CAREER ACADEMY MISSISSIPPI STANDARDS OF PRACTICE

1. CAREER ACADEMY MISSISSIPPI STANDARDS OF PRACTICE Career Academy Presentation Northwest Rankin Performing Arts Building May 15, 2012

2. Pathways to Success and Connection to Career Academies

3. Where We’ve Been • Alignment and articulation of all CTE secondary programs with postsecondary programs and industry demand • Alignment and updating of all secondary programs with the 16 national career clusters • Aligning course content to national, industry-recognized credentials • Integration of performance-based assessments for secondary programs • Design of a return on value (ROV) model that has been used to transform low-performing CTE programs to high-performing programs that meet the needs of a growing, highly skilled, flexible economy

4. Where We’ve Been • Every 8th-grade student must have an individual career and academic plan. • Program of study for all secondary career pathways • Dual-credit equivalency for students to earn college and high school credit simultaneously • Multiple options to obtain a standard high school diploma • Career Pathway Diploma • Traditional • Excellence for All (State Board Exams, ACT) • Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment/Dual Credit Option Law– Pilots in 2012-2013: • Increased partnerships with business and industry to provide collaborative support and internships for both

5. Career Pathway Diploma Option • Provides a career-focused course of study leading to a standard diploma • Linked to one of the 16 nationally recognized career clusters • Aligned with career readiness/industry certifications • Combines career-technical knowledge/skills with academic competencies, such as technical writing, to support workplace success • Emphasizes appropriately rigorous standards and relevant hands-on experiences

6. Why Change is Needed • Over 15,700 students did not graduate from Mississippi’s high schools in 2010; the lost lifetime earnings in Mississippi for that class of dropouts alone total nearly $4.1 billion. • Mississippi could save as much as $121 million in health-care costs over the lifetimes of each class of dropouts had the students earned their diplomas. • If Mississippi’s high schools graduated all of their students ready for college, the state could save as much as $37 million a year in community college remediation costs and lost earnings. • Mississippi’s economy could see a combination of crime-related savings and additional revenue of about $93.3 million each year if the male high school graduation rate increased by just 5%.

7. A Blueprint to Give Hard-Working, Responsible Americans a Fair Shot To address future workforce needs, the federal government • supports partnerships between high schools and industry to create more career academies • is expected to provide grant funding for implementation and development of career academies

8. Career Academies Handout

9. Career Academies’ Three Structural Elements • A small learning community, comprising a group of students within the larger high school who take classes together for at least 2 years, taught by a team of teachers from different disciplines • A college-preparatory curriculum with a career theme, enabling students to see relationships among academic subjects and their applications to a broad field of work • Partnerships with employers, the community, and local colleges, bringing resources from outside the high school to improve student motivation and achievement

10. 10 National Standards of Practice • Defined Mission and Goals • Academy Structure • Host District and High School • Faculty and Staff • Professional Development • Governance and Leadership • Curriculum and Instruction • Employer, Higher Education, and Community Involvement • Student Assessment • Cycle of Improvement

11. I. Defined Mission and Goals The career academy has a written definition of its mission and goals. These are available to the administrators, teachers, students, parents, advisory board, and others involved in the academy

12. I. Defined Mission and Goals • To focus on college and career • Prepare students for college and careers • Enable students to complete college entrance requirements • Expose students to occupations within a career field • Encourages students to aim high B. To raise student aspirations and commitment • Increase the level of students’ motivation while in high school • Biggest limiting factor in youths’ future plans is not their ability but where they set their sights C. To increase student achievement • Provides support to increase achievement in high school • Supports through close relationships with teachers and fellow students, rigorous and relevant curriculum, and exposure to career and educational options outside the high school

13. I. Defined Mission & Goals WHERE DO WE START? Think about your end results—what do you want your career academy to look like, what do you want your students to be prepared to do and what will make you proud of those accomplishments? 13

14. I. Defined Mission & Goals

15. II. Academy Structure An academy needs to have a well-defined structure within the high school, reflecting its status as a small learning community.

16. II. Academy Structure • Cross-grade articulation • Incorporates at least two grade levels, ending in the senior year • Includes articulation in its teacher team, curriculum, and instruction across grade levels B. Student selection • Entry to the academy is voluntary • Recruitment/selection process is written and widely available • New students are provided an orientation to the academy • Parents participate in this process and approve of their child’s choice • Enrollment reflects the general high school population C. Cohort scheduling • Classes are limited to academy students • Students take a series of classes together each year

17. II. Academy Structure • Physical space • Classrooms are near each other in the high school building • Coordinator has access to communication outside the high school • Small size, supportive atmosphere • Maintains personalization through limited size, teacher teamwork, and a supportive atmosphere

18. III. Host District & High School Career academies exist in a variety of district and high school contexts, which are important determinants of an academy's success.

19. III. Host District & High School • Support from the Board of Education and superintendent • Board of Education is aware of the academy and its mission and goals and is on public record in support • Superintendent publicly endorses the academy and offers active support • Both serve as academy liaisons to the broader community B. Support from the principal and high school administration • Principal and administrators are knowledgeable of the academy, publicly advocate for it, and are actively involved in its funding, staffing, and support • Contribute to a positive academy profile within the high school C. Adequate funding, facilities, equipment, and materials • Support results in adequate academy funding, facilities, equipment, and learning materials • Support reflects a serious commitment from the district and high school to the success of the academy

20. IV. Faculty & Staff Appropriate teacher selection, leadership, credentialing, and cooperation are critical to an academy's success.

21. IV. Faculty & Staff • Teacher leader(s)/coordinator(s) • One teacher (sometimes two) agrees to serve as the academy coordinator(s) • Attends advisory board meetings • Interacts with administrators and board members • Manages the budget • Helps to coordinate teacher professional development • Helps to coordinate employer, higher education, and parental involvement • Release time and/or a stipend is provided for this role. • Teachers are credentialed in their field, volunteers in the academy, and committed to its mission and goals • Success rests on good teaching and good teamwork among a cross-disciplinary group of teachers, • Must be well-qualified and willingly involved in this role • Understand and support the philosophy and purpose of the academy • Work together as a team • Teach a majority of their classes in the academy • Cooperatively share the duties of operating an academy.

22. IV. Faculty & Staff • Counselors, non-academy teachers, and classified staff are supportive • Non-academy staff is also important to its operation • Counselors understand the need for cohort scheduling and provide this for academy students • Non-academy teachers understand the value of the academy and help in recruiting students for it and providing departmental support • Classified staff helps support the academy facilities, equipment, and learning materials.

23. V. Professional Development Since an academy places teachers and other adults into roles not normally included in their previous training, providing adequate professional development time, leadership, and support is critical.

24. V. Professional Development • Common planning time • Provided regular common planning time within the high school schedule for: • Program coordination • Curricular integration • Resolution of student problems • Teacher professional development • Teachers are provided with training in: • Academy structure • Curricular integration • Student support • Employer involvement where necessary by experts from outside the high school

25. V. Professional Development • Employee & parent orientation • Employee volunteers are adequately prepared for their roles as: • Speakers • Field trip hosts • Mentors • Internship supervisors • Parents are adequately prepared for their involvement as: • Classroom aides • Field trip chaperones • Social event organizers

26. VI. Governance & Leadership The academy has a governing structure that incorporates the views of all stakeholders.

27. VI. Governance & Leadership • Advisory board with broad representation • Members from the district and high school administration, academy teaching staff, supporting employers, and institutions of higher education • May also include community representatives and academy parents and students • Board incorporates viewpoints from all members B. Regular meetings • Meetings of the board are held at least quarterly, with defined agendas and outcomes • Board helps to set policies for the academy • Serves as a center of resource development. • A healthy partnership • Evidence of a partnership between the academy/high school and its host community • A student voice • Students can provide input to the academy policies and practices

28. VII. Curriculum & Instruction The curriculum and instruction within an academy meets or exceeds external standards and college entrance requirements, while differing from a regular high school by focusing learning around a theme.

29. VII. Curriculum & Instruction • Meets external standards • Curriculum is framed around state or national standards • Career curriculum is framed around industry and SCANS standards B. Learning is rigorous and meets college entrance requirements • Coursework reaches high levels of English and math • Substantial coursework in science and social studies • Graduates are qualified to attend four-year colleges and are encouraged to do so • Curriculum is sequenced, integrated, and relevant. • Curriculum articulates from the beginning of an academy through the senior year • Defined course sequence and at least two core academic classes and one career/ theme class each year • Curriculum is integrated among the academic classes and between these and the career classes • Learning illustrates applications of academic subjects outside the classroom, incorporates current technology, and includes authentic project-based learning

30. VII. Curriculum & Instruction • Post-graduate planning • Students have access to career and college information • Provided counseling in these respects • Develop a written post-graduate plan by the end of their junior year E. Dual credit options • Academy has articulation agreements with local two- and four-year colleges • Offers dual credit courses and/or college credit for upper classmen • Articulates its upper-level curriculum with relevant college programs

31. VIII. Employer, Higher Education, & Community Involvement A career academy links high school to its host community and involves members of the employer, higher education, and civic community in certain aspects of its operation.

32. VIII. Employer, Higher Education, & Community Involvement • Career theme fits the local economy • Career field is selected to fit with the community industries and employer base to allow for adequate involvement of volunteer employees in certain of its activities • Community involvement • Representatives of employers, higher education, and the community help to guide the academy’s curriculum and provide: • Speakers • Field trip sites • Job-shadowing opportunities • Mentors • Student internships • Community service opportunities • College tours • Teacher externships

33. VIII. Employer, Higher Education, & Community Involvement • Incorporates citizenship • Academy fosters a culture of respect for others • Encourages student contributions as citizens • Work-/community-based service learning • Academy offers work- and/or community-based service learning opportunities through paid internships or community service

34. IX. Student Assessment Improvements in student performance are central to an academy’s mission. It is important to gather data that reflect whether students are showing improvement and to report these accurately and fairly to maintain the academy’s integrity.

35. IX. Student Assessment • Student data are collected • Include those necessary to describe the student body within the academy (e.g., grade level, gender, race/ethnicity) • Academy relationship to the high school in general • Student performance on a variety of outcome measures • Multiple academic measures are included • Measures include a variety of accepted indicators of performance: • Attendance • Retention • Credits • Grade point averages • State test scores • Graduation rates • College-going rates • Industry certification is incorporated

36. IX. Student Assessment • Technical learning is assessed • Measures include knowledge of the field’s: • Terminology • Technical concepts • Ability to apply English, math, and other academic skills to authentic real-world projects • Industry certification is incorporated • Accurate reporting • Data are reported accurately and fairly, regardless of the results • Evidence of impact • Measures show whether, and how much, the academy improves student performance

38. Discussion of RFP

39. Questions?

40. Jean Massey Associate State Superintendent for Career and Technical Education Mississippi Department of Education jmassey@mde.k12.ms.us Julie Jordan Director Research & Curriculum Unit Mississippi State University julie.jordan@rcu.msstate.edu Mike Mulvihill Bureau Director Office of Vocational and Technical Education Mississippi Department of Education mmulvihill@mde.k12.ms.us Melissa May Division Director Office of Vocational and Technical Education Mississippi Department of Education mmay@mde.k12.ms.us