Career and Technical Education

BRIEF SUMMARY

KEY POINTS

• CTE is for students preparing for college and those preparing for careers.
• CTE is about workforce and career preparation, not just job preparation.
• CTE gives students real work experience.
• CTE integrates core academics with real work and real world experience.
• CTE happens in STEM classes, in Robotics clubs, in Graphic Arts classes, and in many other classes and clubs throughout the secondary years.
• Formerly known as “vocational education” which is now considered to be an outdated term as it does not take into account the breadth, academic emphasis and vigor of most CTE programs.
• CTE programs are supported at the federal level by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.

RESOURCES

• (Added 10/09/23): Career and Technical Education Newsletter for October
• (August 31, 2023): Career and Technical Education Newsletter
• (August 7, 2023 Sam Rourke, Director of CTE Outreach and Implementation, CHE): Graduation Pathways Eligible Industry Recognized Certifications earned through external entities (such as the CNA example) can be inputted into InTERS. Schools should use the certification import template (copy) to report certifications earned that are not in CTE courses. Once the template is filled out, it can be imported under the lists-certifications screen via CTE InTERS. Student first and last name, assessment code, assessment result (Pass), exam date and STN are required fields. For questions on inputting this data, please contact our InTERS specialist Jedd Vance at JVance@che.in.gov. Certifications must be first entered into InTERS in order to count for the Graduation Report with IDOE. Certifications and CTE concentrator status are both validated using InTERS data.
• (August 1, 2023 Linsay Osos, CTE Program Manager, CHE): Perkins V can still be used for 2024 graduates. Please note, only seniors in the 2023-2024 graduating cohort may use Perkins V courses to reach Concentrator status/qualify for bucket 3 in grad pathways. All other students will need to utilize NLPS guidelines. You can find more information on NLPS in our Review Document, Planning Document (updates will be coming in the early fall), the NLPS FAQ, and in various resources on our website. You can also sign up for our CTE team newsletter that comes out about once a month and provides updates and other information that you may find helpful (past newsletters are posted here). If you have specific CTE related questions, please reach out to our team at CTE@che.IN.gov and a member of our team will get back to you.
• (IN Office of CTE Newsletter, May 2023): The CTE Data Hub, formerly referred to as the CTE Pathways App has recently added or improved several features based on user feedback to assist counselors, principals, and other school personnel in easily accessing and utilizing the available information. The main features of the CTE Data Hub include the following:
  • Ability to lookup a single student/or an entire cohort by school to validate for Graduation Pathways 
    • To search an entire cohort at a specific school, follow these steps. This will require a unique school login available only to school personnel at the specific school.
    • When searching a student (or a group of students), icons/badges appear identifying if the student has reached concentrator status, attained an approved industry certification, is eligible for the technical honors diploma eligible and or has earned 9+ dual credits.
    • If a student has not reached concentrator status, users can view completed or currently enrolled courses and the remaining courses necessary to become a CTE concentrator.
  • Review industry certifications approved for Graduation Pathways by cohort. Users can also find the assessment codes tied to each certification.
  • View pathway/course information for school personnel/students/families
  • Ability to view CTE data and links to important CTE sites/documents
  • Access the Data Hub from the InTERS homepage here, by clicking on CTE Data Hub. The Data Hub is primarily designed for school personnel who do not have access to InTERS, Indiana’s comprehensive data system where all CTE data is inputted by schools and career centers. The Data Hub provides a place for a broader set of users to access key information through the features identified above. All information in the CTE Data Hub comes from data inputted into InTERS. Many of the features can be done without a login, but some features do require a login. Each high school building has a unique login that can be shared among all school personnel. If you are unsure of your school’s login or have general questions about utilizing the Data Hub, email our data team. Additional information was shared through a recent webinar highlighting the newly available features. Individuals are encouraged to sign up for the Indiana Office of Career and Technical Education listserv HERE. Questions can be shared with CTE@gov.IN.gov.
• About the Indiana Office of Career and Technical Education: Operating under the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, the Office of Career and Technical Education (OCTE) serves as an integral part of Indiana’s talent development system. The OCTE helps to connect industry, workforce development, and education through the development and implementation of rigorous and relevant career and technical education (CTE) programs of study that prepare students for a wide range of high-wage, high-skill, and in-demand careers. Students in Indiana’s CTE programs will gain the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for success in postsecondary education and economically viable career opportunities.
• About the Indiana Association of Career and Technical Education (IACTE)
  The Indiana Association for Career and Technical Education (IACTE) aims to promote and build career and technical education for Hoosier students by providing high-quality professional development, access to invaluable career resources, and a knowledgeable network of CTE professionals to secondary and postsecondary educators.

SHARED WISDOM

• (Update from the Indiana Office of Career and Technical Education, April 21, 2023):  The Office of CTE offers the  CTE Data Hub, formerly referred to as the CTE Pathways App. Several features have recently been added or improved based on user feedback to assist counselors, principals, and other school personnel in easily accessing and utilizing the available information. The main features of the CTE Data Hub include the following:
  • Ability to lookup a single student/or an entire cohort by school to validate for Graduation Pathways
    • To search an entire cohort at a specific school, follow these steps. This will require a unique school login available only to school personnel at the specific school.
  • When searching a student (or a group of students), icons/badges appear identifying if the student has reached CTE concentrator status, attained a Graduation Pathways approved industry certification, is eligible for the Technical Honors Diploma, or has earned 9+ dual credits.
    • If a student has not reached concentrator status, users can view completed or currently enrolled courses and the remaining courses necessary to become a CTE concentrator.
  • Review industry certifications approved for Graduation Pathways by cohort. Users can also find the assessment codes tied to each certification.
  • View pathway/course information for school personnel/students/families
  • Ability to view CTE data and links to important CTE sites/documents

  Access the Data Hub from the InTERS homepage here, by clicking on CTE Data Hub. The Data Hub is primarily designed for school personnel who do not have access to InTERS, Indiana’s comprehensive data system where all CTE data is inputted by schools and career centers. The Data Hub provides a place for a broader set of users to access key information through the features identified above. All information in the CTE Data Hub comes from data inputted into InTERS.  Many of the features in the CTE Data Hub can be done without a login, but some features do require a login. Each high school building has a unique login that can be shared among all school personnel. If your school hasn’t received their login or you are unsure of your school’s login, email our data team. Additional information was shared through a recent webinar highlighting the newly available features.

• (Update from the Indiana Office of Career and Technical Education, April 21, 2023): Clarification on CTE Concentrator Status: When evaluating a student’s eligibility for concentrator status, a student must complete (pass/earn credit using the local district grading scale) each semester of a required course in a concentrator sequence to be a concentrator. With NLPS, this means a student must complete each semester of the Principles, Concentrator A, and Concentrator B course in a program of study. If using Perkins V, the student must complete each semester of the Concentrator A and B course. The student must also fulfill the C average requirement for Graduation Pathways.
  • Students using NLPS courses to earn CTE concentrator status must receive a C average (as determined by your local grading scale) or higher in All concentrator sequence courses (Principles, Concentrator A, and Concentrator B) for the purposes of Graduation Pathways.
  • The Capstone course may be used if it would benefit a student’s GPA, supporting the C average requirement for concentrator status. A school may choose to include the cumulative grade average earned in this capstone to meet the C average requirement.
  • By using the capstone, the C average would be based on grades earned in all of the following courses: Principles, Concentrator A, Concentrator B, and the cumulative capstone grade.
  • C Average Requirement: If a student is enrolled in a CTE Program of Study fulfilling their Bucket 3 requirement for their Graduation Pathway, they must complete the required courses with a C average. As long as the grade is within the C range for your school district’s grading scale, concentrator status will be approved for Graduation Pathways. The specific GPA for the C average is a local decision determined by each school district.
• CTE Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education: In March 2021, Advance CTE released Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education (CTE Without Limits). With the support of close to 200 national, state and local education and workforce development leaders and supported by over 40 national organizations, CTE Without Limits proposes a vision for a cohesive, flexible, and responsive career preparation ecosystem that will close equity gaps in educational outcomes and workforce readiness, allowing each learner to reach success in the career of their choice. In the two years since its release, CTE Without Limits has become the guiding framework for Advance CTE publications and state support. The resources below contain the vision along with a roadmap to successfully implementing it as well as a way to opt into vision-related resources and updates.
  • Read the vision
  • Follow the roadmap
  • Answer the call to action
• (CounselorTalk, January, 2023): Here are the most recent CTE Funding Spreadsheets:
  • 2023-2024 CTE Funding Memo and Chart
  • 2022-2023 CTE Funding Memo and Chart
• (CounselorTalk, December, 2022): Here is the current document for 2023-2024 CTE Courses — https://www.in.gov/gwc/cte/files/Course-Titles-and-Descriptions_SY-23-24.pdf
• Q: I am looking at altering our course offerings for next year in order to align with some of the Next Level Program of Study courses.  In doing so, I noticed that a REQUIRED prerequisite for many of the agriculture classes (welding, animal science, advanced life sciences, etc.) is the new Principles of Agriculture course (7117).  Obviously, no one in the state will have taken that course next year, since it is a brand new offering.  Has anyone seen guidance that waives this requirement?  If so, can you please share that information or point me in the right direction?
  • A: Tony Harl stated that kids may take the Principles classes concurrently with the other NLPS courses in their sequence.
  • We are doing the same here.  However, when. I spoke to our CTE director and I was told there will be no waivers and we are to start our current Freshman on the track.  We are meant to, to my understanding, juggle Perkins IV, Perkins V, and NLPS for a few years.  From what I gathered we start bringing our new freshman kiddos and some sophomores into NLPS while finishing some sophomores, juniors and seniors with five and six.
  • I asked and they were very clear that the requirement would not be waived. Students in the classes of 2023 and 2024 can still use the Perkins V course titles. We are offering Principles next year for our freshmen and leaving our other titles on Perkins V for one more year to try to help those kids finish their pathway before the required change.
  • From what I understand the class of 2022 will still be able to fall under Perkins IV or original Perkins V.  The class of 2023 will fall under original Perkins V. After that they have to do Perkins V NLPS.  However, I could be wrong.  I know there are three or four upcoming meetings (online) to address these issues.  Our career center has encouraged us to attend one of these meetings for further clarification.
  • It’s brand new. Everything that says required can be taken as a co-req. So a kid can take Princ of Ag first period and Animal Science 3rd period of the same year and be totally fine
  • You should implement the principles and upper level classes in waves.  The older students can stay on the Perkins 5 route for now and would not need the principles class for existing A and B courses.  As the 2025’s matriculate, add in the Next Level Program of student upper level courses.
  • There is nothing that waives the requirement, but there has been guidance saying that for the next couple of years courses can be taken out of order. I think also they are anticipating that most schools will have current sophomores and juniors finish Perkins V pathways and roll Next Level courses out in stages. Principles being available for freshman and sophomores next year and then adding additional courses  to next level pathways as Perkins V pathway courses are phased out.
  • At HSE (and most other schools that I know of) – this is initially a title change to ‘Intro to Ag’.
  • I have been talking with our Ag department about this and it is our understanding that it becomes a prereq for students who are currently in the 8th grade and beyond. That is when the new Next Level Program takes effect. So it would not affect our current 9th-11th grade students
  • I was going to offer principles only next year and then transition to the other courses in 22-23 school year. We are transitioning over a 3 year period.
• Q: We would like to conduct a virtual open house for students and parents to check out our multiple career and tech ed programs.  We would like to offer a different online “location” for each program for a teacher to conduct a session about his or her program. Does anyone have experience with such an undertaking?
  • A: We had a videographer come in and recorded our students working in their programs (all action shots). The video is on our Facebook and homepage still. Underneath the video were direct links to our teacher’s zoom meetings (which were held for two hours) for potential students and parents to directly talk with our teachers about their programs. We also sent out letters to all 10th graders in the county with information on how to access the open house.
• The Indiana Office of CTE and the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet released an online version of a new Indiana CTE Career Guide
• Perkins IV and Perkins V definitions can be found at this link. They are now on the (Indiana) Governor’s Workforce Cabinet.  Remember the 6 credit definition (Perkins IV) is for Class of 2019-2022 and Perkins V is for Class of 2023 and beyond.

CONTENT FEEDBACK

If you have suggestions, feedback, or resources, please email counselor1stop@inspiresuccess.org and let us know.