Career TEchnical AND Adult Education News

The Annual Innovation & Impact Conference schedule is now available online! In 2019, a commitment was made to minimize waste and create a streamlined conference experience for attendees. Sched is an online scheduling tool that allows you to create a personalized schedule so you don't miss any topics that are important to you. Bookmark and/or download Sched so you are ready to go on the day of the conference.

New to Sched or just need a refresher?

• There are two ways to get to Sched - Ohioacte.org/conf2022 will have additional conference information, while ohioacte2022.sched.com will only show you the schedule. Both links allow you to login to your Sched account, so use whichever one you prefer!
• There is also an App option - If you prefer to use the App, download Sched in the App Store or Google Play and search for "Ohio CTE."
• If you attended last year, you can use the same login. If you are new to Sched, you will need to create an account.
• Once you create an account, you can checkmark the events you will want to be sure to attend - they will be listed in "My Sched." If you want to go back to view the entire conference schedule, simply click the Schedule tab and it will take you back to all events.
• That's it! Ohio ACTE Staff will be available at the registration table to assist you with any questions about Sched and the conference.

If you prefer a video to walk you through how to utilize Sched, click below to watch a step-by-step tutorial (if the video doesn't play, you can also click here):

When renewing your driver's license, motorists are asked to donate $1 to Save Our Sight (SOS), and this donation directly impacts Ohio's Career-Tech students through the Superspecs free safety eyewear program.

SOS's focus is to provide early detection of vision problems and promote good eye health and safety. They do this through several programs: The Realeyes program has developed online resources for teachers, the PlayHardDon’tBlink/ SuperSpecs program provides prescription goggles and safety eyewear for children, the Vision Screening program has developed an online training so that nurses and school personnel can be trained in vision screenings, and the Ohio Amblyope Registry provides patches for children and resources for parents. Read more about SOS.

Ohio ACTE partners with Superspecs each year to bring free eyewear to career-tech schools throughout Ohio. This year, Superspecs is providing nearly 20,000 goggles to vocational schools in Ohio thanks to this fantastic program. Consider donating next time you renew your license!

The Ohio ACTE Fall Leadership & Empowerment Meeting will take place Sept. 23 from 9am-3pm at Butler Tech in Hamilton, Ohio.  Click here for agenda, details and to register.  This meeting is FREE for organizational members, division leaders, and Shoemaker participants.

The topic for this year's event is "The Future of Education." The Leadership & Empowerment Meeting is planned by the Ohio ACTE President, Jon Graft,  and focuses on timely career-tech and leadership topics.

There is still time to register but space is limited, so register today! It is free to attend for division leaders, organizational affiliate members, and Shoemaker Institute participants. The cost for others to attend is $75 for Ohio ACTE members and $95 for non-members.

The new Career Connections Lessons and Activities page is live. The Ohio Department of Education has partnered with INFOhio’s Open Space platform to curate a collection of high-quality, career-focused content and activities for Ohio’s educators to use across academic areas. Explore the new Career Connections Lessons and Activities page to learn more.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Recycling and Litter Prevention Water Bottle Refilling Station Program helps public and private K-12 schools purchase and install new or retrofit water bottle refilling stations. These refilling stations help schools reduce, reuse and recycle, discouraging single-use plastic water bottles.

The maximum amount of grant funding available is $5,000 per school or $10,000 per school district. Grantees have 12 months to buy and install the equipment. Each grant recipient will receive full payment when the refilling station contract is executed.

To access the form, visit the ODE website.

Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, evaluations for all teachers and principals will be under the revised OTES 2.0 and OPES 2.0 systems. Teacher evaluators will need valid OTES 2.0 credentials and principal evaluators will need valid OPES 2.0 credentials to conduct evaluations in the Ohio Evaluation System.

Information about evaluator trainings and credentialing now is available on the Credentialed Evaluators webpage.

Email evaluation@education.ohio.gov with questions.

In a 16-0 vote, the State Board of Education (SBOE) on Monday June 13 unanimously reappointed Dr. Stephanie Siddens as interim state superintendent. Siddens was reappointed following the resignation of Stephen D. Dackin from the position of superintendent of public instruction.

The Ohio Department of Education is gathering information about how Ohio’s educators use the tools and resources available on the OhioMeansJobs.com K-12 website. Responses to this 10-minute survey will inform enhancements and future development on the site.  

Complete the survey at OhioMeansJobs K-12 Survey by July 29.

Contact careerconnections@education.ohio.gov with questions.

Ohio Driver License and Coursework

Overview

Securing a driver license can provide students with a wide range of opportunities to improve their employability and to access opportunities for further learning. Recognizing the value for students in securing a driver’s license, effective March 23, 2022, changes in Ohio law were enacted regarding students obtaining an Ohio driver’s license. Students engaged in coursework to earn a driver’s license can now apply these efforts toward their high school graduation requirements. This document is designed to assist schools and districts to implement the changes provided by Ohio Revised Code 3301.17 and Ohio Revised Code 3313.6113.

Industry-Recognized Credentials

Ohio maintains a list of industry-recognized credentials and licenses approved under the committee established in law. Following the process of approval, the Ohio driver’s license has been added to the list under all career fields at a “one point” value. A student earning this credential can combine it with other credentials earned in any one of 13 career fields. The Ohio driver’s license will be available on the Ohio Department of Education’s List of Approved Industry-Recognized Credentials beginning in school year 2022-2023.

Driver Education Course

Ohio law now allows students to apply credit earned in a driver education course toward their high school diploma requirements. A student who successfully completes a driver education course offered by their district may earn a half credit towards high school elective credits. The district must either directly offer or contract with a third-party that offers driver education. Students must have five elective credits, in addition to other required credits, to earn a high school diploma. The general education elective course Driver Education utilizes the subject code 210100. 

Awarding Credit or Credential Points for Graduation Requirements

The Ohio Revised Code allows a student who takes a driver education course through their school to use that course to earn either:

1. 0.5 Credits toward their elective requirements for a diploma; or
2. One point of industry-recognized credentials earned when reporting the Ohio driver’s license as earned.^[i]

A student may not use the successful completion of a driver education course to earn both 0.5 elective credits and one point of industry-recognized credentials. Schools must choose which of these options to report to the Ohio Department of Education through the Education Management Information System (EMIS). Either option reported as earned by the student would apply toward their high school graduation requirements.

[i] ORC 3301.17 authorizes up to two points for the driver’s licenses as an industry-recognized credential. The Industry-Recognized Credential Review Committee determined to allow one point for this credential.

The Office of Career Technical Education is compiling data on in-demand jobs across all career fields to assist districts in planning expansions of career-technical education.

The team looked at 136 different occupations within the business and administrative services career field to examine projected growth in the field. Retail salespersons make up the largest number of projected jobs with almost 128,000 jobs projected in Ohio in 2031. The data shows the greatest demand exists in transportation and material moving occupations. Additionally, our team is looking at data on the top companies in Ohio, with Robert Half, Lowe’s and Amazon topping the list. The data also includes hard and soft-skills in-demand in the career field.

Link to the full Business and Administrative Services Job Data Report.

The Office will continue developing this data utilizing EMSI, a labor market and economic data web tool. If you have any questions regarding this project, please contact Cadie Allen, Program Administrator, at Catherine.allen@education.ohio.gov.