Date: 02/01/2006
Final
Presentation on Career and Technical Education
COMMITTEE ON JOINT EDUCATION
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07:41 AM - Presentation on Career and Technical Education
Senator Windels, Chairman, called the committee to order. Art Bogardus, past president of the Colorado Association for Career and Technical Education (CACTE), introduced himself and described his background for the committee. Mr. Bogardus introduced his colleagues from the association who were in attendance - Mimi Leonard, current president of CACTE; Mike Ribelan, Littleton Public Schools; Karen Ellis, Denver Public Schools; Glen March, Douglas County Public Schools; and Mary Stecklein, Jefferson County Public Schools.
07:44 AM
Mr. Bogardus began his presentation, telling committee members about the types of post-secondary career and technical education programs available to students. He related statistics on the number of students and the number of career and technical education programs in post-secondary study - 29,172 students in 600 programs across the state. He described secondary career and technical education, noting that there are more than 103,000 students in 1,226 programs in 166 public school districts. He described the mission of career and technical education in Colorado.
07:47 AM
Mr. Bogardus noted that career and technical education programs provide services for many types of students, including special populations. He described the Perkins Program and changes made to the program in its reauthorization by Congress. Mr. Bogardus described the differences between 21st century career and technical education and 20th century vocational education. He said that 21st century career and technical education puts emphasis on "soft" employability skills as well as technical skills. Career and technical education works for one and all students, he said, for several reasons, including: the availability of a solid technical curriculum; academic integration; post-secondary articulation and matriculation; workplace learning partnerships such as internships; and a focus on employability skills.
07:54 AM
Mr. Bogardus spoke of the importance of "soft" skills - the "career" part of career and technical education. He commented on the perception that career and technical education teaches only vocational skills. Mr. Bogardus said that career and technical education is to some teen students what advanced placement and honors courses are to other students.
07:59 AM
Mr. Bogardus referred the committee to a folder of handouts he provided (Attachment A). Mimi Leonard came to the table to describe the CACTE. Mike Ribelin came to the table to describe the escrow credit program, which aligns courses in order to transfer credits from high school career and technical education programs to any community college in the state. He noted that by spring of 2006, the credit escrow program should be available statewide. Mr. Ribelin answered a question from Senator Windels regarding the number of credits that may be transferred.
08:05 AM
Senator Williams asked how many student have used the escrow program, Mr. Ribelin responded, noting that the program was a pilot this past year, but was rolling out to the entire state. In addition, he noted that the process could occur on-line. Mr. Ribelin responded to follow-up questions from Senator Williams. Representative King asked if the escrow credits are part of the post-secondary options program. Mr. Ribelin responded, noting that the program is very different from post-secondary options, describing how the program works, and responding to follow-up questions from Representative King regarding escrow credit. He noted that students have the option of designating which credits appear on their community college transcript. He noted that the credits do not count against the College Opportunity Fund credit limit. He responded to a question from Representative Larson regarding how the credits transfer and how they match community college credits.
08:10 AM
Mary Stecklein came to the table to provide examples of the match of credits. Representative King asked Mr. Ribelin if students could get a semester or year of credits through the program. Mr. Ribelin said that students could easily get a semester's credits through the program toward their two-year degree. Mr. Ribelin answered a question from Senator Windels regarding the time period in which students may decide to participate in the program. Representative King asked if the program could be aligned with the post-secondary options program in order to help students further. Mr. Ribelin responded, noting that the programs could work together. He described an example.
08:14 AM
Senator Williams asked how the association is getting the word out to high schools regarding the credit escrow program. Mr. Ribelin responded. Representative King asked about dropouts and noted that the program gives students focus and a reason to stay in school. He went on to ask if there is evidence the program is keeping students in school and asked about the demographics of students in the program. Mr. Ribelin responded, describing the variety of courses under the program and the variety of participating students. Karen Ellis came to the table to provide statistics to Representative King's questions. She said approximately 1,000 to 1,500 students will be able to participate in the program by the end of the current school year. She noted that the demographics of students generally match those of the school district. Representative King asked follow-up questions to which Ms. Ellis responded. She noted that 68 percent of students participating in the credit escrow program in Denver Public Schools go on to post-secondary education. Mr. Ribelin provided further response to Representative King.
08:19 AM
Mr. Bogardus noted that escrow credit decreases need for remediation in college. Ms. Ellis described the National Math Career and Technical Education Study, in which Denver Public Schools participated. She described the results of the study, referring the committee to a handout provided in the packet distributed. She said the study found that an average of 10 percent of career and technical education classroom time is spent on math skills. This provides a big payoff for students, she noted.
08:25 AM
Ms. Ellis said career and technical education can make a significant impact on what students are learning in their core classes. Representative King asked about remediation in college for career and technical education students. Ms. Ellis responded noting that the improvement in the skills of those students was substantial. Senator Windels asked about infusion of math skills in other courses. Ms. Ellis noted that this is the first step. Representative Todd asked about the requirement for four years of math and how that might effect career and technical education. Ms. Ellis said that more required courses means less room for electives. She described strategies used by Denver Public Schools to address this issue. Mr. Bogardus provided further response, noting that the same skills need to be taught in different ways.
08:30 AM
Mr. Bogardus referred the committee to documents in their packet of handouts for information on the impacts of career and technical education. Mr. Bogardus asked the committee to consider the impact of proposed legislation on the opportunity for students to participate in career and technical education. Senator Windels thanked the presenters and remarked that the presentation was enlightening.
08:35 AM
The committee adjourned.