Education commissioner: Florida schools are pushing better career preparation, too

In this letter in today's Winter Haven News Chief, Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith responds to concerns in this article that the state is too focused on college readiness, at the expense of career and technical tracks:

To be absolutely clear, the new (high school) grading system does place an emphasis on providing more educational opportunities for students, such as Advanced Placement courses. However, the article fails to mention that the new system also calls for increased career preparation for those students who do not wish to be college bound. The participation and performance of students enrolled in industry certification courses plays a major role in the new formula, giving our high schools credit for allowing their students to follow the path that best suits their interests.

Manatee County schools consider selling naming rights to career academies

With Florida's budget still sinking, school districts across the state are looking for ways to keep programs afloat.

A couple weeks ago, Orange schools floated the idea of selling ads within their walls. Today, the Herald-Tribune reports about Manatee's proposal to let corporations sponsor the district's career academies.

For $25,000 in cash or donations, a company could have its name attached to the academies. They would get logos and links on the program's marketing materials. They might even get input into the curriculum.

Officials say it would be like an amped up business partnership, similar to what St. John's County schools do. "It would have to be something appropriate that adds credibility to the academy," career education director Doug Wagner told the Herald-Tribune.

The critics already are sharpening their attacks, saying it's just another way for businesses to capitalize upon a captive audience.

But those businesses are the ones that might be hiring these students once they complete their programs. And if they don't support the academies, perhaps students will have to pay to get through them. Schools can't run programs on desire alone, after all. 

It's a continuing conundrum for the schools. We heard it about exclusive soda contracts in schools, about Bus Radio and Channel One. Anyone have a good answer out there? 

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Hey, kids. Design the Florida Department of Education Web site

So you think you can design a Web site?

The Florida Department of Education has challenged students in the state's career programs to turn the  student page of the DOE site into something more kid-friendly. And let's face it, the institutional look of the current page isn't really that.

"We are living in the age of technology where the mastery of these skills can lead our children into fulfilling and prosperous careers," Lt. Governor Kottkamp said in a release announcing the contest. "This competition is a wonderful opportunity for our students to display their talent."

Submissions must be sent to the DOE on a CD, postmarked by Nov. 20. The winner will see his or her work on the Web site in 2010.

See the rules for more details.

USF to offer job search help to unemployed alumni

TAMPA -- Starting in late September, the University of South Florida will begin offering free job search help to unemployed alumni.

The new Alumni CareerQuest program involves USF's Career Center and Alumni Association. Jobless alums who have earned a degree from USF can get help with effective job search strategies, resources and coaching.

Alumni CareerQuest is not meant to be a job placement program, administrators say. But it will provide alumni with access to a variety of resources, professional career coaches, workshops, webinars, job search preparation software and opportunties to network and talk to recruiters looking to hire candidates from USF.

Rep. Fresen proposes new HS degree, FCAT standards

Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, is proposing new credit and course requirements for Florida high schoolers seeking a diploma. The first-term lawmaker, already vying for a House speakership down the road, has filed proposed legislation (HB61) that lays out more stringently how students must fulfill their credit requirements in math and science.

The four math credits, for example, would have to include Algebra I starting with freshmen in the 2011-12 year. By 2013-14, the math courses would have to include Algebra I and II and geometry "or a series of course equivalent." And for science, two of the three required classes would have to include a lab component. And starting in 2011-12, one of the science classes would have to be Biology I. Two years later, high schoolers would be required to take Biology I, chemistry and a "higher-level science course."

The law also would require that schools advise students about Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and career academy coursework that leads to national industry certification -- plus the availability of dual enrollment classes and the Florida Virtual School. And starting in 2013-14, the Board of Education would have to develop grade 10 passing FCAT scores that must "at a minimum meet grade-level proficiency."

Florida lawmakers look to give tax credits to businesses that back career ed

It's still not a fully formed idea, but some key Florida lawmakers are exploring a way to expand the corporate tax credit scholarship program -- which helps poor children escape underperforming public schools -- to support career and technical education.

State Rep. Will Weatherford, a Wesley Chapel Republican who chairs the House workforce appropriations committee, told the Gradebook that he and others are working on a bill that would take a percentage of the money that goes to the voucher program and give it to county education foundations. The caveat would be that the money must support workforce programs.

No one knows how much money might be available or what the details would look like. But "there's some appetite to look at that," Weatherford said. "There could be some baby steps" in the coming months.

Jon East, spokesman for the group that oversees the voucher program, told the Gradebook that his organization is highly supportive of the concept and will help to draft legislation.

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Don't bring your children to work?

Kids around Florida missed school yesterday to visit their parents' job sites as part of the annual Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work event.

It's a nationally recognized activity designed to help children better understand the opportunities they have after they finish school. Schools don't even count the students absent if they participate.

But to hear St. Lucie officials tell it, the idea is academically bankrupt.

St. Lucie superintendent Michael Lannon told district employees they could not bring their children to work on Thursday, saying the exercise is not "educationally valid," the Fort Pierce Tribune reports.

"One of the things we're trying to do is have kids stay in school, in their classrooms," Lannon told the paper. "For that reason, I don't think it should be taking place on a school day anywhere across America."

Why don't kids want to be plumbers?

High school students want to be computer programmers, businessmen, engineers, doctors, musicians, even journalists, according to a new national survey. But only 6 percent of them want to be carpenters, electricians or plumbers, even though skilled tradesmen are in demand (at least when the economy's humming) and often make good money.

Respondents said the trades don't interest them; they're not mechanically inclined; they don't think it's cool. But industry leaders think attitudes would change if students knew more about trades and if high schools offered more vocational courses –- something school leaders in Florida have been working on.

For what it's worth, kids, master plumbers with five to seven years' experience can swat down $100,000 a year.

In related news, veterinary technologists have one of the most recession-proof jobs around, according to this CBS Evening News story that includes students from the Vet Tech Program at St. Petersburg College.

Ron Matus, State Education Reporter

(Times file photo)

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Study: Community colleges boost Florida student earnings

A little college really can help you earn more money.

That's the conclusion of an ambitious, multi-year study of Florida high school graduates conducted by the nonpartisan Hudson Institute.

A weekend interview with ...

... state Rep. Will Weatherford. Weatherford, a Wesley Chapel Republican, is considered a contender to be House speaker in 2012. This session he will serve on several education-related committees, including as chairman of the State and Community Colleges and Workforce Appropriations Committee. He spoke with reporter Jeff Solochek about the upcoming session, education funding and priorities for the next two years.

You're going to be on all these education committees and councils. What do you see as the key issues coming up during session?

Well, I think clearly funding is the biggest issue. You know right now, particularly when you talk about higher education, just access, being able to not only get into school but be able to have the funding to get in. When the economy slows down like it has, particularly there's problems in the work force, people want to go back to school and get a degree. We have to make sure we have those avenues available for people to go back and get the education they need, so when the economy comes back around they're more qualified and prepared for those higher quality jobs.

What do you see as the role of the state college system that is coming into play, and how is it going to be affected if at all by the economy?

I think it's an economic development issue. When you look at our community college system, they play a vital role in our work force. Just the mass numbers they deal with. ... What we've created is the pilot program for the state system. So what you'll see this year is looking at the state college system and making sure if they can offer some four-year degrees that maybe universities aren't focusing on but are badly needed in the work force, then we want them to be able to do that. We want to give them the authority to do that and the ability to get those degrees. So that's a big focus of ours.

How does the money play into that?

The 'missing piece' from career academies

Count Pasco School Board chairwoman Kathryn Starkey as sold on the concept of training more high school students who aren't headed to college for the world of work.

Starkey just returned from a trip to Germany and Austria (on her own dime, before you ask), where she visited several apprenticeship programs to see how businesses and schools there collaborate. Now she's raring to emulate the model here.

She spoke at length with the Gradebook about how the European students get hands-on preparation in a factory, along with lessons in language, the economy, and even athletics and team-building. It's like Florida's move to career academies, she said, "but it takes it a step further. ... To me, it's the missing piece of the career academies."

Starkey and the others she traveled with are preparing an executive summary and a report that they plan to share with local leaders, as well as with Florida officials, in hopes of adapting the apprenticeship idea into Florida's education plans. "I think our leaders need to see what they (in Europe) are doing," Starkey said.

Pasco and Pinellas already have embarked upon a small-scale program for engineering students. Read about it here.

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Get ready for the world of work

Europe's apprenticeship model comes to Pasco County next year as five key area manufacturers will join forces with River Ridge High's new engineering career academy to provide students real-world experiences while still in school.

Coastal Caisson, Micron Pharmaworks, Jabil Circuit, Nielsen Co. and Pall Aeropower all plan to welcome students in the River Ridge academy, as well as expand their apprenticeship offerings for East Lake High's Academy of Engineering, East Lake teacher J. Paul Wahnish of the nonprofit Career Technical Education Foundation told the Gradebook. (That's a 2004 picture of Wahnish teaching on the left.)

"The idea is to start a program of internships starting in the 10th grade," Wahnish, who organized the initiative, explained.

Report: Career academies work

Want to know why Florida education officials are so gung-ho about career and technical education? Check out this new national report, based on a 15-year study, which found that students who attend career academies earn 11 percent more per year than their peers who went the traditional route.

More than 80 percent of the students in the study were black or Hispanic. For more on the report, see the New York Times here. For more on the push for career and technical education in Florida, see the St. Petersburg Times here. See also this story on career academies in Pinellas and this one for more on career academies in Pasco.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

A weekend interview with ...

... State Board of Education member Phoebe Raulerson. Raulerson, a former superintendent of Okeechobee schools, frequently has pushed for more hands-on training for high school students, voicing the concern that existing school curriculum does not work for every student. She now serves on a 26-member national task force charged with finding innovative ways to integrate career and technical education opportunities into the nation's high schools. She spoke with reporter Donna Winchester about career education.

A lot of school districts are working hard to meet the legislative mandate to create rigorous career technical education programs. What are some things school districts should keep in mind as they move forward in this area?

They have to keep in mind they need to see data on each child. I like the idea of the accountability, that a percentage of the students need to be involved in the industry and pass whatever the state test is. That will show that the program is strong, that we're preparing students for a good life. We're also helping our lifestyle by keeping each of those industries strong.

One of the other things districts need to do is give teachers enough in-service so they can earn their own national accreditation. Another thing I'd like to see is more English and math embedded in the career technical programs. There are very few programs where there is enough of that crossover. Hopefully, as time goes by, we will build more of that into the programs so kids can see the real reason for knowing the English, the math, the science. The whole point of teaching children math and science and language arts is that it is something they can use. It's not just, "You can use this some day." For a lot of kids, they need to see the relevance of it.

Do you foresee a danger in districts creating too many programs too quickly?

There could be a question of quantity over quality. But there is that piece that says a percentage of kids need to pass those national standards. If they can do that, it tells you the quality of the program is good. If you can't get kids successfully through the program to the point where they can meet those national standards, you need to shut that program down and start something else. There are programs that won't immediately produce results. You've got to do the teacher training and so forth. But you can't give it too much time. We'll use the data to help us know what we're doing right and how to fix it if it's wrong. If we can't fix it, we'll need to turn to something else.

What else appeals to you about this new foray into career technical education?

SBOE member named to national panel on career ed

Whenever she gets the chance, State Board of Education member Phoebe Raulerson makes the case for the importance of career and technical education.

As a former superintendent of Okeechobee County schools, Raulerson saw first hand the need for education programs for students who don't necessarily plan to go to college.

Now the National Association of School Boards of Education has tapped Raulerson to serve on its 26-person task force charged with finding innovative ways to bring career and technical education to the nation's high schools.

According to a DOE press release, the task force will "examine career and technical education issues that influence policy decisions for state boards of education such as access to programs, teacher preparation and certification, curriculum, standards and tests, industry certifications, school business partnerships, and alignment to high school reform efforts." It is supposed to have its report ready in the fall.

Visit the Gradebook and tampabay.com over the weekend for a story on Florida's revived emphasis on career and technical education.

More than an ouchie

If President Bush succeeds in cutting career and technical education programs completely out of the federal budget – which he proposed doing this week - Florida would feel the sting. In the past couple of years, Florida has averaged about $69 million a year in federal career/tech money, which comes to more than 10 percent of its total in that area.

"It's core funding," Luci Hadi (left), Florida's chancellor of workforce development, told The Gradebook

The federal money is funneled to high schools and community colleges, for use on everything from faculty salaries to equipment to curriculum development. And because it's targeted to low-income students, any cuts "would disproportionately impact individuals who need extra assistance," Hadi said.

If the past is any indication, the president won't get his way. The Bush administration has called for eliminating career and technical programs before, arguing that those programs are not boosting student performance in reading, math and science. But Congress, under both Republican and Democratic leadership, has continued to find the money. This year, the programs got $1.3 billion.

Ironically, Bush's budgetary diss of career/tech comes as Florida education leaders are pushing for it like never before. Just last week, Sen. Don Gaetz, the chair of the Senate education committee, made several stops in the Tampa Bay area to make his case for putting career/tech on the front burner (see St. Petersburg Times stories here and here, and Gradebook post here). In Florida, Hadi said, "there has never been a time when career and technical education has been seen as having greater value."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Which careers need academies?

Before setting up new career and technical institutes, Pasco and Hernando counties joined forces to see what focus the community and businesses see as the needs. They hired the Haas Center at the University of West Florida, which helped guide the pioneering effort in Okaloosa County, to survey parents and civic leaders about their views of the area's future in the world of high-skills, high-wage jobs.

The survey is now complete. And although officials have more research to do before proposing a new set of academies, they have released what they're calling "points of interest" from the Haas report. Maybe there are some clues in there, so we share them with you.

Among the highlights, the Haas Center found:

• Health care and social assistance jobs will increase about 25 percent, or about 6,000 jobs, over the next seven years.
• Administrative and waste services jobs and retail trade also are expected to grow by about 6,000 jobs over the same period.
• "Soft" skills, such as appearance and dependability, need improvement among existing workers entering the job force.
• Parents listed computer programming, computer-assisted design and graphic arts as the three top areas of interest.
• About 43 percent of Pasco residents commute to Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, where growth is expected in administrative services, health care, real estate and professional/technical services.

Gaetz: Education "too important to be left to educators"

Senate Education Committee chairman Don Gaetz told local education leaders this week that the Bay area is "fertile ground" for the state's career education movement. But he cautioned that parents, community and business leaders should not leave all the decision making to educators. "Insiders are not bad. They’re good, because it’s a complicated world, and you have to be able to navigate that world. But education is too important to be left to educators," he told reporter Donna Winchester. Read on for the full interview.

 You implemented a rigorous program for career technical education when you were school superintendent in Okaloosa County, which you say can – and should – be replicated in other districts. Are you satisfied with the efforts districts in the Tampa Bay area are making along these lines?

Let me repeat what I said today publicly. I believe that the conditions are present, that the possibility exists for Pinellas County to be the new model for Florida in career education. The ingredients that I think are present are, first of all, the most dynamic business community support for career education, for changing the way schools are delivering high school education. I see a business community that is poised and ready to reform Pinellas County high schools.

The Tampa Bay area is the economic muscle of Florida. This is the manufacturing center of the state. I think that creates fertile ground for career education. It won’t be your grandad’s vo-tech, or a dumping ground for troublesome students and employees. What’s called for here is career technical education that’s at least as good as the best college prep education. So I’m encouraged, particularly by what I see in business community leadership and business community insistence that our high schools be reformed and that education be more academically rigorous and more career relevant.

How does the 2007 legislation that established a comprehensive reform package aimed at bridging the gap between education and industry play into this?

Stories to watch?

It's always fun to make predictions about what will keep our attention in the months to come. So as we embark upon the new year - and of course schools are closed, so we have time to muse - let's consider what lies ahead.

Career education - State Sen. Don Gaetz found success with career academies while superintendent of Okaloosa County schools. So naturally, he decided the concept would work everywhere, and he pushed a bill through that requires Florida districts to create 5-year plans to establish such centers. Pasco, striving to get ahead of the curve, opens one next week. Will the push work?

Neighborhood schools in Pinellas - Choice is dead. Long live neighborhood schools. But will concerns that the schools will resegregate - along with all the bad results that accompany high poverty, high minority schools - come true?

Tax reform - State revenue is down. School leaders are looking for ways to cut. On Jan. 29, voters will decide whether to change the tax system, perhaps further decreasing the amount of money for schools. Then there are the efforts afoot in the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission. Will the demand for tax relief trump the demand for better quality education? And if so, how will educators respond?

Evolution - It's science. But is it the only alternative? School board members in Pinellas and Hillsborough, not to mention some State Board of Education members, have said they want to offer kids choices on the subject and then let them decide what's right. As the State Board decides on its proposed standards, will Florida become the next Kansas?

Class size - School averages give way to classroom counts, and school districts worry about how to deal with the kid who pushes the room over the top. Lawmakers have started talking about ways to get around the "crisis" without asking for another vote. But they've failed to reach consensus on changing the voter-approved rule since it passed in 2002.

Those are a couple of the biggies. Fellow blogger and USF education prof Sherman Dorn has offered his top eight for '08, too. Topping his list - science standards, tax politics and the budget.

What about you? Which stories do you think will dominate Florida education news for the coming year?

High school students must go higher

For the past year, a task force called Go Higher, Florida, has been trying to find ways to increase postsecondary enrollment, reduce the need for remedial education in the colleges, and improve the readiness of Florida high school graduates to enter the work force.

Judy Bilsky, executive vice chancellor of the community college system, reviewed the group's recommendations with the State Board of Education today. They include

• Develop a definition of "college and career readiness."
• Require relevant and rigorous courses for all high school students.
• Adopt high school/postsecondary assessments that are clear in focus and function.
• Participate in the American Diploma Project.
• Campaign to improve public awareness and understanding of current and future assessments.

It's that last one that piques some interest. Because Bilsky explained that too many people in Florida think that if a student graduates from a Florida high school having passed the FCAT and received a general diploma means that he or she is college ready. "They're not," she said, saying it takes more.

The State Board expects to take up the Go Higher, Florida, recommendations next year.

Legislative priorities

Pasco superintendent Heather Fiorentino and the School Board have given their local legislative delegation a 10-point plan they'd like to see implemented during the 2008 session. The highlights:

• Ensure adequate and flexible funding.
• Clarify statutes relating to school concurrency to exempt school districts from compliance with transportation concurrency
• Protect the Safe Schools Alliance and the Drug-Free Schools program
• Maximize students' opportunities to participate in career academies.
• Hold ESE guaranteed allocation harmless.
• Implement a standardized teacher certification process.
• Revise the formula for calculating Voluntary Pre-K funding.
• Increase thresholds for the competitive bidding process.
• Add a practical arts course to the state's high school graduation requirements.
• Reallocate the unused portion of the breakfast program to districts that are voluntarily providing breakfast at secondary schools.

To read the rationale behind each point, see the district's two-page presentation here.

A plug for career academies

Supporters have long argued that career academies not only keep more high school students in school, but keep them, like, interested. Now they have some evidence on their side: A new report from the Florida Legislature's research arm finds career academy students have slightly better attendance and higher FCAT scores – and are slightly more likely to graduate – than similar students who don't attend career academies. (The report says the results after graduation are mixed, but hey, today we’re looking at the glass half-full.)

Florida has more than 500 career academies, including the Automotive Academy at Northeast High in St. Pete, the Veterinary Science Academy at Tarpon Springs High and the upcoming information technology institute at Wiregrass Ranch High in Wesley Chapel (which the Times wrote about Monday, see here). And more are coming, thanks in part to a new state law pushed by Sen. Don Gaetz, chair of the Senate education committee. What do you think? Are there any good reasons why the state should not be pushing career academies? Are there good ways the state and districts can make the concept work even better?

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Career academies update

Career academies could soon be on their way to all 67 Florida school districts. The Senate passed a bill (SB 1232) today that would require each county to begin planning programs in high-skill, high-demand fields, so students can gain industry-accepted certification that would qualify them for a job right out of high school. Districts would also have to start identifying potential dropouts in eighth-grade, so they could steer them into the new programs. The legislation didn't win unanimous support the way that new performance pay rules did. Sen. Evelyn Lynn, who once chaired the Education committee, argued that the bill would hinder districts that are already trying to do good things in career and vocational education. She tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill twice before its passage, 33-4.