On Tuesday, May 14, the State Board of Education unanimously approved an Ohio Career-Technical Education (CTE) Report Card for 2012-2013.   Ohio’s new CTE accountability system is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation to go beyond the secondary career-tech accountability requirements as defined by the federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act.

The 2012-2013 Ohio CTE Report Card, to be published in late summer,  will contain data related to Career-Technical Education Concentrators from the graduating class of 2011, and will be issued for each of Ohio’s 91 career-technical planning districts (CTPDs).

The five components are:

With the exception of 4-year Graduation Rate and 5-year Graduation Rate, all calculations mirror what is used for Federal Perkins accountability and can be found on the Office of Career-Technical Education Web. The 4-year and 5-year Graduation Rates measure the proportion of Career-Tech Concentrators who graduated within 4 and 5 years of beginning 9th grade. Students must be concentrators by the end of their 4th year of high school to be included in these graduation rates.

Post-Program Placement, 4-year Graduation Rate, and 5-Year Graduation Rate will be graded on the first CTE Report Card. Graduation Rates will be graded using the same grading schema as the Local Report Card, shown below.

The grading schema for Post-Program Placement has two pieces; the first piece is the Placement Rate calculation, and the second piece is the Status Known Rate . The Status Known Rate reflects the proportion of CTE Concentrators Who Left School for whom follow-up data was reported during the March (D) reporting period.

The Placement Rate calculation will mirror the Perkins calculation, and initial grades will be determined using the cut points below.

Once the initial grade has been determined, CTPDs with Status Known Rates of 95% or above will have their Placement grade increased by one letter grade. CTPDs with Status Known Rates between 85% and 94.9% will see no change in their initial grade. CTPDs with Status Known Rates below 85% will have their Placement grades decreased one letter grade.

Additional components, measures, and grades will be added to the CTE Report Card over time. Information regarding report cards for 2014 and beyond will be made available after receiving State Board approval, likely in late 2013.

Federal Perkins accountability remains unchanged, and is not affected by CTE Report Card results.

The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services recently released its Oil and Gas industry  Economic Trend Report for the third quarter of 2012. In this report they address the workforce and employment trends rellated to oil and gas activity in Ohio.

To see the full report please click here.

Barbara Nicol, a Director at the Ohio Board of Regents, received an honorary Doctorate Degree from Franklin Univeristy in Columbus.  As part fo that honor, she delivered the Keynote Address to over 700 Franklin University graduates and their families on May 12.

As a Director at the Ohio Board of Regents, Nicol  provides workforce education programs with leadership and technical assistance. She works to distribute federal and state fumding and provides assistance as needed to Ohio's adult workforce career-technical centers. These programs help provide over 130,000 adults each year with an education.

Nicol has worked in education for 37 years, 26 of those years being in a state-level position of leadership.

Ron Matter, Superintendent at Penta Career Center, and Chris Renn, Career Technical Director at Millstream Career Center, testified May 2 to the Senate Finance Sub-Committee on K-12 Education on House Bill 59, the State Budget Bill.

John Carey has been appointed by Governor Kasich to be the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.

Carey is experienced in lawmaking, having served nine years in the Ohio House of Representatives and eight years in the Ohio Senate. While serving, he focused on education and job creation. His work led to awards from Ohio Development Association, the Ohio Bankers League, the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the Ohio University School of Osteopathic Medicine. He is one of the only legislators in history to serve as Chairman of both the House Finance and Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee.

In recent years, Carey served as the assistant to the President for Government Relations and Strategic Initiatives for Shawnee State University in Portsmouth.

Carey was born in Chillicothe and attended Ohio University to study political science. He currently lives in Wellston with his wife and two sons.

Carey begins serving on April 29.

Message from the Ohio ACTE President

Joseph Dannemiller, Executive Director

Cuyahoga Valley Career Center

 

The proposed State budget includes a change in how career-technical education programs are funded.  Previous budgets included a single weight of .57 or .28 to fund the extra costs associated with most career-technical programs.  In an effort to encourage schools to offer those programs that meet the current and projected workforce needs of Ohio, Governor Kasich’s administration divided career fields into “tiers” with different funding for each tier.  While career-technical education has always received increased funding because of the increased costs associated with delivering quality CTE, the tiers were not developed with only program cost in mind, but reflect those areas where the state anticipates as high demand.

While the proposed budget, currently moving through the Ohio House of Representatives divides CTE programs into “tiers,” as in previous budgets, funding for career-tech programs will flow to the School District in the aggregate and the District will prioritize programs as happens today.  In other words, there is no legal requirement that weighted funds be spent only for the programs in the tiers in which they are provided.  It is still a single pot of money for CTE.  

Career-field educators who wish to advocate for specific programs should continue to focus on students and show the value of their program to their school leadership.  Decisions regarding programs will continue to be made at the local level.  Ohio ACTE is focused on funding for CTE as a whole, and ensuring you have the resources you need to allow career-technical programs to remain a valuable part of Ohio’s public education system.

Career-technical educators are also encouraged to become familiar with Ohio Means Jobs, which is a project of Governor Kasich’s administration, and provides the information on jobs available used to determine Ohio’s current workforce needs and areas of emphasis for workforce development programs.

The career technical education tiers, as outlined in the proposed budget and the percentage weight as amended by the House of Representatives are:

• Environmental & Agricultural Systems, Construction Technologies, Engineering & Science Technologies, Finance, Health Science, IT, Manufacturing Technologies - .76
• Business & Administrative, Hospitality & Tourism, Human Services, Law & Public Safety, Transportation Systems - .68
• Career Based-Intervention - .43
• Arts & Communications, Education & Training, Marketing, Workforce Development Academics, Career Development - .31
• GRADS, Family & Consumer Sciences  - .24

More information on the progress of the budget and changes to this proposal will continue to be made available on the Ohio ACTE Web site and enews publications.

 

Statehouse Republicans released their version of the State budget yesterday, April 9, with  major changes to Governor Kasich’s school-funding plan.  However, the House preserved the additional “weighted funding” career technical education receives, which was a major objective of Ohio ACTE in this budget process.

Governor Kasich’s plan had included changes to career-technical education funding, including a new “tiered” system with state resources tied to specific career fields and programs.  It appears the House plan will continue with the tiered approach, but provide the resources as a percentage of the per pupil funding amount rather than as a fixed dollar figure, said Terrence O’Donnell, Ohio ACTE Legislative Counsel.  In addition, unlike the Governor’s plan, the House plan subjects weighted funding to the “state share” so that poorer districts receive a greater amount and wealthier districts a lesser amount.   “There are still a lot of questions surrounding the House’s proposal,” O’Donnell said.    A spreadsheet with the new formula as it pertains to CTE is expected to released soon, he said.  “This will shed a lot more light on the new House proposal and its effect on individual institutions.”

Ohio ACTE leadership and career-technical educators spent a lot of  time meeting with the Governor’s education policy staff and legislators during this first part of the budget process, said Christine Gardner, Ohio ACTE Executive Director.  “We will continue our efforts to make sure career-technical and adult education is represented as the budget continues to move through the legislative process,” Gardner said.

Another career-technical initiative, the “one-year option” proposal, was included as an amendment to the House version of the budget.  Sponsored by Representative Cliff  Rosenburger (R-Clinton County), this option allows Adult students more credit toward an Associate’s degree when they successfully complete coursework at an  Adult Workforce or Career Centers.

Ohio ACTE leaders will continue to monitor developments in the State budget and advocate for career-technical and adult education as the budget continues through the legislative process. Click here for key points for CTE, which may change as the House Bill is analyzed.  

 

 

The State Board of Education voted March 12 to select Dr. Richard Ross to be the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ohio’s top education official and the executive in charge of the Ohio Department of Education.

The state superintendent runs the Ohio Department of Education, an independent state agency, and reports to the State School Board, a body of independent elected and appointed officials. In the position, Ross will oversee Ohio’s support, accountability and coordination efforts for the state’s elementary and secondary education system, which serves approximately 1.8 million students and employs roughly 190,000 educators.

The Ohio Department of Education plays a central role in developing and implementing state education policy and is working on a large number of major initiatives, including implementation of the Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Assessments, implementation of a new teacher evaluation system, and the unveiling of a new Local Report Card.

“Dick Ross has deep experience on the frontlines of education and has distinguished himself by his child-first approach. He proved that with his outstanding leadership in Reynoldsburg and he’s proven that in his work in the Governor’s Office of 21^st Century Education, where he’s helped shape education reform,” said State Board President Debe Terhar. “We are delighted he will provide us with strong leadership as we move forward with the important work of the Ohio Department of Education.”

The State Board of Education, working with a search firm, received 32 applications for the position and interviewed four candidates. Legislative education committee chairs Senator Peggy Lehner and Rep. Gerald Stebelton sat on the search committee, as did Jai Chabria from the Governor’s Office.

Dr. Ross has more than 60 years of education experience, having served for 20 years as superintendent of Reynoldsburg City Schools where he oversaw the operation of a district that earned “Excellent” or “Effective” ratings on their Local Report Cards the final eight years that Ross served the district. In his final year, eight of 10 buildings in Reynoldsburg City Schools were rated “Excellent” or “Excellent with Distinction.”

While at Reynoldsburg, the district built four new buildings and renovated six buildings while working within funding guidelines of the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission. Ross concentrated on serving children by improving the district’s efficiency and performance, eliminating unpopular and/or ineffective programs, and making focused staffing decisions.

In addition, Ross maintained low expenses, responded to the community’s changing cultural and economic conditions, championed open enrollment, improved the learning environment, and increased parent involvement by offering regularly scheduled events at the elementary and middle schools.

Ross previously was superintendent at Bryan City Schools and Ottawa-Glandorf Schools, was an instructor at Bowling Green State University and served as high school principal at Jonathan Alder School District.

He also served as chairman of the Youngstown Academic Distress Commission and was an instructor for the Ohio University Educational Leadership Program.

He currently serves as director of Governor John Kasich’s Office of 21^st Century Education, where he has successfully moved several education initiatives through the legislative process. These include the Cleveland Transformation Plan, the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, revisions to the Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems, and the A-F Local Report Card. He also has been involved in the development of the State Education Budget and the School Funding Model.

“I’m grateful to the board for the confidence they’ve shown in me with this appointment,” Ross said. “It’s a big job because it’s an important one undefined shaping the future of Ohio’s boys and girls. It’s a mission to which I’ve devoted my life and I’m excited to embrace the challenges that we’re facing.”

“The Department’s employees are deeply committed to serving Ohio’s children and my goal is to be a leader worthy of their commitment,” Ross added. “Helping all children achieve and reach their potential, regardless of their circumstance, is our mission and I look forward to working together with Ohio’s education community to build the world-class education system Ohio’s children deserve and which Ohio needs.”

Ross begins his new role on March 25, 2013.

Gov. Kasich has named his former Cabinet Secretary, Tracy Intihar, to lead the Office of Workforce Transformation and oversee efforts to better align Ohio’s fragmented workforce training system with the needs of workers and job creators.  Tracy has more than 19 years of Ohio public policy experience, having served in senior positions for two Speakers of the Ohio House as well as managing her own policy consulting business. 

Tracy will work closely with the newly-appointed members of the Governor’s Executive Workforce Advisory Board, with whom the governor met last week for the group’s inaugural meeting. 

 

Chaired by central Ohio business leader Blane Walter, the 26-member Board is comprised of knowledgeable leaders from business, community organization and education who will serve as active counselors to the governor and his team, as well as ambassadors. Career-Technical and Adult Education is represented by Dennis Franks, Superintendent at Pickaway-Ross CTC.   

 

At the meeting, the board developed an action plan that included opening formal communication between the Board and the 20 Local Workforce Investment Board Chairs; establishing a statewide rebranding effort for all One-Stop offices consistent with the OhioMeansJobs brand; developing a consistent, system-wide policy for Individual Training Accounts; and, advancing a plan to use OhioMeansJobs as Ohio’s job-matching tool.

 

Among the objectives that the governor will continue to pursue through the leadership of the Board and Tracy are:

•           Streamlining and improving coordination of Ohio’s current fragmented workforce development system in which 90 programs across 13 agencies to better focus limited resources on the strategies that provide the greatest possible economic opportunities to Ohioans;

•           Creating performance measures and a data collection system to ensure program effectiveness;

•           Working with job creators to determine what skills and workers they need to ensure that training programs exist across the full spectrum of Ohio’s education system to meet those needs.

•           Connecting workforce with the education community is also a priority.  Not only will our education programs be critical in training the workforce, but by implementing a new focus on Career Connections, K-12 schools can help students understand the opportunities ahead and how to achieve them.

 

 Information provided by Gov. Kasich’s Office