NYSACTE Joint CTE Conference
Overall, the conference highlighted the renewed commitment of the state and federal departments of education toward CTE. One recurring point that was very positive is that it is a big picture approach that recognizes CTE as a part of the whole student’s education, and there is a shift to recognize more that an important purpose of the students education is to prepare students for their future careers and life in general.
1) One of the most important changes that will have an immediate effect on SCSD is the changes to the Middle School CTE requirement.
· There is still a 1.75 unit requirement through Middle School
· These courses need to be taught by a certified CTE teacher. They were adamant that core Academic certifications are not acceptable for this. This is all outlined on the CTE-TAC website here. http://nyctecenter.org/instruction/middle-level-cte
· Within those rules, there are some options that open up some amazing opportunities for Schenectady Schools. (Such as advanced courses like DDP or CFM which would earn HS credit.)
· The modules are available at http://nyctecenter.org/instruction/middle-level-cte/2-uncategorised/143-aboutmodules
2) The new CFM curriculum was also released and is available for comment.
3) There was a workshop on academic Integration that was timely and interesting considering our Perkins Goals.
· The CTE-TAC did a review of 85 approved programs state wide. Their findings can be reviewed in detail at http://nyctecenter.org/instruction/academic-integration
· They developed a rubric for schools to use in reviewing these classes as well as for when they are starting them.
· The team is available to come in and help train and work with districts that are interested in this.
4) Another workshop of note that was attended was the One and Done, Now Teaching is Fun. It fits well with many of the SCSD priorities and was focused on classroom management. I am forwarding the RFP for the Urban Conference to this group. http://classroomvictories.com/