Steps to Pathway Implementation in a Small School

1. Steps to Pathway Implementation in a Small School Jenny Coffee College & Career Counselor Breckenridge ISD jcoffee@breck.esc14.net Sherry Strickland Associate Vice President TSTC

2. Step 1: Check What You Already Have Meet with the post secondary schools that you have articulation agreements with ----This can be for Dual Credit or Tech Prep or Dual enrollment ----Get copies of current Articulation agreements if any ----Meet with the post-secondary school --Have them bring their certification plans and degree plans for all courses of study ----Call your ESC CTE Director for help

3. Step 2: Available Programs Review the certification programs and/or Associate Degree programs they have available ---- Do any of these align with courses you are already teaching? ----- Most of the colleges have their degree plans available online now www.westtexas.tstc.edu

4. Step 3: Certifications Check teachers certifications to see if it would be possible for them to teach any of these classes or other classes you would like to add ----Look at chart ** ----Call ESC and ask CTE Director for charts for other areas ---- Don’t forget online courses or courses taught by the college instructors! A College Instructor meets Highly Qualified so you don’t have to worry about certification ---- http://www.tea.state.tx.us/cte/Certification/index.html ---- http://info.sos.state.tx.us/fids/19_0230_0601-3.pdf

5. Step 4: Course Objectives Review the WECM descriptions of the college classes and match them to the TEA course descriptions (Note the PEIMS numbers) ----WECM is like our TEKS for technical college courses http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/aar/undergraduateed/workforceed/wecm/ ---- Lower ACGM is the course descriptions for academic college courses http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/aar/UndergraduateEd/WorkforceEd/acgm.htm ----TEKS for CTE courses can be found at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/teks/index.html#chapters ----Peims can be found at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/peims/ ---- Check if class is: 1. Tech Prep 2. Weighted Funding ---- Sometimes the best fit is an Independent Study Course ----Don’t forget to check the number of credits and if it is an Innovative or Magnet Course ----Start making a chart of both because they will have the same course objectives but different names**

6. Step 5: Advisory Board Take information to an Advisory Board and decide which possible Pathways should be offered ---This step can be done earlier ---An Advisory Board should include your Principal, CTE teachers, Counselor, College Representative, and Community Members, School Board member ---Take to the Advisory Board only the classes you have possible resources to provide ---Ask them what type of job skills they see as needs ---Ask for a commitment of resources ($), internships, speakers ---Remind them: This is a starting point. You would love to offer Aerospace Engineering but you want to start small with the available resources--- unless, of course, you have a benefactor willing to fund a program ---Also remind them the students have to be willing to sign up for the classes

7. Step 6: Survey Students Make a survey explaining the potential programs available and distribute to the students ----Do a school wide presentation or go into the classrooms ----Remind the students this is a survey** so they can have a voice in the classes offered at their school ----Stress the word “Potential” ----Great opportunity to feel out the students and hear what they have to say

8. Step 7: Survey Results Take results of a Survey to Advisory Board to decide which pathways will be offered ---- This is the step to nail down commitments from: -- the community to provide assistance and internships -- the principal to provide any needed new textbooks, scheduling issues, professional development, resources, new teachers, space, etc.

9. Step 8: Construct Pathways Construct your Pathways and work out articulation agreements ---- Review the degree plans again and the courses you thought you might be able to offer ---- Write out some sample Pathways/ Personal Graduation Plans for each program of study Example: ** ----It should be custom to fit the needs of your school

12. Step 9: Teachers Meet Have teachers from the college level course meet with the teachers from the high school to discuss curriculum ---- Talk about textbooks– use theirs or yours? ---- Have this as a teacher in service day ---- Make sure each teacher has the college teacher’s contact so they can develop an ongoing relationship ---- You might also do this before you present the survey sheet because the students will ask the teachers about the courses and you want them to be somewhat knowledgeable. You might want to print out the course descriptions for the teachers.

13. Step 10: Explain to Students Go into the classrooms to explain Pathway choices and invite the students to Career Pathway Night ----It would be ideal to present these in a Careers class. We did it in English classes this year. In the next few years, the students will receive the information in 8th grade in a careers class, in 9th grade in BCIS, and in 11th grade in Career Studies ---- Have both the college instructors and the High School teachers present at Career Pathway Night ---- Set up tables according to Pathway ---- Possibly have college students from those programs available

14. Step 11: Choice Sheet Have each student turn in a Pathway choice sheet ---- This will serve as their scheduling sheet, 4 year graduation plan, and their Career Pathway choice for Peims coding** ---- Stress that it is a PLAN ----Give Peims numbers to Peims Coordinator for new classes ---- Give Textbook information to Textbook Coordinator unless the students will be purchasing the books

15. Step 12: A Work in Progress Revise Pathways year to year as student preferences change, teachers change, and college programs change ----Go back through the steps yearly ----There may also be some TEKS changes coming so those will have to be re-evaluated ---- Be flexible and patient Zechariah 1:5 Do not despise these small beginnings. Rejoice to see the work begin!