CTE Careers in Education Resources

All or parts of the resources on this page may be used by any teacher and their school, college and community partners interested in forming a ‘future teacher’, ‘Teacher Academy’ or related courses, clubs and/or programs. RWT courses may be CTE associated, or not, depending on what the best situation for the district is. However, if you are planning on meeting the OSPI administered, CTE-Careers in Education requirements, the OSPI links to information in this section will be important for you and your district partners to read. In addition, OSPI offers annual professional development for new and continuing programs. Refer to the OSPI – CTE online resources that are continually updated at http://www.k12.wa.us/CareerTechEd/clusters. Choose the “Education and Training” Career Cluster link.

Career and Technical Education

Every Career and Technical Education class falls into one of 16 “career clusters.” A career cluster is a group of jobs and industries that are related by skills or products. Within each cluster, there are cluster “pathways” that correspond to a collection of courses and training opportunities to prepare students for specific careers. The 16 clusters are consistent and recognizable across the nation from middle school to high school, in higher education and the workforce. Learn about current national initiatives and general CTE information from the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) at http://www.careertech.org/.

Use the Careers in Education Framework to design your program

• Example CIE framework

Career and Technical Education is a planned program of courses and learning experiences that begin with the exploration of career options, supports basic academic and life skills, and enables achievement of high academic standards, leadership, options for high skill, high wage employment preparation, and advanced and continuing education. (RCW28C.04.100) See: http://www.k12.wa.us/CareerTechEd/Forms/CTEProgramStandards2011.pdf 

This guide is an updating of the OSPI state model framework for the CTE – Careers in Education course, which is part of the “Education and Training” career cluster under the “Teaching and Training” career pathway¹. Find the required forms to apply to be an approved Careers in Education program at http://www.k12.wa.us/CareerTechEd/FormsStandards.aspx

A framework is more than a high school syllabus or a course outline. A framework serves as a guide and a tool to support you to plan for your Careers in Education program. Your framework will align with:

• National and Industry Standards (Washington State Teacher Preparation Standards and the new Washington State Careers in Education Principles of Practice),
• Washington State K-12 Learning Standards (Including State Common Core Content Standards), and
• Leadership, Employability, Relevance to Work and Thinking Skills Standards (21st Century Learning Skills).

Your completed framework will:

• Identify an overview of the outcomes that students will meet in your CTE – Careers in Education course,
• Ensure student outcomes are relevant to the current needs of the program’s industry and national standards (Washington State Teacher Preparation Standards),
• Include performance based assessments that require students to demonstrate understanding of defined outcomes, and
• Support the continuous improvement of your CTE program as the framework should be reviewed annually by your program advisory committee and by program supervisors at OSPI.

Note: The revision of the CTE – Careers in Education Curriculum and Framework has resulted in requiring programs to use the Washington State Teacher Preparation Standards, and the new Washington State Careers in Education Curriculum and Principles of Practice to meet current industry standards.

School District stakeholders report they have found the following standards helpful in their program planning as well: Family and Consumer Science Standards (FCS) at http://www.nasafacs.org/ and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Standards at http://caepnet.org/, among others. Additionally, we have created a crosswalk of RWT, CIE, and related standards.

Expanding Leadership Experience Opportunities

OSPI publicizes ways to meet the CTE program requirements by offering information on careers, affiliated student leadership organizations, education and training options for high school graduates after high school, and other related student resources.²

Meeting the strongly emphasized focus of recruiting a diversity of future teachers who are passionate about impacting the opportunity gap³ also means compiling annual opportunities for high school students to engage in discussions and presentations on issues of equity in education. One example of the many statewide future teacher leadership opportunities is the annual Teaching Equity Conference usually held at Highline Community College⁴. The State of Washington Center of Excellence for Careers in Education located at Green River Community College is another resource which posts future teacher conferences to support high school programs.

Get to know or create your own locally developed and engaging equity focused leadership opportunities for students who want to make a difference in their own communities. Local community based organizations are a great place to start networking. A new web portal under development for Careers in Education will be a place to share these opportunities.

Who Should Teach A CIE Course and Coordinate the Program?

Recruiting and retaining exceptional teachers to coordinate and instruct in Careers in Education courses is essential because these teachers will be the “face” of the program. If you are considering teaching a Careers in Education course, or you are an administrator looking for a teacher to teach and coordinate such a program, consider if the teacher is able to work with others in their school and wider community:

• To be able to recruit and retain students from a variety and diversity of groups within the school,
• To create wrap around programmatic services designed to support those diverse students,
• To collaborate with building leaders to leverage existing supports,
• To be able to coordinate, organize, and or create relevant leadership opportunities designed to extend classroom learning,
• To be able to understand and implement classroom strategies that meet the needs of diverse learners,
• To be able to link to and also embed academic advising and college access information into their courses, To demonstrate appropriate and current knowledge and skills about a career in education and
• To convey a passion to be a role model for future teachers who will work to eliminate the opportunity gap.

The Certification Pathways for Careers in Education Teachers

• WAC 181-77A establishes PESB’s oversight for Career & Technical Education Business & Industry (CTE B&I) route teacher preparation programs, including the approval standards for these programs.
• WAC 181-77 specifies the certification requirements for teachers prepared by these programs. See: http://www.k12.wa.us/certification/CTE/Initial.aspx.

Teacher Approval Requirements

Teachers for Careers in Education Courses must have the following teacher credentials in order to teach this course:
(1) You must be a current teacher plus complete requirements for the CTE Business and Industry Route (modulated program while current educator) See: Approved programs.
OR
(2) Be a Family and Consumer Science Teacher. See: http://wafacse.org/.

More Information on the (1) CTE Business and Industry Route: An example of a current program of study for a current teacher to become CTE certified is as follows:

If you have your Education degree and a Washington State teaching certificate, submit copies of the certificate and relevant official transcripts for review at a CTE Business and Industry approved program. Applicants with Education degrees will participate in a modified program. Programs may accept up to three classes from your Education degree. To pursue a Business an Industry CTE Certification Route, please see the PESB website for a list of programs that offer this certification. The certification is a variable-credit program. This means that you register only for the credits that you need to fulfill your individual certification requirements. Typically for teachers already certified this requires a monthly Saturday commitment throughout the course of the academic year.

For currently certified teachers modulated courses can include:

• Coordination Techniques for Cooperative Education
• Principles and Philosophy
• Personal and Student Leadership
• School Law and Issues Related to Abuse

Putting Together a Team of Key Professionals and Community Partners

Finding the right teacher for a successful Careers in Education program is foundational to eventually finding the full professional team that must be recruited as key partners. Renton SD describes the collaborations their Careers in Education teacher facilitates:
Building and district staff support the teacher-coordinator to: recruit students, coordinate the Family Information Night, supervise during the Summer Academy visits to Central WA University sites, facilitate the Careers in Education coursework, implement and advise the Future Educators Association (FEA) activities, coordinate the students’ practicum experience, collaborate with community partners, plan and supervise field trips and present at various education conferences and stakeholder meetings.

Your district may choose different ways to compile a supportive team. Here is one list to consider provided by Dr. Michael Hillis of Pacific Lutheran University, member of the RWT, 2014-2015 research team.

Internship Supervisors or Mentor Teachers: A challenge for all programs is to develop partnerships with district schools to provide a place for internships. Research from the RWT programs indicates the importance of finding key people in the schools who would advocate for the program. For example, in the Burlington-Edison SD program, the elementary school principal talked at length about how these students are known in the community and, as a consequence, it has been relatively easy to place the high school students in the classrooms. However, as one of the cooperating teachers for the Renton Teacher Academy commented, “It’s critical that the mentor teachers understand the expectations of the internships. There is additional work (and also benefits of course) that will be required if they are to agree to place a student in their classroom.”

High School Counselors: it is essential to establish a strong working relationship with the high school counselors. Since counselors are the ones who are directing students into various curricular choices, the teachers and coordinators of Careers in Education courses need to ensure that counselors are fully aware of their program and are actively promoting it. For example, a Burlington-Edison student commented that her advisor helped her because “….when I read the description of the program in the catalog when scheduling, I knew that it was speaking to me.” (personal communication, March, 2016).

Students who are the first in their families to attend college are at greater risk for being unprepared for the rigors of college.

Counselors are consequently key partners to support students to create a career pathway plan that includes appropriate and challenging coursework (Vegas et al, 2001).⁵

School Administrators: The role of a supportive administrative staff is evident in the eight years of research on the RWT programs. While the administration does not need to be directly involved in the program, ensuring that the school administrators are aware of the work, support the goals of the program, and understand that these will potentially be teachers in the future who could be hired by their districts will help to solidify the program’s support and advocacy. For Tacoma Public Schools’ Teach 253 program, school administrators have been present on panel discussions, at year end ceremonies, and involved in advisory groups.

Central Administrators: Careers in Education programs that provide the wraparound advising, leadership and college access supports require additional resources of the district. This includes transportation, meeting spaces, and monies for various field based learning activities. Consequently, there is a need to elicit support from central administrators who can help coordinate the work or support fund raising efforts. For example, in Renton, Mr. Leviton is a critical partner since he provides additional monies and has advocated for the many logistical demands of the program.

Community Colleges and Universities: One of the primary goals of a future teacher program is to ensure that the students are aware of the path to higher education. This includes both community college and universities.

Community Colleges – For many of the students targeted in these programs, a route to teaching through a community college will be the most practical option. Consequently, establishing strong relationships with the community colleges is a critical element for student success. At the Renton Teachers Academy (RTA), they have been able to find key people at Highline Community College (HCC) who work with the high school students closely. This is facilitated first in a “summer academy” when the students are brought to the HCC campus for two days of orientation to the expectations of college with specific sessions on scholarships and financial aid processes and opportunities. Additionally, the high school works closely with the admissions department to help facilitate their entry into the college.

Universities – Teacher education programs within the state are required to follow the teacher certification standards that have been established by the PESB and are therefore experts in currently required practices based in educational research and evidence. Universities may play a critical advisory function for a Careers in Education program because the “industry standards” currently required are embedded in the state teaching standards. The universities can help with the transition from the previous OSPI ( 2002) Careers in Education model curriculum and the updated curriculum offered in this guide. Second, universities can provide experiences for the students that might not be available in other high school programs. For example, the summer academy in Tacoma brings students to the Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) campus where they are provided with admissions information, are able to interact with college students, and are given a glimpse of what is possible in their educational careers. Additionally, students have also come to campus during the school year and participated in panel discussions with PLU teacher candidates. At the RTA, the program brings students to the Central Washington University (CWU) campus where they spend a night in the residence halls. Even if RWT students decide to pursue a path that is different than becoming a teacher, these experiences are important in helping them imagine what it would be like to attend a university and to realize that it is within their grasp. As one of the Burlington-Edison student stated “If I hadn’t been a part of (this program), I wouldn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.” (personal communication, March, 2015).

Community Based Organizations: Establishing a strong community presence for the programs can be manifested in many ways. For the Tacoma PS – Teach 253 program, there has been an intentional effort to reach out to community groups who support students of color in multiple ways. For example, the Teach 253 Steering Committee consists of people from the district, the College Success Foundation, Achievers Program, the Northwest Leadership Foundation, and university personnel. Additionally, during its first year, the program hosted a “listening post” that invited people from various groups within the community to solicit their feedback into how the program was being set up. The rationale for this approach is that with broader community knowledge and support of the program, there is a greater likelihood that the work will continue and students will be encouraged to enroll by members in their communities. From a practical perspective, students are advantaged with community mentors, scholarship information and other business support.

Statewide Networks of Teachers and Program Partners: Another important partner within this work is the state. While it’s obvious that the monies being furnished for CTE – Careers in Education are an important piece of helping to initiate and sustain these programs⁶, as important are the networks that have been established to share the knowledge gained about these programs. For example, during the first year of Teach 253, the teacher was able to travel to the Skagit Valley to hear and observe the work of the Burlington-Edison High School future teacher program. By participating in this visit, the teacher started to imagine a far different program than the one she had been teaching in the previous years. Careers in Education will be further supported with a web portal of resources as well as continuing to offer the OSPI sponsored professional development conferences.

New course approval: If Careers in Education is offered as a CTE course, OSPI approval is required. The process for course approval may be found at the OSPI website at http://www.k12.wa.us/CareerTechEd/FormsStandards.aspx
Contact OSPI at careerandcollegeready@k12.wa.us or (360-725-6245).

Footnotes

¹ See the OPSI website for links to the 16 ‘career clusters’ and to associated ‘career pathways’ at http://www.k12.wa.us/CareerTechEd/clusters.
² See the OSPI website for links to resources in the Education and Training Career Cluster at http://www.k12.wa.us/CareerTechEd/clusters/EducationTrng.aspx
³ Educational Opportunity and Oversight and Accountability Committee (2015). http://www.k12.wa.us/Workgroups/EOGOAC.aspx
⁴ Teaching Equity Conference (2015). http://www.teachingequity.com/
⁵ Vegas, E., Murnane, R.J., Willett, J.B. (2001). From high school to teaching: Many steps, who makes it. Teachers College Record, 103(3), pp. 427-499.
⁶ OSPI. Carl D. Perkins Act . http://www.k12.wa.us/CareerTechEd/PerkinsGrant.aspx