CTE Is Your STEM Strategy

CTE Is Your STEM Strategy INTRODUCTION Sciece, Techology, Egieerig ad Mathematics (STEM) educatio is attractig iterest across the atio. I may states, top policy leaders, icludig goverors, K-12 chief state school officers ad ecoomic developmet commissioers, have made STEM cetral to their reform platforms. A sigificat umber of states have STEM coalitios i place to coordiate all STEM activities across agecies ad idustries. Busiess leaders routiely call for more STEM-ready graduates broadly ad withi specific idustry ad specialty areas at the atioal, state ad local levels. Noe of this is very surprisig or eve very ew. STEM has clear ties to ad is a driver of ecoomic developmet, global competitiveess ad iovatio. Studets who uderstad the role of STEM ad are able to excel i those courses ad experieces achored i the STEM disciplies are our future ivetors, ivestors ad idustrialists. It is o coicidece that more tha 20 percet of Fortue 500 CEOs have a backgroud i egieerig, the most commo udergraduate major for these leaders. 1 While states, districts ad schools strive to operatioalize a cocept like STEM, may already are offerig high-quality Career Techical Educatio (CTE) programs that impart critical academic, techical ad employability skills. More specifically, every state already has programs of study i place that are preparig studets for careers i the STEM fields. These programs of study which iclude learig at both the secodary ad postsecodary levels are also helpig studets master the STEM skills ad competecies that have value i just about ay career, such as iquiry, problem solvig ad creativity. 2 To that ed, this brief puts forth a ot-so-ovel cocept: CTE is your STEM strategy. Simply put, STEM must ot be viewed as a separate eterprise from CTE. While a state s CTE programs may ot ecompass everythig withi a state s STEM strategy, high-quality CTE programs ca provide a strog foudatio for ad serve as a delivery system of STEM competecies ad skills for a broader rage of studets. By cosiderig STEM as preparatio for a variety of careers, ad ot just limited to the traditioally defied STEM jobs, the strategy of leveragig CTE to deliver STEM educatio makes a lot of sese. While there is clear labor market demad for workers i STEM jobs accordig to Chage the Equatio, there are 3.6 uemployed people for every job opeig across all occupatios compared to early two ope STEM jobs for every uemployed perso the demad for STEM skills is eve more comprehesive. 3 1

Accordig to a aalysis by the Georgetow Ceter o Educatio ad the Workforce, however, the STEM skills gap is actually more about a gap i those STEM competecies amog workers tha about a gap i the umber of STEM workers. The cocer for STEM shortages teds to focus o the possibility of a isufficiet supply of STEM workers, but the deeper problem is a broader scarcity of workers with basic STEM competecies across the etire ecoomy. Demad for the core competecies is far greater tha the five percet traditioal STEM employmet share suggests, ad stretches across the etire U.S. job market, touchig virtually every idustry. 4 I additio, a recet report from the Brookigs Istitute estimates that as of 2011, 26 millio U.S. jobs 20 percet of all jobs require a high level of kowledge i ay oe STEM field, oly half of which require a bachelor s degree but early all of which pay well above the atioal media salary. 5 Oe beefit of viewig STEM through this CTE les is that it allows for a broader uderstadig of STEM, a uderstadig that exteds beyod just egieerig or the traditioal sciece disciplies, which is how STEM is all too ofte arrowly defied ad implemeted. It also allows states, districts ad schools to build their STEM strategies based o existig efforts rather tha addig aother ew iitiative to the mix. The policy brief will explore: The elemets of a high-quality CTE program of study that makes it a effective tool for deliverig or implemetig STEM educatio; How STEM is aturally embedded across the 16 Career Clusters ; Examples of states embracig the lik betwee CTE ad STEM; ad Areas where CTE ad STEM programs ca lear from ad stregthe oe aother. DEFINING STEM There are may ways to defie STEM educatio. For some, STEM is all about gettig more studets iterested i ad prepared for the egieerig fields. Aother commo iterpretatio focuses o buildig applicatios withi traditioal sciece courses. The Next Geeratio Sciece Stadards (NGSS), for example, offer this: The [NGSS] represet a commitmet to itegrate egieerig desig ito the structure of sciece educatio by raisig egieerig desig to the same level as scietific iquiry whe teachig sciece disciplies at all levels, from kidergarte to grade 12. There are both practical ad ispiratioal reasos for icludig egieerig desig as a essetial elemet of sciece educatio. 6 NGSS s approach to egieerig desig is largely draw from the Natioal Research Ceter s K-12 Framework for Sciece Educatio, which icludes the followig statemet: We use the term egieerig i a very broad sese to mea ay egagemet i a systematic practice of desig to achieve solutios to particular huma problems. Likewise, we broadly use the term techology to iclude all types of huma-made systems ad processes Techologies result whe egieers apply their uderstadig of the atural world ad of huma behavior to desig ways to satisfy huma eeds ad wats. 7 2

Aother defiitio focuses o the iterdiscipliary opportuities withi STEM: STEM educatio is a iterdiscipliary approach to learig where rigorous academic cocepts are coupled with real-world lessos as studets apply sciece, techology, egieerig ad mathematics i cotexts that make coectios betwee school, commuity, work ad the global eterprise eablig the developmet of STEM literacy ad with it the ability to compete i the ew ecoomy. 8 There is eve a movemet i place attemptig to rebrad STEM ito STEAM with the A stadig for arts. 9 CTE AS A STEM DELIVERY SYSTEM I the sprig of 2010, State CTE Directors from all 50 states uited aroud a ew visio for CTE, called Reflect, Trasform, Lead: A New Visio for Career Techical Educatio. 10 The visio sets expectatios for CTE ad promotes specific policy ad programmatic actio steps to achieve the visio ad esure CTE is high quality aroud the atio. Specifically, five priciples were idetified i this CTE Visio: 1. CTE is critical to esurig that the Uited States leads i global competitiveess. 2. CTE actively parters with employers to desig ad provide high-quality, dyamic programs. 3. CTE prepares studets to succeed i further educatio ad careers. 4. CTE is delivered through comprehesive programs of study aliged to The Natioal Career Clusters Framework. 5. CTE is a results-drive system that demostrates a positive retur o ivestmet. All five of these priciples directly apply to STEM, demostratig a clear lik betwee highquality CTE ad STEM policy, programs ad iitiatives. To go oe level deeper, there are a umber of elemets withi CTE that make it a atural delivery system for STEM educatio, discussed i more detail below. To be clear, these are elemets of high-quality CTE programs, those meetig the priciples laid out i the visio described above. Secodary-Postsecodary Aligmet Programs of study, which are required for all recipiets of federal fudig through the Carl D. Perkis Career ad Techical Educatio Act of 2006 (Perkis), icorporate well-aliged secodary ad postsecodary courses, provide opportuities for dual or cocurret erollmet, are achored i idustry eeds, itegrate techical ad academic kowledge ad skills, ad lead to a idustry-recogized credetial or postsecodary degree or certificate. 11 Programs of study provide direct pathways ito postsecodary educatio ad traiig for studets, a critical goal of STEM educatio ad the broader college- ad career-ready ageda. Every state has programs of study i place, although i may states these secodaryto-postsecodary likages are largely created ad maitaied at the local level rather tha grouded i statewide stadards or credit trasfer agreemets. A umber of states do have robust pathway programs with strog articulatio or trascripted credit policies i place, 3

such as Kasas s dual erollmet policy 12 or Motaa s Big Sky Pathways iitiative, 13 that provide a model for other states. This is a policy lever that has sigificat potetial to improve trasitios for all CTE (ad STEM) studets. Busiess-Educatio Parterships As articulated by the secod CTE Visio priciple, CTE is built o parterships ad sits at the exus of educatio, busiess, ad ecoomic ad workforce developmet. Successful CTE programs are well-aliged to idustry eeds, eeds that ca best be defied by idustry leaders ad employers. 14 There are a umber of models for egagig busiess i supportig CTE ad helpig keep it relevat, from busiess leaders sittig o advisory coucils to providig work-based learig experieces for CTE studets through iterships, exterships, job shadowig ad capstoe projects developed by busiess for busiess. Just as CTE programs thrive o busiess egagemet, STEM programs also must reflect the expectatios of employers ad the global ecoomy. Problem-Based/Project-Based Learig Oe hallmark of high-quality CTE is that it offers true cotextualized learig for studets, or ways for studets to master techical ad academic cotet withi the cotext of a specific idustry or career pathway. Much of this cotextualizig is about providig studets with more hads-o learig that focuses o solvig a problem or udertakig a project that is reflective of a authetic, real-world challege. High-quality STEM pathways ad courses strive to provide such studet-cetered, problem-based learig as well. The Souther Regioal Educatio Board (SREB) is leadig a effort with 10 states called Advaced Career. Through this effort, the states are each creatig a four-course sequece i a CTE area of their choice, aliged to college- ad career-ready stadards ad based o solvig authetic problems. For example, Alabama is creatig a sequece of courses ad studet-cetered projects i Aerospace Egieerig, Kasas i STEM Educatio ad Traiig, New Jersey i Etrepreeurship ad Global Logistics, North Carolia i Project Maagemet, ad West Virgiia i Eergy ad Power. 15 Additioally, may CTE studets participate i Career Techical Studet Orgaizatios (CTSOs), such as FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America), HOSA (future health professioals), Techology Studet Associatio ad SkillsUSA 16 which, amog other activities, provide skillsbased competitios for studets. These competitios are based largely o studets abilities to work idividually or i teams to solve problems ad preset projects to judges from idustry ad educatio. While the focus of these efforts is o CTE ad career readiess, they clearly support studet mastery of the STEM competecies, as may problem- or projectbased learig experieces do. 4

Use of Techology I some states, such as Marylad ad Oklahoma, CTE does ot stad for Career Techical Educatio, but rather Career Techology Educatio. This demostrates both the traditioal view of CTE as a meas of traiig idividuals i techology (icludig, but ot limited to, iformatio techology) ad the techical subjects, as well as a more updated view o techology as beig critical ad fully embedded i high-quality techical traiig. Ideed, oe reaso may states still utilize techology ceters is that they allow schools to pool resources to make the ecessary ivestmets i techology ad equipmet, from pathway-specific software programs (e.g., AutoCAD, GIS, Photoshop) ad hardware (e.g., fabricatio tools, x-ray machies, power tools), to techology for project maagemet ad commuicatios (e.g., Microsoft Office, Basecamp, WebEx). While states cotiue to grapple with how they ca best leverage techology to iform ad ehace istructio, CTE has embraced techology from the begiig. Give the expese of techology, may STEM programs ca beefit from beig itegrated ito CTE to utilize existig techologies ad tools. Itegrated ad Cross-Discipliary Kowledge & Skills As metioed above, programs of study or sequeces of courses ad experieces are expected to itegrate techical ad academic kowledge ad skills. Iitiatives such as the Natioal Research Ceter for Career & Techical Educatio s Math-i-CTE ad Literacy-i-CTE, Liked Learig, ad the -Achieve Task Aligmet partership 17 are all examples of efforts to support the itegratio of academic ad techical teachig ad learig. Additioally, with the Commo Core State Stadards i Eglish Laguage Arts/Literacy, adopted by 46 states ad Washigto DC, CTE educators ow have a explicit charge to brig rigorous, grade-level literacy ito their courses. States also are egagig CTE educators aroud the Commo Core State Stadards i mathematics, although to a lesser extet to date. The NGSS, curretly adopted by eight states, should also ecourage more academic ad techical itegratio by desig, particularly with their iclusio of sciece ad egieerig practices. 18 There is o questio that, eve without makig the coectios explicit, there is sigificat overlap i the kowledge ad skills betwee traditioal core academic courses ad CTE courses. This is especially true give the icreasigly demadig 21st cetury workplace, which requires more commuicatios, aalytical thikig ad critical thikig skills tha ever before. A beefit of CTE is that it ca draw o kowledge ad skills from ay ad all cotet areas. For example, themed career academies ofte require studets to itegrate the CTE area ito all of their studies ad vice versa. The New York Harbor School, for example, itegrates Eglish, history, sciece ad mathematics ito ad across its CTE-specific courses. 19 5

Aother way of cosiderig itegratio is with respect to cotet ad practices or the itegratio of kowledge ad its may applicatios. The Commo Career Techical Core, a commo set of CTE bechmark stadards created by 42 states ad two territories, itroduce 12 Career Ready Practices which idetify the kowledge, skills ad dispositios all studets, at all learer levels, eed to have i order to be ready for careers. 20 It is clear that STEM ca support ad help foster all of these practices just as CTE does: Act as a resposible ad cotributig citize ad employee. Apply appropriate academic ad techical skills. Atted to persoal health ad fiacial well-beig. Commuicate clearly ad effectively ad with reaso. Cosider the evirometal, social ad ecoomic impacts of decisios. Demostrate creativity ad iovatio. Employ valid ad reliable research strategies. Utilize critical thikig to make sese of problems ad persevere i solvig them. Model itegrity, ethical leadership ad effective maagemet. Pla educatio ad career paths aliged to persoal goals. Use techology to ehace productivity. Work productively i teams while usig cultural global competece. Access for Typically Uderrepreseted Studets A commo cocer about America s ability to compete globally i the STEM fields is that too few miority studets have access to ad are prepared for STEM careers (or the postsecodary educatio ecessary for access to STEM careers). 21 However, CTE is slightly more diverse tha the full populatio of secodary studets, providig a etry poit ad itroductio to STEM competecies ad skills for more traditioally uderserved studets, as demostrated i Table 1. There are two likely explaatios behid the data. For oe, vocatioal educatio was typically a separate (ad uequal) track for studets who were t college material, ito which certai disadvataged studets were couseled. I the last decade, CTE programs have embraced the goal of preparig studets for careers rather tha for specific jobs, ad efforts are beig made i may states ad districts to esure CTE pathways are equally rigorous to more traditioal course pathways. The secod explaatio is simply that CTE is relevat ad iterestig (i.e., utilizes hads-o learig, techology ad iterdiscipliary lessos), thus attractig studets who may be margialized i traditioal educatio. I ay case, CTE presets a opportuity for egagig more studets ito STEM careers. Oe group makig the coectio betwee STEM ad CTE is the Natioal Alliace for Parterships i Equity (NAPE), a coalitio of orgaizatios workig to esure geder ad racial equality i classrooms ad the workplace. NAPE is leadig a iitiative called STEM Equity, which specifically works to improve opportuities for uderrepreseted populatios i STEM icludig STEM-related Career ad Techology Educatio. 22 6

Table 1: Erollmet i CTE by Race/Ethicity 23 Race/Ethicity % of Total % of Secodary 9-12 Erollmet CTE Participatio ALL.... 100%.... 100% America Idia/Native America 24......... 1.2%.... 1.2% Asia/Pacific Islader/Native Hawaiia.... 5.1%.... 4.3% Black... 16.8%.... 17.8% Hispaic/Latio.... 20.1%.... 20.9% White.... 56.2%.... 54.1% Two or More Races/Ethicities... 0.6%.... 0.7% STEM ACROSS THE CAREER CLUSTERS Most of the 16 Career Clusters ad related 79 Career Pathways are aliged explicitly to the STEM disciplies ad specific STEM careers. For example, withi the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Career Cluster, studets ca gai the foudatioal kowledge ad skills to pursue careers i horticulture, aimal sciece, eviromet sciece, mechaical egieerig or food sciece, amog other areas. Or withi the Arts, A/V Techology, & Telecommuicatios Career Cluster, studets ca become prepared for careers i graphic or web desig, video productio, fiber optics ad other diverse idustries. Eve those Career Clusters idividuals might ot immediately associate with STEM ca help prepare studets for careers i the STEM field. For example, studets i the Busiess Maagemet & Admiistratio Career Cluster will gai skills such as strategies for aalyzig iformatio, uderstadig the life cycle of a research ad developmet (R&D) process, orgaizatioal maagemet skills, ad so o that could trasfer to ruig a STEM-focused busiess. Or, studets ca lear about sciece ad techology policy, itellectual property ad patets, public health issues, ad how to coduct statistical aalyses to evaluate a policy or program through the Govermet & Public Admiistratio Career Cluster. All of these skills have groudig i the basic STEM competecies, ad have a direct applicatio of kowledge of sciece, techology, egieerig ad/or mathematics. Table 2 provides specific examples of the types of STEM-focused or STEM-related careers studets ca prepare for by participatig i CTE programs aliged to The Natioal Career Clusters Framework. These are just a samplig; there are may more careers with differet levels of educatio ad traiig required that could be icluded i the table. Importatly, every positio listed requires some educatio ad traiig beyod high school, ofte a associate s degree or above. 7

Table 2: The Career Clusters ad Sample Related STEM Careers Career Cluster Samples of Stem Careers 25 Agriculture, Food Agriculture Techicias & Natural Resources Agriculture Egieers Forest ad Coservatio Workers Foresters Food Sciece Techicias Veteriarias Marie Biologists Water Resource Specialists v Architecture & Costructio Arts, A/V Techology & Commuicatios Busiess Maagemet & Admiistratio Educatio & Traiig Fiace Govermet & Public Admiistratio Architects Civil Egieers Civil Egieerig Techicias Surveyors Drafters Cost Estimators Graphic Desigers Telecommuicatios Egieerig Specialists Multimedia Artists & Aimators Audio Techicias Accoutats Auditors Operatios Research Aalysts STEM K-12 or postsecodary Teachers Speech-Laguage Pathologists Actuaries Fiacial Aalysts Fiacial Plaers Loa Officers I vestmet Bakers Patet Officer Cryptographers Policy Aalysts Climate Chage Aalysts Itelligece Aalysts Career Cluster Samples of Stem Careers 25 Hospitality & Tourism Museums/Zoos/Aquariums Persoel Parks ad Gardes Ragers Brewers Pastry ad Specialty Chefs Huma Services Iformatio Techology Law, Public Safety, Correctios & Security Maufacturig Marketig STEM Developmetal Psychologists Persoal Traiers Metal Health Couselors Massage Therapists Programmers Hardware, Software Egieers Computer Support Specialists Iformatio Security Aalysts Database Admiistrators Webmasters Video Game Desigers Emergecy Medical Techicias Firefighter/Ispectors Fire-Prevetio ad Protectio Egieers Browfield Redevelopmet Specialists ad Site Maagers Aircraft Mechaics ad Service/ Avioics Techicias Automotive Mechaics Mechaical Egieers Electroics Egieers Electroics Egieerig Techicias Wid Turbie Service Techicias Welders Iteractive Media Specialists Market Researchers Forecastig Maagers Ivetory Maager/Aalysts Ay/all of careers listed Health Sciece Physicias Nurses Geeticists / Biotechology Researchers Biologists Dietitias ad Nutritioists Detal Hygieists Trasportatio, Distributio & Logistics Trasportatio Plaers Trasportatio Egieers Occupatioal Health ad Safety Techicias Trasportatio Vehicle, Equipmet ad Systems Ispectors 8

Gree & Sustaiability Stadards Aother les through which to examie how STEM exists across the 16 Career Clusters is to cosider the effort led by states to develop Gree & Sustaiability Stadards. The impetus behid this U.S. Departmet of Educatio-fuded effort was the icrease i gree jobs, particularly at the high ad middle skill levels, as well as a recogitio that sustaiability impacts early all idustries ad employees. This marked the first effort to map such expectatios across a commo set of CTE stadards, the Career Cluster Kowledge & Skills Statemets. The result are four Gree & Sustaiability stadards that apply across all 16 Career Clusters ad Career Cluster-specific stadards i six areas: Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources; Architecture & Costructio; Iformatio Techology; Maufacturig; Sciece, Techology, Egieerig & Mathematics; ad Trasportatio, Distributio & Logistics. These six areas were idetified as those beig the most likely to experiece the greatest eed for gree ad sustaiability workers. 26 THE STRATEGY It should come as o great surprise that a umber of states have made a explicit coectio betwee their CTE ad STEM policies ad programs. Wyomig s Educatio Coordiatig Coucil hosted a STEM-CTE Summit i 2012 to pla their strategy comprehesively. Marylad s Early College Iovatio Fud was created to icetivize early college access programs for studets pursuig CTE ad/or STEM disciplies. Specifically, the Marylad State Departmet of Educatio geerated competitive grats to fud parterships of local school systems ad higher educatio istitutios to create early college high schools or other forms of early college access; priority is give to those programs that provide studets with credetials (i the form of degrees, certificates ad certificatios, as appropriate) i fields for which there is high demad i Marylad. 27 North Carolia s Board of Educatio-Approved STEM Strategy May states have STEM strategies ad STEM etworks charged with guidig those strategies. It is also quite commo for state departmets of educatio alog with state higher educatio commissios, workforce developmet agecies, ad third-party busiess-led orgaizatios to support those etworks as full parters. However, North Carolia has take this oe step further; the North Carolia STEM Network is leadig a comprehesive STEM strategy that was developed joitly by the North Carolia Departmet of Public Istructio, the North Carolia Commuity College System, the North Carolia Sciece, Mathematics ad Techology (SMT) Educatio Ceter, UNC Geeral Admiistratio, ad Battelle Memorial Istitute, ad approved by the State Board of Educatio i 2011. 9

The NC STEM Network has three major goals: 1. Icreasig STEM achievemet (e.g., icrease studet iterest ad achievemet i the STEM areas, ad fid a commo way of measurig STEM attributes of schools, programs ad studets) 2. Icreasig commuity uderstadig ad support for kowledge-based ecoomy (e.g., parterships, awareess buildig) 3. Coectig STEM resources across public-private sectors (e.g., idetify retur o ivestmet, ad scale more effective programs efficietly) What is strikig about these three goals is how closely they resemble the pricipals for highquality CTE idetified i Reflect, Trasform ad Lead: A New Visio for Career Techical Educatio, demostratig the atural coectio betwee STEM ad CTE. North Carolia STEM School/Program To achieve the first goal, the North Carolia Departmet of Public Istructio ad the NC STEM Network created 11 Attributes to assess a quality STEM program i K-12, offered i or out of school. Accordig to the NC STEM Network, this rubric has direct applicatio for aalyzig programs more traditioally labeled as CTE, as it embraces the elemets of high-quality CTE ad is, agai, well-aliged with the priciples idetified i the CTE Visio paper. This rubric is a strog tool i ay CTE leader s toolbox as they thik about program quality ad effectiveess. Aother major elemet of North Carolia s STEM strategy is to support the developmet of curriculum i key STEM areas where CTE is ot curretly fillig the eed i the state, amely biotechology ad agrisciece, eergy ad sustaiability, aerospace security ad advaced maufacturig, ad health ad life scieces. With support from Race to the Top fuds, the state is developig four-course sequeces i these four cotet areas. While the courses are beig desiged as stad-aloe sequeces, they are iteded to be taught either by CTE educators (as part of a CTE program of study) or by sciece ad mathematics teachers. The curricula will be made available through Homebase, North Carolia s statewide istructioal improvemet ad studet iformatio system, allowig ay teacher access to the curricula either as a full course or as a istructioal resource to help them teach specific course objectives. Accordig to the former STEM leader withi the NC Departmet of Public Istructio, Rebecca Paye, who also previously served as the State CTE Director, for STEM to be successful, leadership will eed to be take by CTE. This is a chace for CTE to provide leadership withi a school ad to help teachers see the applicatio of what they are teachig. 10

Michiga STEM Partership & CTE: Learig that Works for Michiga The Michiga STEM Partership 28 is a statewide, coordiated effort to promote STEM educatio ad idustry. Parters iclude the Michiga Departmet of Educatio, the U.S. Army, the Presidets Coucil for State Uiversities of Michiga, the Michiga Mathematics ad Sciece Ceters Network, Michiga Project Lead the Way, ad other busiess, K-12 ad postsecodary represetatives. The MI STEM Partership s strategy is well-aliged ad is iheretly supportive of CTE programs ad iitiatives. Specifically, the Partership idetifies the followig strategies: 1. Icrease iterest/awareess of STEM career opportuities amog studets, educators, parets, couselors ad legislators. 2. Icrease egagemet ad commitmet of busiess ad idustry i the Partership. 3. Icrease the umber of studets who graduate from high school, career- or collegeready, without requirig remediatio i STEM fields. 4. Icrease the umber of high school ad college graduates i STEM fields. 5. Research ad seek local, state ad atioal fudig opportuities i order to support the goals of the Partership. Work statewide ad/or with hubs as appropriate to respod to these opportuities. Patricia Catu, Michiga s State CTE Director at the Michiga Departmet of Educatio, serves as a board member for the STEM Partership, a workig board that meets mothly. Additioally, the CTE: Learig that Works for Michiga logo, which is used by the Michiga Departmet of Educatio s Office of Career ad Techical Educatio is also icluded i the Parters, demostratig that CTE is ot oly ivolved, but has bee embraced as part of the STEM strategy. 29 Ohio s Hybrid Academic ad CTE Curricula As part of Ohio s Race to the Top award, the state released a Request for Proposal i 2011 etitled Establishig Career-Techical Educatio withi Ohio s STEM Network through Hybrid Academic ad Techical Workforce Curricula. The grat is ow beig maaged by the Ohio Associatio of Career-Techical Superitedets (OACTS) to facilitate the developmet of what Tom Applegate, the Executive Director of OACTS, called a STEM-CTE hybrid curriculum i health iformatics. Ohio chose to develop a four-course program of study i health iformatics, as it is a highdemad field that exemplifies the various disciplies withi STEM. With a emphasis o the aalysis of big data at the populatio level, the aalysis of idividual health iformatio data, ad a patiet care compoet, health iformatics draws o statistics, mathematical modelig, computer sciece ad health sciece. The Ohio Departmet of Educatio has developed a template to allow courses, such as these four, to cout for simultaeous CTE ad academic credit. The iitial goal is for each of the four courses to cout for up to a quarter credit of statistics, aliged to the Commo Core State Stadards, with other opportuities for academic ad CTE credit to be idetified alog the way. 11

Ohio s project is part of the Souther Regioal Educatio Board s (SREB) Advaced Career iitiative, ad the fial curricula will be made available free for all of Ohio s schools. The courses, each of which is comprised of six projects, are beig piloted i both techical ceters ad comprehesive high schools at this time. For more iformatio, see http://ohioacts.org/iformatics.html. WHERE STEM CAN SUPPORT & ADVANCE CTE Just as CTE ca be a effective pathway for STEM educatio, efforts to bolster STEM educatio across the atio ca advace certai CTE programs ad goals. Efforts to support STEM ad CTE are mutually reiforcig, ad there are also advaces drive by the STEM reform movemet that ca help advace CTE, such as: Elemetary & Middle School Exposure: Studets rarely have access to CTE before high school; at most, they have access to career exploratio opportuities i middle school. May STEM programs, though, focus o egagig studets i the earliest grades. These programs should be coected explicitly to the CTE programs available to those elemetary studets oce they hit secodary school to ecourage both higher egagemet i the traditioal sciece ad mathematics courses as well as higher erollmet i the techical courses. Out-of-School Parterships: There is icreasig iterest i expadig work-based learig opportuities, icludig, but ot limited to iterships, 30 but they ca be challegig to coordiate, maitai ad brig to scale. However, may compaies ad busiess orgaizatios have demostrated a public commitmet to icreasig our STEM pipelie. Part of this may simply be a commuicatios ad marketig tactic, but buildig the likages betwee CTE ad STEM to busiess leaders ad employers ca impact the availability of work-based learig opportuities for a broader array of studets. Groups like Chage the Equatio 31 ad STEM Coector 32 are egagig a broad base of compaies ad busiess leaders aroud STEM educatio. I the case of Chage the Equatio, they are focusig particularly o improvig access for girls ad studets of color who traditioally have bee uderrepreseted i STEM fields. These orgaizatios ca serve as both a model for busiess egagemet ad also a vehicle for buildig the bridge betwee STEM ad CTE amog the atio s CEOs ad busiess executives. Itegrated Teachig ad Credits Fially, a umber of states are movig towards itegrated teachig or awardig credits to studets based o the demostratio of competecy i a cotet area rather tha seat time. This ot oly allows for differetiated istructio based o studets learig styles, but it also ecourages more cross-discipliary teachig ad learig. 12

Related, some states ad istitutios of higher educatio have begu offerig pre-service ad i-service teacher certificatios i STEM. These certificatios are a effective strategy for gettig more CTE teachers certified to teach academic courses ad vice versa, as may programs focus o egieerig ad desig priciples, which have applicatios across techical ad academic areas. With policies structured strategically, more teachers will be certified ad qualified to teach courses that potetially award both CTE ad sciece or mathematics credit (e.g., a biotechology class that couts towards a biology credit ad a CTE credit i health scieces). QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION As states ad commuities cosider their STEM iitiatives curretly uderway or i the process of beig scaled up, there are some importat questios they may ask to esure they are fully leveragig their CTE efforts ad focusig o fillig gaps rather tha recreatig the wheel: I what idustries are CTE programs of study well-aliged with your state s or regio s labor market eeds (or, where does your state already have strog educatio-toworkforce pathways)? Based o labor market data, where are there gaps i your state s CTE programs of study (or, where do you eed more or stroger educatio-to-workforce pathways)? How ca the iterdiscipliary professioal developmet occurrig uder the auspices of STEM educatio be exteded to more (or all) CTE ad core academic educators? How ca STEM-based career guidace be expaded ito broader career guidace, which is otherwise uder-provided, especially i the earlier grades? How ca the istructioal ad/or programmatic tools ad resources beig created through your state s STEM iitiative be itegrated or leveraged by CTE educators (ad vice versa)? What strategies are i place to esure o barrier is beig set up real or perceived betwee STEM educators ad CTE educators? CONCLUSION This paper aims to make the case that CTE ad STEM eed to be better coected at the policy, practice ad rhetorical levels, give their shared goals, elemets ad stakeholders. While the paper coteds that CTE eeds to be a major elemet of ay state s or commuity s STEM strategy, it is fair to say that STEM is CTE, give its focus o itegrated learig, the applicatio of kowledge ad skills, ad career preparatio. Lookig ahead, state ad local leaders should work collaboratively to idetify where CTE is deliverig high-quality STEM skills ad competecies successfully, where efforts eed to be shored up, ad how to best scale those programs with the greatest value to studets, employers ad our atio. 13

FOOTNOTES 1 2008 Route to the Top, http://cotet.specerstuart.com/sswebsite/pdf/lib/2008_rttt_fial_summary.pdf 2 To see sample plas of study for STEM programs of study, see http:///career-clusters/ resources/plas/sciece.html 3 Chage the Equatio. Vital Sigs: STEM Help Wated. http://chagetheequatio.org/sites/default/files/ CTEq_VitalSigs_Supply%20%282%29.pdf 4 Carevale, A. et al (Oct. 2011). STEM. Ceter for Educatio ad the Workforce, Georgetow Uiversity. http:// cew.georgetow.edu/stem/ 5 Rothwell, Joatha (Jue 2012). The Hidde STEM Ecoomy. The Brookigs Istitute Metropolita Policy Program. http://www.brookigs.edu/research/reports/2013/06/10-stem-ecoomy-rothwell 6 Next Geeratio Sciece Stadards, Appedix I: Egieerig Desig i the NGSS. http://extgesciece. org/sites/gss/files/appedix%20i%20-%20egieerig%20desig%20i%20ngss%20-%20final_v2.pdf 7 Natioal Research Coucil (2012.) A Framework for K-12 Sciece Educatio: Practices, Crosscuttig Cocepts, ad Core Ideas. Committee o a Coceptual Framework for New K-12 Sciece Educatio Stadards. Board o Sciece Educatio, Divisio of Behavioral ad Social Scieces ad Educatio. Washigto, DC: The Natioal Academies Press. http://www.ap.edu/opebook.php?record_id=13165&page=1 8 Tsupros, N., et al (2009). STEM Educatio: A Project to Idetify the Missig Compoets. Itermediate Uit 1: Ceter for STEM Educatio ad Leoard Gelfad Ceter for Service Learig ad Outreach, Caregie Mello Uiversity, Pesylvaia. 9 For example, see http://stemtosteam.org/ 10 (2010). Reflect, Trasform, Lead: A New Visio for Career Techical Educatio. http://www. careertech.org/career-techical-educatio/cte-visio.html 11 For more o the 10 compoets of a Rigorous Program of Study, as defied by the Carl D. Perkis Career ad Techical Educatio Act of 2006 ad the Office of Vocatioal ad Adult Educatio, see http://cte.ed.gov/ atioaliitiatives/rposdesigframework.cfm 12 Kasas Seate Bill 155, www.kslegislature.org/li_2012/b2011_12/measures/documets/summary_ sb_155_2012.pdf 13 For more o Motaa s Big Sky Pathways, see http://mus.edu/bigskypathways/ 14 The Career Pathways Effect: Likig Educatio ad Ecoomic Prosperity 15 For more o SREB s Preparatio for Tomorrow, see www.sreb.org/page/1608/preparatio_for_tomorrow.html 16 For more o Career Techical Studet Orgaizatios, see www.ctsos.org 17 For more see www.rccte.org/professioal-developmet/math-cte/lesso-plas; www.cteliteracylessos. com/; http://coectedcaliforia.org/curriculum/itegrated_uits; http://achieve.org/ccss-cte-workshopplaig-tools 18 For more o the Next Geeratio Sciece Stadards, see www.extgesciece.org 19 For more, see http://ewyorkharborschool.org/our-curriculum/career-tech-educatio/ 20 For more o the Commo Career Techical Core, see /cctc.html 21 Busiess-Higher Educatio Forum (2011). Creatig the Workforce of the Future: The STEM Iterest ad Proficiecy Challege. www.bhef.com/sites/bhef.drupalgardes.com/files/brief_2011_stem_ierest_ proficiecy.pdf 22 For more o The Natioal Alliace for Parterships i Equity s STEM Equity project, see http://www. apequity.org/stem/ 23 Data from a aalysis of Natioal Ceter o Educatio Statistics (NCES), Commo Core of Data 2008-09 (http://ces.ed.gov/ccd/bat/) ad the U.S. Departmet of Educatio s Report to Cogress o State Performace o the Carl D. Perkis Career ad Techical Educatio Act Program Year 2009-10 (http://cte. ed.gov/docs/rpt_to_cogress/perkis_rtc_2009-10.pdf ). 24 The Carl D. Perkis Career ad Techical Educatio Act: Report to Cogress o State Performace disaggregates studet participatio data by 1997 ad 1977 race/ethicity defiitios; for purpose of clarity, this report codeses overlappig race/ethicity categories. 25 Draw from O*NET Olie: http://www.oetolie.org/fid/stem?t=0 26 For a overview of the Gree & Sustaiability Stadards ad all relevat resources, see http://cteworks. careertech.org/media/flash_module/story.html 27 For more o Marylad s Early College Iovatio Fud see: www.maryladpublicschools.org/nr/rdolyres/ EBA86073-1D61-4095-9E11-2D3C43C01F42/35906/EarlyCollegeIovatioFud_052013_.pdf 28 For more o the Michiga STEM Partership, see http://mistempartership.com/ 29 The Michiga STEM Partership s 2013 Strategic ad Operatioal pla: http://mistempartership.com/ documets/msp%20strategic%20ad%20operatioal%20pla%202013.rtf 30 Alliace for Excellet Educatio & (Oct 2012). Promotig Work-Based Learig: Efforts i Coecticut ad Ketucky. http://all4ed.org/wp-cotet/uploads/2013/06/workbasedlearigct-ky.pdf 31 For more o Chage the Equatio, see http://chagetheequatio.org/ 32 For more o STEM Coector, see http://www.stemcoector.org/ 14