Executive Summary

Indiana's Area CTE District #31 was organized in 1982 to provide cooperative workforce training to students living on the west side of Indianapolis, IN. Nearly forty years later, Area 31 Career Center proudly serves over one thousand junior and senior-level students from eleven central Indiana school districts. The high school communities served by Area 31 Career Center include Avon, Ben Davis, Brownsburg, Cascade, Danville, Decatur Central, Monrovia, Mooresville, Plainfield, Speedway, & Tri-West. Area 31 Career Center educators and support staff are dedicated to preparing students for success in careers and higher education. Area 31 community and postsecondary partners also help to provide students with real-world, work-based experiences in the fields which interest them most.

Area 31 Career Center has a strong STEM leadership team with support from the Superintendent, Career Center Director, and STEM chair/career center Assistant Director. The active STEM leadership team includes instructors from varying programs, such as construction trades, Project Lead The Way (PLTW), criminal justice, and advanced manufacturing. Members of this group promote STEM education, STEM integration, and STEM opportunities while working to fulfil the five-year Area 31 Career Center STEM Plan for Growth and Sustainability. The purpose of this work is to ensure high-quality STEM outcomes for students through meaningful engagements with effective curricula, encouragement, instruction, and the application of industry-current technologies. In addition to the Area 31 Career Center STEM leadership team, local programs are supported by program-specific advisory committees that guide local programming and an Executive Leadership Council that assists with broad-scope planning, networking, and advocacy activities.

Area 31 Career Center students develop knowledge, technical skills, and work-based experience while on a path toward rewarding STEM careers. Student growth is supported by professionally trained classroom instructors, academic integration specialists, career counseling services, community stakeholders, and other wraparound supports. Program participants have the opportunity to earn a Governor's Work Ethic Certificate, dual credits, and/or certifications from more than thirty career and technical education programs. Four Area 31 Career Center programs offer full associate degrees to Early College Career Center students. Local curriculum is integrated in authentic Project-Based Learning, with many programs providing services to the general public. Students also have the opportunity to participate in an Area 31 Ambassador leadership development program.

As a result of strong industry and post-secondary partnerships, Area 31 Career Center programs meet or exceed identified college and career readiness standards. Stakeholders representing relevant industry and postsecondary programs serve on program-specific advisory committees that help to guide program activities. Such involvement helps to ensure the horizontal alignment of standards across subject areas as well as the vertical alignment of standards as students progress through advanced learning opportunities. For example, input provided by local employers and the School of Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering and Applied Science at Ivy Tech Community College has helped to improve safety protocols across a variety of workforce training pathways. Additionally, their guidance has led to the vertical articulation of pathway standards in the area of advanced manufacturing which now allows students to move more efficiently through the Area 31 advanced manufacturing pathway and toward degree attainment at Ivy Tech Community College.

Area 31 Career Center students participate in collaborative teams as they work to explore relevant and complex challenges. They do so under the guidance of industry experienced instructors, using current technologies, in simulated and authentic workplace environments. STEM learning extends beyond the school day through flipped classrooms, work-based learning experiences, and co-curricular Career and Technical Student Organizations. Learning outcomes are evidenced by the number of Area 31 Career Center students who have earned job placement, college acceptance, co-curricular awards, and individual recognitions such as the Indiana Career and Technical Award for Excellence. Area 31 Career Center proudly stands as one of the only career and technical education programs in the state of Indiana that has been recognized for exemplary program quality through early college endorsement from the Center for Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) (2018-2021) and STEM Certification from the Indiana Department of Education (2016-2020).

The STEM Plan Vision and Mission Statements for Area 31 Career Center, which were developed by a collaborative community of local stakeholders, highlight the focus to provide all students real-world opportunities and technical training for success in a variety of career and higher education pathways for the future. Additionally, Area 31 Career Center emphasizes the importance of educating students to be productive contributors to the community and lifelong learners. This STEM portfolio provides evidence that the success of Area 31 Career Center programs is built on a solid foundation of positive school culture, relevant curricula, effective STEM instruction, and strong local partnerships.

• The inclusive culture within Area 31 Career Center is fostered through collaboration and partnerships with students, teachers, staff, community members, and leaders with a shared vision and mission.

• Integrated STEM curricula are designed to provide students authentic opportunities to be problem-solvers, critical and creative thinkers, and collaborators. Area 31 Career Center curricula ensures students are prepared for positive workforce and higher education outcomes upon graduation.

• The instructional practices at Area 31 Career Center encompass hands-on, project-based, problem-based, and authentic learning opportunities for students to develop solutions to real-world problems. Professionally trained educators support student growth through daily engagement in STEM activities, the strategic use of STEM instructional strategies, and the intentional design of varied assessments.

• Community partners, including industry and postsecondary professionals, add great value to the student experience at Area 31 Career Center through their participation in program design and during memorable engagements such as partnership days and guest teaching experiences.

Area 31 Career Center is truly a place where passions become professions. Staff members are dedicated to providing the highest quality career and technical education training, because they recognize the benefits provided to Indiana’s economy as well as to local families. Staff members continue to seek guidance from industry advisory committees and post-secondary partners so that programs remain current and connected to local needs. In addition to offering insights regarding the value of Area 31 Career Center programming, these relationships have led to mentorships, guest teaching, work-based learning placements, site visits, and program donations. At Area 31 Career Center, staff and students are excited to be at the forefront of collaborative and innovative STEM education programming.