There are so many best practices featured in this podcast! Spoiler alert: the best is saved for last so be sure to listen all of the way through and catch the bonus tips at the end! 

ACOVA, Arizona’s CTE Administrator’s professional organization, supports data-driven decision making and provides support through innovative means for district and regional CTE Administrators. This episode explains the organization’s role in statewide collective efficacy, data-driven training, and mentoring for CTE Administrators. Learn more here: https://acova.org/ and follow ACOVA on Twitter: @acovacte

This episode features Anne Dozeman-Wisener and Joel Wakefield: 

Anne Dozeman-Wisener is the Director of Career and Technical Education for the Agua Fria Union High School District in Avondale, Arizona. Since 2014 she has overseen the completion of federal, state, and local grants, plus CTE grant management and CTE curriculum coordination for five AFUHSD schools. Under Anne's tenure at AFUHSD, the CTE department has grown to 48 educators, teaching 17 distinct CTE Programs.

Joel Wakefield has his Masters in Educational Leadership from Arizona State University. He has worked in public education for 30 years, teaching both elementary and high school. He spent over 20 years as an Athletic Trainer for various high schools and in professional baseball and football. He has been an instructional coach and a high school principal. Currently, he serves as the Director of Professional Development at West-MEC. He is passionate about international education; spending time traveling to South America to provide training for teachers, as well as hosting many foreign students and teachers. When he is not working he can be found doing CrossFit, drinking coffee, or working in the yard. He is married with two children and two beautiful twin granddaughters. 

Khristen Massic www.khristenmassic.com @khristenmassic

Let’s face it, you need to feature your CTE program. Your program is not naturally getting featured on the internet or social media. In my school district, sports dominate school websites and social media. Every once in a while, there will be an academic feature, but I rarely see something about CTE.

Why is this?

Your school social media manager is always looking for content. I’m in a group right now with over 350 school social media managers across the United States. The group admin asked what was the biggest challenge we were facing and over 50% said it was getting content.

So, from a school social media manager’s perspective, sports stories are easy content. The events happen often, so if they have nothing else, that’s what gets posted.

This needs to change! The majority of our programs and students are not getting seen or featured. Many parents in our communities don’t even know we exist.

Have you heard of the Rule of 7? It’s a marketing term that says that someone will need to see or hear about your “offer” seven times before they’ll buy.

Some are saying now that it can take up to 10 views for an ad to become a conversion. That means we need to be getting our programs out in the digital space more than ever.

But, when you’re already busy prepping and teaching classes, social media can seem like one more thing. One more thing that looks like a lot of work and time that you don’t have. Read more here

As many college-age students will explain, when they reach their later years of high school, teachers, advisors, and counselors begin introducing them to possible career paths. This type of preparation serves as an introduction to the typical four-year college experience, which seems to be the mainstream expectation for planning after high school. The issue with this limited approach to career prep is that it gives students a narrow view of the opportunities that lie ahead of them, which is an injustice to students, as well as a variety of industries.

All students deserve to be exposed to possible careers at a young age. If they are only given that guidance just before graduating high school, their understanding of their own potential stays far below what they deserve. That is why my mission is to introduce Career and Technical Education to middle school students, while they still have years to discover their interests and skills. CTE opens up pathways that standard college and career preparation do not.

As many experts in the trades will explain, if students are not introduced to CTE curriculum until they are preparing for college, it might already be too late for them to legitimately consider all the career paths available to them. Middle school, which already marks a turning point in the educational experience of students, proves to be the optimal moment for CTE to be integrated into schools’ academic offerings.... Click here to continue reading.

About today's guest: 

Mike Schloff founded Maplewoodshop in 2016 to help all children develop life skills through woodworking with hand tools. Mike has been woodworking since 2004 when he moved into his first home and needed to tackle repairs. He invented the workstation that Maplewoodshop uses after building several generations of woodworking tables and fixtures for teaching children and adults. He is a lifelong tinkerer and still teaches locally to try out new lesson plans. Prior to Maplewoodshop, Mike was a pioneer in the Internet space, helping people and companies take advantage of this new medium since 1995. In his spare time, Mike likes to work with local wind fall trees making tables, benches, and all sorts of creations that let the natural grain and forms determine the design of the finished project.

Contact Information:

Instagram @Maplewoodshop

Facebook @MaplewoodshopNJ

Twitter @MaplewoodshopNJ

Linkedin @MaplewoodshopNJ

Email [email protected]

"If you can learn a name, you can change a life."

"Rapport before reports." 

"Open minds lead to open doors."

Tune into this episode of the NCLA podcast for these actionable nuggets of wisdom and more! Aaron Polansky is the Superintendent-Director of Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester, MA and a speaker, author, and consultant who travels the US in his spare time. Connect with Aaron and learn more about his work here: AuthentricitySpeaks.com

When I was asked to teach grade 7 math for the first time, I had been working as a special education teacher for a few years, teaching at both the elementary and secondary level. Like anyone would do given a new position, I reached out to the people I would be working with and let them know that I would happily take anything and everything that they could provide. I was lucky. The whole curriculum was mapped out by week, assessments had already been made, many slide decks of notes created. This was a dream come true and meant that I could focus on my classroom management, delivery, and developing student relationships and trust. I had been teaching for five years at that point, and had taught students from age 5 to 18, so I was comfortable at the front of the classroom. But I became bored quickly, and it was evident that the students were too. 

It was no shock to me, then, that the traditional way of teaching math was not working for me or my students. The course was laid out by unit, each day planned a month or more in advance and divided by topic. Lessons were structured the same way, every day: Bell ringer problem, correction, 10-20 minute mini-lesson, students take notes on the algorithmic way for solving problems that I wanted them to use, then workbook practice completing upward of 20 different versions of the same question, then if there was time, correction. Rinse and repeat. This Groundhog Day approach to math might be dependable, but it is not inspiring, fun, or challenging.

I branched out. Having changed teaching positions so often, I was always one look to current trends and research to inform my practice. A quick search for math education brought me to first to Peter Liljedahl. Dr. Liljedahl is a math education researcher out of the University of British Columbia, Canada, who has been studying math education for decades. He experienced the same feelings toward the traditional way of teaching math as I had, knowing full well that it was not working. He analyzed what was not working, tested changes, published his findings, and recently released the influential book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics: 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning. Prior to the release of his book, however, his research introduced me to rich tasks, where the object isn’t about completing slight variations of the same question ad nauseum, but about presenting students with situations or challenges with layers of complexity. This encourages curiosity, autonomy, and playing with strategies and mistakes. 

Searching for these kinds of tasks led me to Twitter and the amazing math teacher community there. I learned about the work of Jo Boaler, who I’ve since taken two of her online Stanford courses from... Continue Reading Here

Bio: Graeme is a teacher from Wakefield, Quebec who is constantly questioning assumptions about the education system. He grew up in Montreal, Canada, and completed his Bachelor of Education at McGill University in 2010. From there, his twelve-year career in education has brought diverse teaching experiences, taking him as far as Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to Hull, Quebec. Graeme is principally motivated by bringing about a more human way to learn through grassroots changes to classes, schools, and beyond and providing young people opportunities to develop agency and autonomy. He brings forth approaches backed by research. This year, inspired by the work of Dr. Peter Liljedahl and Dr. Jo Boaler, he has endeavored to introduce a math classroom without grades that prioritize deep thinking instead of rote memorization or blindly following teacher instruction. Twitter: @livingpedagogy

Doug Merrill has been teaching Engineering Related classes at Wenatchee HS since 1989. Design and build is the core focus of his pre-engineering curriculum and creating unique experiences keep things fun for him and his learners. His newest class: Ski Design and Adaptive Play allow kids to design and build skis and snowboards along with hacking electronic toys and electric ride-on cars for special needs students.

Next year he will be starting a new class on Turf management and athletic field maintenance, with future plans to build a Pitch and Putt golf course and Driving Range.

In 2012 His students broke a Guinness World Record when they built the world longest marble run of over 1,700 feet in the gym at Wenatchee HS. And one of his Engineering students won the Illinois Institute International Bridge building title.

He has been selected to participate in the MIT Invent Teams for students creating new inventions.

He was named “Washingtonian of the Day” by Governor Jay Enslee during a visit to Merrill’s classroom while they were making skis that the governor helped with.

Since 2018 Merrill has been on a state-wide mission to work with high school students and district PT’s and OT’s to adapt electric ride-on cars for children with special needs. He currently is mentoring teachers in over 10 school districts in Washington with their own Go Baby Go! Projects. This venture has broadened to small electronic toys as more children can be impacted on a much smaller budget.

He has served as President of the Washington Industrial Technology Educators Association and is currently the Past-President of the Washington Association of Career and Technical Education.

He received a Region V Innovative CTE Classroom Award in 2019 and currently serves on the Region V Membership and Marketing Committee.

In May of 2021, he became a Certified Trainer for the 6 Types of Working Genius, an assessment developed by Patrick Lencioni (5 dysfunctions of a Team and The Ideal Team Player) to help people find their Working Geniuses. He runs two-hour trainings to help teams address their strengths and weaknesses while reducing team toxicity.

In September 2021 he received the Legacy Award from the North Central Washington Tech Alliance for his years of service in STEM education.

He has been the Head Girls Golf Coach since 1994.

His favorite classroom activity is still making custom animal pancakes for his young engineers. Porcupines and Jellyfish are his favorites.

In this episode of the NCLA podcast, our host, Rachael Mann, is joined by guests Lindsey Balderaz and John Turcic to discuss the formation and related evolution of their Education-Business Partnership Development program. Tune in to hear about this innovative approach to transforming learning spaces in order to equip students for tomorrow. 

To learn more about today's guests and these initiatives, visit:

John Turcic's Bio

Dr. Lindsey Baleraz's Bio

Transformative Learning Initiatives 

Transformative Leadership Academy

UTB Professor Starts Her Own School 

Tune in to this episode to discover how to overcome the challenge of a "that's the way we have always done it" culture while pursuing what's best for students. Great Oaks Career Campuses increases flexibility in its offerings and delivery while expanding access through remodeling physical spaces and adjusting to on-campus, satellite, and adult ed programming. Simultaneously, they are adopting new strategies for enrollment and marketing. 

Excerpts from this episode: 

"We are guilty of trying to solve a problem before we define the problem or trying to improve something before laying out the target. What needle are we trying to move and what are we trying to accomplish? This helps to get everyone on board.

We have to ask ourselves this: Are we successful enough or can we get a little bit better? How can we get really good at what we are doing?

Define very clearly what it is that you are trying to do and take the time to get the buy-in for that before moving it forward and you’ll have a lot better chance of success that way. It seems very obvious but we, like a lot of people, are guilty of rushing or skipping that step altogether."

"It takes work to make changes. Covid forced us out of complacency and to try new things that we wouldn't have tried otherwise. If it works, that's great. If it doesn't, you are still learning and improving. If it's moving you, it's progress."

"As you’re trying new things and putting new initiatives in place, don’t forget about the climate and culture aspect, especially at the ground level- the instructors along with students- when you are asking them to do something different or to make a change. Be cognizant of the climate and emotional side rather than giving a plan and saying here is what we are going to do."

"Take the training to them. Provide it in-house."

"As our demographics get younger and younger we have to improve our instructional techniques also."

Hear from Great Oak leaders: 

Dan Cox is the Director of Business Operations at Great Oaks Career Campuses, currently overseeing over $80 million in construction and renovations at four campuses.  Dan has served as the Director of Teaching and Learning for Great Oaks and as Dean of the Live Oaks Career Campus.

Sarah Taylor is a Career Exploration Specialist at Great Oaks, helping to expand work-based learning at the district as well as assisting partner school districts in developing career exploration activities.  Sarah was previously a Career Specialist; in that role, she recruited, enrolled, and advised high school students into Great Oaks career programs.

Joel King is Director of Teaching and Learning for Great Oaks Career Campuses. He oversees curriculum development, new programming, professional development, and content delivery for the district.  He was previously an administrator at the Warren County (OH) Career Center.

Ted Kirkpatrick is Great Oaks’ Dean of Satellite Programs.  He oversees more than 20,000 students in 90 satellite programs at 29 partner school districts; under his guidance, the district has nearly doubled the number of satellite programs offered.  He was previously a curriculum coordinator for Great Oaks.

Andy Hoekzema is Director of Adult Workforce Development.  In his role, he oversees full- and part-time programming for adults, including ESOL, high school equivalency, personal enrichment classes, Police Academy, Fire Academy, full-time career programs, short-term certification classes, and customized training for business.  He has also been an Assistant Dean for Satellite Programs for Great Oaks.

Connect with today's guests here: https://www.greatoaks.com/

Cheryl Carrier, Executive Director, Ford Next Generation Learning

We have all heard the saying, “It takes a village.” Nowhere is that phrase more applicable than in the case of educating and preparing our young people for success in college, career, and life. If you are an educator, you know just how critical and monumental an undertaking that is. To get the results we are all looking for, it does indeed “take a village.” To continue reading, click here.

Cheryl Carrier’s Bio

Cheryl Carrier is the Executive Director of Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL), the signature education program of Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services.

Cheryl leads the team responsible for developing and managing the innovative Ford NGL program, which is designed to engage educators, employers, and community leaders in the common goal of preparing today’s high school students for the careers of tomorrow. Through community engagement, Ford NGL provides a proven framework to develop high school academies that are career-themed and provide students with opportunities to engage in relevant, academically rigorous, authentic learning opportunities with local employers – thus improving student and workforce outcomes and increasing community prosperity.

Currently, there are 45+ communities across the country and in the United Kingdom that are using the Ford NGL framework and roadmap.   Cheryl works closely with business executives, government/civic leaders, and economic development and workforce development intermediaries to help align education with the skills needed by companies and the local region.

Cheryl joined Ford in 1978 and has held positions in Engineering, Finance, Business Strategy, and Investor Relations. Cheryl assisted Ford Executive Chairman William Clay Ford, Jr., for many years, including a special assignment with the Detroit Lions, as the Human Resource Director, where she was responsible for developing human resource policy.  Cheryl retired from Ford on December 31, 2013 and has continued as the Executive Director of Ford NGL, working closely with Ford Motor Company Fund.

Cheryl is the Chair of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) 21st Century Workforce Council.  She has also taken the lead on growing the Career Academy Section of ACTE and is co-lead on ACTE and Ford NGL Workforce Development through CTE Coalition.  She resides with her husband in Petoskey, MI.

Contact Info:

Website:  www.fordngl.com and www.fordnglu.com

Highlights from this episode: 

"We want all of our students to be exemplary communicators, collaborators, critical and creative thinkers, and to be able to self-direct their learning in any setting."

"The diploma means more than a diploma, it means they are ready for their life, they are ready for their career, and they are ready for post-secondary if they choose to go to college."

"It’s important for school leaders to always be asking, 'What is next? What’s down the road? What do we have to make sure that kids are ready for?'”

Randy Squier is currently the superintendent of schools for Coxsackie-Athens Central Schools which are located 20 miles south of Albany, NY on the Hudson River.  Randy is in his eleventh year at C-A and 17th as a superintendent, previously serving Oxford Central Schools for six years.  He has presented regionally, statewide, and nationally on topics that have a foundation in professional learning communities and innovative schools. C-A was ranked 1st in the nation in 2018 by the National School Boards Association for its digital conversion that includes providing mobile devices for every student since 2015, a robust digital badge program, and shifting most back-office storage functions to the cloud. For the last nine years, Coxsackie-Athens’ graduation rate is 16% higher than the previous eight years. The district was one of three schools recognized nationally by ISTE for its digital badge program.  Randy was a Tech & Learning Magazine runner-up for 2017 digital leaders.

https://www.cacsd.org/page/defining-readiness

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