Partnerships
Providing quality Career and Technical Education programs requires an integral group of stakeholders involved in the education process. Stakeholders come from all facets of the community and include private business, community organizations, government entities, individual volunteers, students and parents, and post-secondary institutions. The EFE serves as the liaison bringing all of the stakeholders together. Most importantly in this process, the EFE needs to provide a value proposition for partnerships to thrive – there needs to be benefits for all involved in the education process.
Kinds of partnerships
Private Business Companies - Business is most commonly thought of when developing partnerships for education. Businesses can play an active role in work-based learning opportunities for students, gathering information on labor needs, informing curriculum, and providing professional development for instructors. The value add for the employer is the workforce pipeline; in addition, don’t underestimate EFE involvement in committee work, public relations, professional organizations, and serving as a liaison for job openings.
Community & Government Organizations - Community and government organizations are the most underutilized in the partnership process. Make it a point to connect with religious organizations, workforce investment boards, chambers of commerce, park districts, community foundations, and conservation organizations. In many cases, these are driven by grant funds creating a perfect opportunity for common purpose and collaboration of funds.
Post Secondary Partners - Be all inclusive when thinking of post-secondary education – include on-the-job training, apprenticeship training, career training, and all levels of college. Be actively involved in these education organizations by providing public relations, connections to teachers, and dual credit conversations. Not only is there opportunity to inform students, but to provide professional learning for CTE staff as well.
Recruitment activities
Being out in the community is key to making connections; when opportunities present themselves it’s important to be prepared to recruit new stakeholders to your team. When using partners for work-based learning activities, ensure that they are formerly inducted into a partner relationship. Below are recruitment brochures as well as a WBL opportunity guide that is used at all events where stakeholders are present. Be intentional and make this an agenda item when you are in mixed audiences.
Communication
Communication
There are many different ways to share information with and about partners – whether email, website, newsletter, committee participation, or community events – all are viable means of delivering the message of CTE advocacy and connection to tomorrow’s workforce. Creating a portal specifically designed for CTE teachers and counselors at both middle and high school is key to encouraging connections between education and community. Below are examples of communication used on websites and shared with partners across the region.
Projects
Business Round Tables
BRTs are a different twist on advisories. This all-day event for CTE educators, counselors, secondary administrators, post- secondary instructors and administration, business partners, and community organizations creates a conversation platform about region workforce trends, secondary curriculum, employability skills, and WBL projects. Table conversations focus on a particular CIP (industry) area. Business partners stay for the morning and other guests arrive in the afternoon for educators that stay for more professional learning. Topics covered in the afternoon include analysis of morning conversations and steps moving forward, quality program training, post-secondary alignment, best practices, and post-secondary options.
Boot Camp - Dual Credit
Quality programming includes creating opportunities for the early college experience. To embrace dual credit in CTE programs and move past the MOU between district and post-secondary institution, summer boot camps were created to encourage relationship development between the instructors. These summer workshops are taught by post-secondary teachers and attended by high school instructors. The workshop covers content, assessments, textbooks, equipment needs, and all pieces of the puzzle to enrich the student experience.
Dual Credit Pathways Project
When launching a region-wide effort to embed dual credit options, it takes a village of educators that are connected to the work above and beyond the high school teacher to post-secondary teacher connection. Within 2 years of laying this groundwork, the Total Region Pathways with dual credit opportunities increased from 5 pathways to 71 pathways. Districts’ Human Resource departments pulled the weight of reviewing all high school teacher credentials in a district to find faculty that would be approvable for dual credit options at the high school. The post-secondary partner also standardized an MOU which created an equitable approach across the region.
Data collection
Preparing for the new Size, Scope, Quality requirements, EFEs need to look for ways to gather technical and employability skill data from local partners. Utilizing the ONET database of occupational information, local stakeholders were given a survey to assist with prioritizing technical and employability skills for the occupations in which they hire. The intention of this project is to have employer-driven data from all CIPs that are currently taught in the region – later to be published on the EFE website. Part of that process will then be training CTE Directors and CTE instructors on how to utilize the information to inform their CTE program curriculum. Another data project encompassed CTE students and their perceptions of work-based learning opportunities that were funded with grant dollars. This provides the EFE the means to obtain feedback on the effectiveness of the experience and it’s usefulness as a grant-funded activity. All WBL in the region is required to have students’ respond to this survey prior to district reimbursement; simply, it’s part of the process.