Category: Career & Technical

Reach Higher Maine Webinar: The New CTE Pathway to Maine’s Proficiency Diploma

Reach Higher Maine has developed a series of free webinars designed to provide school counselors & those working with student’s tools to use in their college and career readiness programs.

Live Webinar Date:  January 31st 2018, 1:30 PM

The webinar will be recorded and available on the Reach Higher Maine Google Classroom

Description: Presenters will dispel the myths surrounding the CTE Pathway by showcasing the talent, ambition and resilience of CTE students. Through video, we will share the stories of students who have walked the CTE pathway and turned struggle and uncertainty in to self-confidence and future promise.  We will take the time to clarify the new CTE diploma pathway and discuss how CTE schools statewide can act as a resource and academic partner for students working toward achieving proficiency in an evidence based system

The webinar is free and will provide a certificate of completion upon request as well as access to the Discussion Board where you can ask questions of the presenters or the rest of the attendees.  We are hoping this will encourage attendees to share best practices.

Register for this course 

Presenters:

  • Danielle Despins, MOA/CSR Coordinator – Special Populations and Gender Equity Coordinator from the Maine Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education team
  • Dave Boardman, Ed.D. Mass Media Communications instructor at the Mid-Maine Technical Center

Handouts include:

  • Maine Proficiency Diploma Pathway Requirements
  • Maine Proficiency Diploma Requirements

Resources:

  • Reach Higher Maine Google Classroom A Google email (@Gmail.com) account is needed to access to the Google Classroom

  • To access this webinar after January 31st or to access past webinars, log into the Reach Higher Maine Google Classroom. Once you are logged into your email, click the + in the upper right hand corner to “Create or join your first class!,” then select “Join class.” The class code is 1bs991n.
  • Welcome and Orientation to Education Series – Short video to help you access and navigate the Google Classroom so that you can get the most out of this experience 

 

For more information please contact Reach Higher Maine at ReachHigherMaine@gmail.com

Reach Higher Maine is a coalition of Maine education & workforce professionals with the goal of helping to expose Maine students to education and career opportunities by helping to support school counselors in their work.

Update about revisions to Rule Chapter 232, expansion of CTE to middle school

Public Law Chapter 171, “An Act To Enable Earlier Introduction of Career and Technical Education in Maine Schools,” was enacted in June to expand career and technical education opportunities by requiring Maine schools to provide access to developmentally-appropriate career and technical education for middle school students (grades 6-8). The expansion of Career and Technical Education (CTE) to middle school builds on a long history of providing high-quality and industry-relevant CTE to students in high school grades 9-12.

Revision of Department of Education Rule Chapter 232, currently underway in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) process, will provide a framework to develop and implement middle school career and technical education.

CTE centers and regions will collaborate with all schools serving students in grades 6-8 to provide CTE experiences and will be active partners in how these programs are structured and offered in the best interests of middle school students.

The Department is developing a funding plan for 2018-19 to present to the Legislature designed to ensure adequate resources for this expansion.

Once the proposed rules are adopted and the Legislature has taken action on funding, a timeline for implementation, including program approval and funding, will be made available. Schools will not be required to offer CTE for middle school students in the 2017-2018 school year but they are free to do so if they choose.

Questions may be directed to Margaret Harvey, State Director of Career and Technical Education, at 624-6739 or at Margaret.harvey@maine.gov.

CTE Diploma Pathway in law

New Career and Technical Education (CTE) Pathways to Graduation through PL 489, “An Act To Implement Certain Recommendations of the Maine Proficiency Education Council”

The Maine Department of Education is excited to outline some of the multiple pathways to earning a proficiency-based diploma that involve CTE enabled by Public Law Chapter 489, “An Act Implement Certain Recommendations of the Maine Proficiency Education Council,” signed into law by the Governor in April 2016. The new statute can be found in MRSA 20-A, §4722-A. The Maine DOE is currently engaged in rule-making to outline the parameters for these multiple pathways to graduation.

In addition to demonstrating proficiency in all content areas of the Maine Learning Results, other pathways have been identified through which Maine students may earn a proficiency-based diploma:

  • Satisfactory Completion of a State-approved CTE Program and Met 3rd Party-verified National or State Industry Standards 

Satisfactorily completing a state-approved CTE program and meeting 3rd party-verified national or state industry standards are of equal value to evidence of proficiency in a content areas of the system of learning results which contributes to the meeting the diploma requirements per the phase-in timeline pursuant to MRSA 20-A §4722-A (3)(B-2).

  • CTE and Content Intersections Process

State-approved CTE instructors and content area instructors from sending high schools may identify points of intersection where students can simultaneously demonstrate proficiency in high school content area reporting standards and proficiency in each guiding principle of the system of learning results while demonstrating proficiency in 3rd-party verified national and state industry standards pursuant to MRSA 20-A §8306 (B).

  • Instruction in Content Areas of the System of Learning Results at the CTE Center or Region

When scheduling conflicts or time restraints create an impediment to both the student’s opportunity to learn the content areas of the system of learning results and the opportunity to learn a state-approved CTE program of study, students are provided the opportunity to learn and demonstrate proficiency in the content areas of the system of learning results by teachers certified to teach in the content areas of the system of learning results at the state-approved CTE center or region.

  • Dual-enrollment CTE Programs Pursuant to MRSA 20-A Chapter 229

A non-duplicative learning pathway for a specific career and technical education program that provides secondary school students with the opportunity to take postsecondary education courses and earn credits toward an associate degree while participating in a career and technical education program that:

  • Learning Pathways; Articulation Agreements with Postsecondary Institutions; Collaborative Agreements

Pursuant to MRSA 20-A §8306-B(4), to the greatest extent possible, a career and technical education program offered at a center or region must provide students the opportunity to take advantage of any applicable learning pathways, including learning pathways set forth in an articulation agreement with a postsecondary institution or in a collaborative agreement with publicly supported secondary and postsecondary educational institutions that form a dual enrollment career and technical education program pursuant to MRSA 20-A §6972.

The Department is looking forward to the additional pathways students will be able to pursue, most notably through career and technical education, toward earning a proficiency-based high school diploma. For more information regarding Career and Technical Education contact Maine DOE Career and Technical Education Director, Meg Harvey, at 624-6739 or email margaret.harvey@maine.gov. For more information regarding proficiency-based learning and proficiency-based diplomas contact Maine DOE Proficiency-based Education Specialist, Diana Doiron, at 624-6823 or email diana.doiron@maine.gov.

Maine’s CTE professional trucking program captures national attention

An estimated 8,100 students in Maine are enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs. Of those students, approximately 70 are enrolled in a course of study designed for future careers in commercial trucking.

Continue reading “Maine’s CTE professional trucking program captures national attention” →

Downeast adventure for teachers in agriculture and science

The 2016 Maine Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) Summer Teachers Institute will be held August 1-5 at the University of Maine in Machias. Educators will learn about locally grown foods and their impact on the Maine economy, applications in science, and different opportunities to integrate agriculture into the curriculum.

Continue reading “Downeast adventure for teachers in agriculture and science” →

Future commercial student truck drivers honored

Last month, students from four Career and Technical Centers competed at the Professional Drivers Championship in the “Future Truckers” division at Dysart’s Transportation in Hermon. Selected students from Region 3 (Lincoln area), Region 9 (Rumford area), Tri-County Technical Center (Dexter area), and Westbrook Regional Vocational Center (Westbrook area) competed at this event. The students were complimented and encouraged by fellow competitors, company owners, commercial inspectors, law enforcement officers, as well as spectators and sponsors.

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Agriculture and natural resources students recognized at Maine FFA convention

Students of the Maine FFA Association (formerly Future Farmers of America) participated in the State convention earlier this month at the University of Maine in Orono where they engaged in competitions, tours, and awards in recognition of their 2015-16 accomplishments in agriculture and natural resources.

Continue reading “Agriculture and natural resources students recognized at Maine FFA convention” →