CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CTE Cooperative Education
Enhancement March 2011
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1 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION Cooperative education
(a.k.a. coop or work study) is intended as a year-long, work-based
learning experience for our most promising senior CTE students,
designed to give them on- the-job advanced skills training in their
chosen CTE pathway However, for the majority of students, the
cooperative education experience is more similar to a generic work
release program rather than building on CTE-related skills in a
well- structured work placement. Making some minor modifications to
the cooperative education program specifically, providing a clear
set of enforced guidelines will help provide a better student
experience. These guidelines include: Principal sign off &
enforcement of modifications Minimum hours and job placement
guidelines for students Clear teacher requirements Central office
support in sourcing job opportunities Executive Summary
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2 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION 1.Why are we here? 2.Why
are we making changes? 3.What are the proposed changes? 4.How will
placement of students work? 5.What are the new tools being
provided? 6.Next Steps 7.Questions? Agenda
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3 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION We heard from a variety of
sources that cooperative education at CPS has had challenges that
were worth investigating Through our research we found a few key
issues both at central office and at the school/classroom level
that could be solved by providing better tools, support and
guidance The following pages shed light on what issues we found,
identify key tools and support that we will provide through central
office, and outline our expectations going forward Why are we
here?
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4 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION Cooperative education
(a.k.a. coop or work study) at CPS is intended as a year- long,
work-based learning experience for our most promising senior CTE
students, designed to give them on-the-job advanced skills training
in their chosen CTE pathway. Over time, however, the program has
changed: Type of Job: Opportunities are often more similar to a
generic work release program rather than truly building on
CTE-related skills in a well-structured work placement. Length of
time in Job: Students are not finding cooperative education
opportunities until well after the 20 th day (weve heard of
placements as late as February) Programming: 38% of students are
incorrectly programmed into coop, meaning that they didnt take
training level course. Some have had no prior CTE experience at all
before being placed in a coop. Coursework: Under central office
direction, courses have been primarily basic soft skills training
rather than technical skills training Why are we making
changes?
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5 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION Opportunity to improve
student selection: Many cooperative education programs enroll
students who have not completed any prior CTE coursework (only ~62%
of all students are programmed correctly) Top 10 Employers from
2010 CPS Schools: 95 students McDonalds: 23 Northern Trust: 23
After School Matters: 11 Ninas Fashion: 6 El Guero: 5 Jewel: 5
Pizza Hut: 5 Burger King: 4 Kindercare Learning Center: 4
Opportunity to improve student placement: By January 2011, an
estimated 1/3 (or more) cooperative education students do not
appear to have work placements. And based on a brief analysis of
2010 employer information, the majority of coop employers offer
students jobs rather than true cooperative education work
experiences. 2011 Student Enrollment School Total Coop Students %
Correctly Programmed CVCA333% CRANE HS 1753% CURIE HS97100% CORLISS
HS24100% DUNBAR HS1486% ENTREPRENEURSHP HS26100% HARPER HS3474%
HUBBARD HS 1060% HYDE PARK HS7099% JULIAN HS4680% KELLY HS 11218%
KELVYN PARK HS 205% KENNEDY HS 268% PROSSER HS 20% SCHOOL OF TECH
HS 6134% Total56262% Why are we making changes? The Data
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6 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION Why are we making changes?
Examples Strong Coop PlacementsAfter School Jobs (Not Coop)
Accounting student works alongside accounts receivable team
performing entry level accounting tasks. Students receive
supplemental employability skills training sessions from company
including business etiquette, effective communication skills, and
working with others. Information Technology student serves as a
valued member of the RUSH Medical Center IT team providing
technical support and computer troubleshooting for the RUSH staff
Information Technology student works at the register of McDonalds
using the electronic order screen Entrepreneurship student works at
After School Matters as a lifeguard trainee, learning aquatic
rescues, CPR, and other life-saving skills
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7 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION By making minor
modifications, we believe that cooperative education can serve its
intended purpose: To enable students to see firsthand the
connection between classroom education and the work environment, to
gain advanced technical skills in their chosen pathway, and to
refine their work readiness skills What are the proposed changes?
IssuesPlanned Solutions Central office support to help find
opportunities & provide professional development to teachers
Revised timeline for student placement and summer support for
approving placements More rigorous student qualifications,
placement requirements and teacher requirements (see next slide)
Standardized/updated program evaluation tools linked to new
employability assessment Curriculum for related course moved
towards technical skills training with a goal of 100% transition by
AY13 Cooperative education work placements often unrelated to their
CTE field and were hard to find for all students in a reasonable
amount of time Students placed in cooperative education work
environments did not have technical/ employability skills necessary
for job Evaluation tools provided by central office/ISBE were
outdated and did not connect to other tools used for CTE work based
learning Associated in-class curriculum varied considerably
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8 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION ISBE/CPS Cooperative
Education Guidelines will require that Cooperative Education
Teachers: Create an individualized coop plan for each student
directly linked to advanced skills in their chosen CTE pathway and
agreed on by employer, student, and teacher. See CPS coop handbook
for template. Make regularly scheduled visits to the work sites to
include evenings but not weekends. Visits must happen at minimum
1/quarter per student and some form of official contact (be it in
person, phone, or email) made with the employer at least 1/month.*
Complete online tracking tool every 5 weeks in accordance with
grading periods (to report on student placement information) Ensure
placement of student in cooperative education work experience by
the 20 th day.* (Teacher is ultimately responsible for ensuring job
placement, however beginning in AY12, jobs to be identified with
assistance from the CTE partnership development team.) Have
completed 6 semester hours of cooperative education administration
course work before the start of school Meet basic ISBE CTE
requirements for one CTE subject area including 2,000 hours of paid
non-education based work experience ISBE/CPS Cooperative Education
Guidelines will require that Cooperative Education Students: Be a
high school senior and at minimum 16 years old Be placed in a role
directly related to their CTE pathway (paid or unpaid) Have
completed at minimum the training course (2 nd year course) in CTE*
Have an individualized coop plan directly linked to advanced skills
in their chosen CTE pathway and agreed on by employer, student, and
teacher. See CPS coop handbook for template. Have met the CTE
employability skills assessment requirement of Yes in all
Fundamental Skills and a 2 in all Character Skills. Students that
do not meet this qualification can choose in-school work for the
first semester if necessary.* Work a minimum of 180 hours/semester
which equates to approximately 10 hours/week* Must have a job
identified by 20 th day or be reprogrammed* ISBE/CPS Cooperative
Education Guidelines will require that Schools: Provide 1 period of
related in-class coursework to student Ensure teacher is programmed
for work experience and related course Provide.2 to teachers Ensure
compliance with above teacher/student requirements* * Updated
guidelines for AY11 What are the proposed changes? - Details
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9 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION Teachers, School
Administrators, and Central Office Staff will work together to
ensure that all students find meaningful training opportunities
throughout their cooperative education experience How will
placement of students work? March 10 th CTE (Central Office)
provides list of eligible students to each school March 30 th CTE
Partnership Development team (PDT) provides PD to teachers on how
to source opportunities, how to work with partners, types of
placements, etc Late April Mid-April to End of School CTE PDT works
to find student cooperative education opportunities Teachers Ensure
students follow up on opportunities Train students on how to work
with Central Office over summer CTE PDT Continues to find student
opportunities CTE Coop Coordinator to serve as approver of
opportunities over the summer months Summer Break CTE PDT continues
to provide opportunities Teacher responsible for completing
individualized coop plan & staffing students by 20 th Day
Beginning of School 20 th Day Early April Schools email CTE if they
are interested in having cooperative education (contact Sandra
Castillo) [email protected][email protected] Schools
let CTE know which students are being programmed into coop CTE
updates teachers on student status and conducts refresher PD CTE
Summer Institute Central Office Resources 2 professional
development sessions Contact person for cooperative approval over
the summer Help in finding 1/3 Coop Opportunities Standardized
Forms & Guidelines CTE (Central Office) hosts a brief info
session for cooperative education teachers
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10 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION What are the new tools
being provided? Updated HandbookRevised Evaluation Tools
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11 CTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION Next Steps: Provide
Sandra Castillo with a list of students (IDs & cluster) by
April 15 th so that we can begin sourcing opportunities Provide CTE
with feedback on evaluation tools by May 1 st