicSchoolProud

Thinking Outside the Box: A Confectionery Tale

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The Kokomo Area Career Center (KACC), which is operated by the Kokomo School Corporation in Kokomo, Indiana, never stops looking outside of the box for meaningful learning experiences for its students from nine different high schools.

I have been teaching Culinary Arts and Baking Pastry at the KACC for 12 years. In May 2012, I shared with my Kokomo Schools Superintendent, Dr. Jeff Hauswald, that I wanted to find more real-life opportunities for my KACC students.  We have a restaurant called ‘Glass Canopy’ as part of our career center that is open to the public. However, the restaurant is still inside a school building, and people act differently inside a school than they would in a normal restaurant. What I really wanted was a student-run venture that would be more authentic to the world outside our campus.

Apparently, my superintendent was listening, and he took my idea seriously. In August 2012, I was asked to visit Dr. Hauswald’s office, and he took me on a field trip to downtown Kokomo and we stopped in front of an older building that had been recently renovated. The building, which had once housed a candy store, was serving as a residence hall for our high school International students from around the world.  As we entered the building, I saw an amazing storefront, just as Dr. Hauswald surprised me and said, ”Welcome to your new candy/pastry store!” I couldn’t believe he was serious!

In October 2012, the KACC students opened the “Kokomo Confectioners’ Company,” a candy store/pastry shop, where everything in the store is made by students (except our bulk candies). The shop is student-run and opens after school hours Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 3:00-6:00pm. We also open on select Wednesdays from 4:00-7:00pm, and also participate in the community’s downtown First Friday event each month from 5:30-9:00pm.  Each and every student in the baking and pastry class works at the shop, and the KACC students learn costing, marketing, and even what to create based on their customer base.

I must commend these students for working unbelievably hard at advertising their store, while showing off their culinary talents to our community.  Our students have created ads for our local radio stations and posted signs throughout downtown Kokomo. Our shop is located in downtown Kokomo, which is approximately 5 miles from our career center campus.  I cannot think of a better way to teach students real life than with a real, live, working store.  We continue to search for creative ideas so we can teach real-life experiences as we seek the very best learning opportunities for our KACC students.

Submitted by:

Shelley Rust
Indiana ACTE President
Culinary Arts/Baking Pastry Instructor
Kokomo Area Career Center (KACC)
Kokomo, Indiana

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IES Now Funding Innovative CTE Research Projects

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CTE is enjoying renewed attention in education policy and practice, however, the body of CTE research to guide decision-making is relatively small. This has become more noticeable under the requirements in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), as districts and states are using CTE in their education plans as a way to increase the career readiness of their students. Across the country, as CTE programs and policies continue to grow, there is a critical need for high-quality, independent research on various CTE programs and practices to provide evidence-based strategies.

Last year, the National Center for Education Research (NCER) at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) introduced a new “special topic” on CTE to encourage more researchers to focus on CTE. For those not familiar, IES is the independent research, evaluation, and statistics arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Each year, we fund millions of dollars of research on a broad range of educational topics. Following the peer review process, IES awarded its first three grants in the CTE special topic in 2017:

  • New York University will study the impact of New York City’s Career Technical Education programs on students’ career and work-related learning experiences, social and behavioral competencies, high school completion, and transitions to college and the work place;
  • The Education Development Center will lead a study that compares three different ways that CTE is delivered in California—career academies, career pathways, and elective CTE courses. The researchers will examine relationships between CTE delivery mode and student outcomes; and
  • A study of Florida’s CTE certification program will be conducted by Research Triangle Institute (RTI). The study will identify which high school certifications are associated with a higher likelihood of passing certification exams and whether obtaining a certification leads to better attendance, graduation rates, and postsecondary enrollment and persistence.

Last year, IES funded a CTE research project under a different topic, Improving Education Systems. In this project, the University of Connecticut is examining the impact of attending a CTE-focused high school on students’ achievement, high school graduation, and college enrollment.

As these studies progress, IES will share findings with ACTE members. You can learn more about these projects and other research on the IES website, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. IES hopes to continue to fill the research gap in CTE to ensure strong programs and policies in this growing area.

Questions? Contact Corinne Alfeld (corinne.alfeld@ed.gov) or Dana Tofig (dana.tofig@ed.gov).

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Corinne Alfeld, Ph.D.
Education Research Analyst
Institute of Education Sciences
U.S. Department of Education

Five Reasons STEM Training Will Boost A Student’s Career

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The fields of science, technology, education and mathematics—also known as STEM—have been on a steady upward swing for the last decade, both in popularity and career demand. Even more telling? STEM careers will grow to more than 9 million by 2022. This projected growth trajectory, combined with continual technology advancements in society, has put STEM training at the forefront of education.

For those students considering studying within the field of STEM, here are some things to know:

STEM workers earn a higher average salary

With high demand comes high pay, and STEM careers are no exception. The average starting salary for students coming from some of the nation’s top engineering colleges is trending at $65,000. And it increases significantly with experience; the salary for seasoned professionals in fields like big data analytics, logistics and computer science can reach upwards of $100,000 annually.

STEM professionals are needed…now

As businesses of all sizes continue to adapt to the Internet of Things (IoT)— and subsequently acquire massive amounts of data—they need trained professionals to design software programs and interpret the influx of information. Companies like eBay, IBM and Disney are looking for individuals with computer science degrees and deep, expert knowledge of the cloud. And this isn’t the only area that’s growing. STEM professionals are also needed for engineering, software applications and natural sciences. With firsthand experience gained from classroom teachings, research and internships, students will become better equipped to fill job vacancies like cloud architects and engineers.

STEM education teaches both hard and soft skills

Whether or not students choose to enter (or remain working in) a traditional STEM career after graduation, the skills learned during college are applicable in all industries. STEM degrees offer flexibility, and contrary to popular belief, don’t have rigid career paths. For example, a degree in the field of mathematics can lead to a career in architecture or city planning, as both fields are heavily focused on math.

In addition to technical skills, a STEM education produces innovative and curious critical-thinkers who can take their ambition in any direction. In fact, these “softer skills” are the backbone of the careers of many industry-leading professionals, like Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella.

STEM training helps students develop critical thinking skills

Curiosity and problem-solving are at the root of success in the professional world, not only in STEM, but in all industries. But particularly in STEM fields, where change is the only constant, students must learn to embrace a difficult challenge and devise a creative solution. This develops essential critical thinking skills that help in various parts of life, both professional and personal.

STEM workers contribute to tech revolution

If you’ve ever dreamed of creating the next Alexa, Siri or other life-changing tech gadget, then STEM training is your first step in that direction. Through hands-on challenges—such as product conceptualization, design and creation—students can bring new ideas to life, in the classroom and beyond. Product visionaries benefit from hands-on experience and the ability to experiment without fear of failure, because it helps them learn best practices for future creations. So who knows—maybe the next talking device will be named after you.

The advantages of studying STEM in college are perfectly aligned with the growing job demand. STEM curriculums offer an innovative educational approach and a strong focus on problem-solving, which serves a greater purpose throughout a student’s life. So go ahead; hop on the STEM education train for a profitable and fulfilling future.

By Scott Rhodes
Vice Provost of Enrollment
Florida Polytechnic University
With an 18-year background in higher education, Scott Rhodes leads enrollment and recruitment strategies for Florida Polytechnic University. His responsibilities encompass undergraduate admissions, graduate enrollment and enrollment marketing, financial aid, student records and registration and enrollment market research.

Connections: CTE and the Chamber of Commerce

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Michelle Camp_214Have you tapped into the resources your chamber of commerce can provide to your students and CTE program? Maumelle High School has found a great resource in their local chamber. Perhaps by taking a look at this partnership you will find ideas you can take back to your own community to help you strengthen your relationship with industry partners, showcase your students>#39; work, and build a support system for your program and students.

The Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce’s executive director, Alicia Gillen, has a clear focus and plan for building a relationship between industry members and high school seniors.>#0160; Working with CTE teachers and the administration, Gillen organizes Senior Business Luncheons which seniors sign up for at the beginning of the year based on their interests. These luncheons highlight different industries such as distribution, manufacturing, healthcare, and postsecondary education options. Each luncheon event begins with a catered lunch and roundtables with a least one chamber member at each table, providing an opportunity for the students and business partner to interact and connect.>#0160; Students gain experience dressing professionally and speaking and eating in a professional setting. The luncheon ends with each table reporting out key discussion points, followed by an industry tour.>#0160; Through this exercise, students are exposed to a variety of careers, hear personal stories, and have a chance to ask questions about working in these industries.>#0160; This can be an eye-opening experience for our students as they see/hear the importance of being on time, following a dress code, and wearing IDs…all things they dislike about high school.>#0160;

Sometimes industry partners come to the chamber seeking ways to get more involved in local schools.>#0160; Recently, the Lion’s Club approached Gillen with this request.>#0160; Through the conversations that followed, the Maumelle Community Youth Showcase developed.>#0160; This Showcase invites students at all grade levels from local schools (public, private, and charter) to showcase projects or ideas they have to improve the environment or community.>#0160; The CTSOs greatly benefitted from this opportunity as their members are already doing this.>#0160; Three local DECA members worked directly with the Lion’s Club to secure sponsorships from local businesses to reward students for their hard work.>#0160; Competitive categories were created for each age group with cash prizes.>#0160; The high school division winner was a FCCLA and DECA member who won $500 for her DECA Financial Literacy project called Check Your Future.>#0160;

In our community, and perhaps yours, athletics receive plenty of exposure.>#0160; We are thankful for the work of our chamber to ensure our academic achievements are also celebrated.>#0160; The chamber also holds Academic Signing nights to celebrate students who are receiving academic scholarships for their academic achievements. The Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce also announces their personal scholarship winner this night that is supported by donations from members.>#0160;

If your school is not in direct communication with your local chamber, what are you waiting for? Consider encouraging your chamber to start with an educational committee to see which events fit into your community.>#0160; You may find ways to tweak these ideas or create other innovative ideas.>#0160;

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By Michelle Camp
2017 ACTE Region IV Fellow
PCSSD – Maumelle High School
Maumelle, Arkansas

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Read more posts by Michelle and the other 2017 ACTE Fellows…