EPLC initiated its Career and Technical Education Project in 2014 and worked through 2015 with a 30-member Study Group that served in an advisory role to help identify significant CTE issues, exemplary programs, and recommendations that are cited in the report published by The Education Policy and Leadership Center in early 2016.
Study Group members were able to participate in several site visits. Each visit included very informative meetings and conversations with administrators, instructional staff, and students, as well as wide-ranging discussions in forums with invited guests. Forum participants represented many stakeholder perspectives including regional K-12 education, postsecondary education, employers, organized labor workforce development and community development.
The report, including its findings and recommendations, is solely the responsibility of The Education Policy and Leadership Center. But the report would not have been possible without the valuable assistance of all who served on the Study Group, the hundreds who contributed to the success and value of our site visits and related forums, those organizations that contributed financial support for this work, and the many other individuals and organizations that provided helpful information and ideas for consideration.
EPLC released its report on February 10, 2016: High School Career and Technical Education: Serving Pennsylvania’s Student and Workforce Needs (PDF).
This report focuses on and organizes recommendations around several broad issues that are fundamental to improve the effectiveness of Pennsylvania’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) system for secondary students. These are:
- Leadership and Governance
- Regional and Local Coordination
- Building Student and Parent Awareness About Career and Technical Education
- Relevancy and Rigor of CTE Programs
- Assuring CTE Opportunities for All Students
- Accountability and Effectiveness
- State Funding
The recommendations in this report were intended to provoke discussion and action. The recommendations were proposed with some specificity about “who” should do “what”, intending to assign responsibility and prompt the named entities or groups to take action.
On June 23, 2016 and October 12, 2016, EPLC held policy forums the report. The forums were hosted by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and the Chester County Intermediate Unit, respectively.
Funding for the EPLC Career and Technical Education Project was provided by:
The Benedum Foundation
The Hillman Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
Pennsylvania Business Council
Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical Education