In this podcast, we will be learning about an innovative connection between a state flagship research university and charter schools that include an underserved population, with a special emphasis on increasing access to STEM careers.

Host Hans Meeder is speaking with Dr. Gary R. Bertoline and Scott Bess.

Dr. Bertoline is Dean of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and a Distinguished Professor of Computer Graphics Technology and Computer & Information Technology at Purdue University. 

To reach Dr. Bertoline by email: [email protected]

Mr. Bess is the Head of School for Purdue University’s Polytechnic High School in Indianapolis, which was launched in the fall of 2017.

To reach Mr. Bess by email: [email protected]

More information about the Purdue Polytechnic High Schools

https://pphs.purdue.edu/

In this episode, we explore the new vision statement and report for Career Technical Education, called CTE Without Limits.

Hans talks with Kimberly Green and Kate Blosveren Kreamer, the Executive Director and  Deputy Executive Director of Advance CTE, respectively .

Advance CTE: State Leaders Connecting Learning to Work, was first established in 1920, and is the longest-standing national non-profit that represents State CTE Directors and state leaders who are responsible for secondary, postsecondary, and adult Career Technical Education (CTE) across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.

Advance CTE supports visionary state leadership, cultivates best practices, and gives a collective voice to advance high-quality CTE policies, programs and pathways that ensure career success for each learner. 

You can get links to the organization at CareerTech.org.

To download a copy of CTE Without Limits, visit https://careertech.org/without-limits

As we move from a rudimentary credentialing system that recognizes high school diplomas and college degrees, the number of “credentials” of all sorts has exploded.   How can the consumer seeking to upskill make sense of this?

On this episode, Hans interviews Scott Cheney, President of Credential Engine, an organization working to address the credential boom.  Credential Engine is a non-profit whose mission is to map the credential landscape with clear and consistent information, fueling the creation of resources that empower people to find the pathways that are best for them.

Credential Engine offers a wide range of freely available resources, as well as fee-based services that meet the needs of organizations managing credential and competency data. The fee-based services are tailored to your goals, whether you’re a government agency, credentialing organization, military body, employer, technology provider, or other stakeholder working toward credential and competency transparency. 

The mission of Credential Engine is “Making ALL Credentials Transparent & Revealing the Marketplace of Credentials.”

Credential Engine Website:  https://credentialengine.org/

Scott Cheney, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]
202.257.0279

Scott Cheney is Credential Engine’s first Chief Executive Officer where he leads the organization’s efforts to bring transparency to credentials and reveal the marketplace of credentials. Scott has over 25 years of experience and brings a multi-faceted perspective to developing the skills of the U.S. workforce to meet the needs of the economy.

Prior to Credential Engine, he served as the Policy Director for Workforce, Economic Development, and Pensions for Senator Patty Murray and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. He led the reauthorization of the country’s central workforce development legislation, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Scott also led the Senator’s work to reauthorize Perkins, expand registered apprenticeships, provide training for ex-offenders to support successful re-entry, formalize research and evaluation standards at the Department of Labor, enhance services and resources for dislocated workers, modernize unemployment insurance, and better align workforce and economic development in distressed regions around the country. Previous positions with the Senator’s office include serving as a Senior Advisor on the Senate Budget Committee, and as her Staff Director for the HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.

Before going to Capitol Hill, Scott formed his own consulting firm, working with a number of states, companies, foundations, and think tanks on a host of education, training and employment issues. He also held positions with the National Alliance of Business the American Society for Training and Development, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and worked with foster-care, homeless youth, and adult literacy programs. His first paycheck in this career path came from Dr. Seuss.

Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Carleton College and a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University.

This episode is sponsored by:

Seamless WBL, the web-based platform to easily manage all your work-based learning and advisory board activities.  Go to: www.seamlessWBL.com

In this episode, Hans talks with Cate Swinburn, President of YouthForce NOLA. 

YouthForce NOLA is an education, business, and civic collaborative that prepares New Orleans public school students for successful pursuit of high-wage, high-demand career pathways and facilitates systems change to ensure equitable outcomes.

Find out more: https://www.youthforcenola.org/

Cate Swinburn is President of YouthForce NOLA.    See Cate’s biography at: https://www.youthforcenola.org/ourstaff

In the news:

This article in Education Next provides a helpful overview to the work in New Orleans.

https://www.educationnext.org/whats-next-new-orleans-most-unusual-school-system-in-america/

This episode is sponsored by Seamless WBL, the platform to easily manage all your work-based learning activities, both on-campus and off-campus!  Check it out:  www.SeamlessWBL.com

In this episode, we learn about the Academies of Grand Island School District in Western Nebraska.  I’m speaking with Jeff Gilbertson, Executive Principal of Grand Island Senior High and Daniel Phillips, Director of Career Education for the Grand Island Public Schools District.

Grand Island is a thriving small city in western Nebraska.  The city itself has an official population count of about 50,000 residents, and with the surrounding counties, the metropolitan area has about 85,000 residents.

Jeff and Dan have been integrally involved in leading a transformation effort for Grand Island’s Nebraska’s large and growing single high school (2500 students) into a series of Career Academies that include 20 college and career pathway programs.   Every student in the school is enrolled in an academy.  There is a Freshman Academy for 9th grade students, and five upper-level academies as follows:  The Academy of Law and Public Safety, The Academy of Engineering and Technology, The Academy of Business and Communications, The Academy of Technical Services, and the Academy of Medical Services.   Given the school’s size and close connections to the community, it has expanded to three total campuses, including a technically focused Career Pathways Institute, and other programs offered at the Wyandotte Learning Center.  And. while the academies function as small learning communities for the students, the school still operates as one organization under the leadership of Executive Principal Gilbertson.

MORE INFORMATION (PRINT AND VIDEOS)

Grand Island, Nebraska (Wikipedia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Island,_Nebraska

Grand Island Public Schools Academies

https://www.gips.org/Academies

 Overview of the Academies (Video)

https://youtu.be/O1W_I2kN7Cc

Exploring the Academies (Video)

https://youtu.be/pvp7jroer40

The Academy of Law and Public Safety (Video)

https://youtu.be/5YwumVoSnps

The Academy of Engineering and Technology (Video)

https://youtu.be/80lLpCbxv-A

The Academy of Business and Communications (Video)

https://youtu.be/90YNJ9_yqu0

The Academy of Technical Services (Video)

https://youtu.be/Ew24pS6ALsA

The Academy of Medical Services (Video)

https://youtu.be/FAAiqn6rvhY

In this episode, Hans interviews Dr. Rich Feller, expert practitioner and researcher on how children, youth and adults navigate career options and life transitions. 

Rich tells his story and his latest work in pushing through new frontiers in career development education.

Learn more about Rich and his work at https://www.richfeller.com/.

About Rich

Helping individuals and organizations maximize talent by reimagining work, learning and well-being choices. Inspired by education's promise, I try to honor learning styles, promote access and provide clarity about navigating a lifetime of transitions.  Former National Career Development Association President, consultant in all 50 states and six continents.

Awarded the University Distinguished Teaching Scholar status at Colorado State University, I consult on national projects, create career development tools, keynote, train, and research trends. Within www.lifereimagined.org (face-to-face and digital program for 40M+), www.youscience.com (aptitude assessment), www.cdminternet.com (and print version used by 14M+), www.valerproductions.com (CINE award winning), OneLifeTools, Inc. (face-to-face and virtual board game, online storyteller, and ConversationsMatter.life), and Senior Research Scholar within the Dept. of Elect and Computer Engineering. I collaborate to scale innovation and ideas.

Clients include Emerson, NFL, Jackson Financial, NASA, NSF, the UN, Asian Development Bank, Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs, Korea's Seoul Tech, China's Renmin University, and Peru’s First Lady.

Involvements: Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), Nationally Certified Career Counselor (NCCC) Licensed Professional Counselor, NCDA Fellow and recipient of the NCDA Eminent Career Award. I work to connect counseling, coaching and consulting concepts within large scale projects.

Vocational school and college admissions counselor, and parent educator -  early adopter of ACT’s Decide Program, basketball coach, various part-time jobs. Training by Albert Ellis, Carl Rogers, and Richard Bolles I learned to appreciate rational thinking, reflection's power, and skill identification. Within NIU's counselor ed faculty I was mentored by David Tiedeman, career information systems and designing careers visionary. Mark Savickas, Richard Leider, Joe Vasos, Mark Franklin, and Richard Rohr influence me greatly.

Family: Barbara, my best friend (wife) and physical therapist, and Chris, my hero (son), shape my decisions.
http://www.richfeller.com/

In this episode, Hans Meeder talks with Rachael Mann, a noted author and speaker who focuses on STEM education and STEM-related careers.  

Rachael speaks and writes about disruptive technology, education, and careers. She is the author of the children’s book, "The Spaces You Will Go"  and  "The Competition Companion" and coauthor of "The Martians in Your Classroom" and "Own The Microphone."

 Rachael holds an MA in educational leadership and has 14 years of classroom teaching experience in a range of subjects, including child development, science, technology, and culinary arts. Ms. Mann’s experience includes her work as the Network to Transform Teaching State Director, the Professional Learning Director of STEM, and the Arizona State Director for Educators Rising.  She is a founding member of the Council on the Future of Education and serves on a number of national boards that are dedicated to ensuring that kids are future-ready. She is honored to be listed in the top 30 for education for Global Gurus 2020.

From professional growth to motivational talks to workshops, Rachael loves to inspire audiences to think bigger and dream beyond. Connect with Rachael on social media @RachaelEdu to learn more about her work. 

https://rachaelmann.co/

https://martianclassroom.org/

https://wakelet.com/@rachaeledu

The Future of Career Technical Education in America: A Conversation with Scott Stump

Since its inception in the early 1900s, Career and Technical Education (formerly known as industrial arts, or vocational education) has been at the intersection of public education and the workforce.  As CTE has evolved over the past 100 years, it has expanded its scope to include exploration of and preparation for hundreds of career paths, from the traditional paths like the skilled trades to health care and information tech and biotech.

Where does CTE stand today, and where is it heading?  

Today’s guest is Scott Stump, Assistant Secretary for Career Technical and Adult Education with the U.S. Department of Education.  Host Hans Meeder and Assistant Secretary Stump talk about implementation of the Perkins V Act, key trends in Career Technical Education (CTE) across the United States, and how CTE can influence the future of education in the U.S. at the local, state and national levels.

 Sponsorship

Today’s episode is sponsored by Seamless WBL and NC3T Pathways Design Services.

Seamless WBL.  Seamless WBL is a web-based program that helps you find partners, create and manage your work-based learning activities, run your advisory board, and report on all activities by educator, school, or partner.

 Find out more:  SeamlessWBL

NC3T’s Pathways Design Services.  NC3T offers a range of written resources, workshops and professional learning, and coaching and technical assistance to help your school, district, or college implementation career pathways and a pathways system approach.  

 Find out more:

Pathways Design Services

About Today’s Guest

Scott Stump is the assistant secretary for career, technical, and adult education at the U.S. Department of Education. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 16, 2018, after being nominated by the President on May 15, 2018.

Stump serves as the principal adviser to the Secretary of Education on all matters concerning high school, career, technical and adult education as well as community colleges, the workforce and economic development.

Prior to assuming the role of assistant secretary for career, technical, and adult education, Stump served as the chief operating officer of Vivayic, Inc., a learning solutions provider devoted to helping individuals, organizations and corporations do good in the world. Before that, Stump served as the assistant provost and state director for career and technical education (CTE) with the Colorado Community College System. During his tenure there, Stump also served as state FFA (Future Farmers of America) advisor, agriculture program director and interim president of Northeastern Junior College during the institution's presidential search process.

During his seven-year tenure as a state CTE director, Stump served as an officer in the National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education. In this role, he served on the National SkillsUSA Board of Directors as the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) liaison.

Stump also served two terms on the Prairie RE11-J school board and one year on the Colorado Association of School Boards board of directors.

Stump received his bachelor's degree in agricultural education from Purdue University and taught at Manchester High School in North Central Indiana. Before moving to Colorado, he also worked for the National FFA Organization managing the national officer team and the national FFA convention.

Overview 

Employers often tell us that today’s young adults entering the job market do not have the basic work ethic and employability skills to be successful in the workplace.

 The question we ask in this episode is: Can we find effective strategies to bring work ethic and employability skills into the school and college experience for all youth and young adults?

In this episode, host Hans Meeder talks with Josh Davies Chief Executive Officer from the Center for Work Ethic Development.

Davies is currently the CEO of The Center for Work Ethic Development, an organization committed to developing workplace skills in the global workforce. Partnering with organizations in 49 states and 6 countries, they equip trainers and teachers to build the workforce of the 21st Century. 

Visit the Center for Work Ethic Development

To Read: Bring Your “A” Game to Work (Teen Version) by Eric Chester

About Our Show Sponsor

 CareerSmart Classrooms 

With CareerSmart Classrooms, your staff can access an exciting set of new resources designed to help all teachers embrace career readiness while still effectively delivering their core content.  The CareerSmart Classrooms system provides a comprehensive set of resources, including career information sheets, lesson plans and activity plans.

Find out More about CareerSmart Classrooms Download a Free Sample Pack, and Sign Up for a Free Webinar

About Josh Davies, CEO of the Center for Work Ethic Development

Josh Davies is passionate about helping others make a difference in their lives, jobs, and community. Through his work as a speaker and trainer, he has engaged and encouraged professionals across North America, the Middle East, and Asia. 

His engaging and connecting speaking style combined with relevant content make him an in-demand speaker, giving more than 75 keynote presentations and workshops to education, workforce, and corporate events annually. 

Training Magazine named him as one of the top 10 trainers under 40 in America and the Denver Business Journal tapped him as one of Denver’s 40 Under 40. 

A graduate of American University, Josh has been awarded the Mile High Energy Award by Visit Denver, and an honorary Doctorate of Foodservice by the North American Food Equipment Manufacturers Association for his contributions to the industry. 

He finished serving his second term on the Executive Board of the Colorado Workforce Development Council, where he chaired the State Education and Training Steering Committee. 

He also led the P-Tech Selection Committee for Colorado and served on the board of the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative. 

In addition to his work in the public sector, Josh also served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, was President of the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) and co-chaired the Colorado State Youth Council.

Asking the Better Question with Steve Fujii, Battelle for Kids

For the most part, today’s public schools are organized around core curriculum subjects of English/language arts, mathematics, science, and history, with other electives - the arts, career and technical education, and athletics – also available to add value and depth to the school experience.  

All of this effort is built on the general premise that the core academic skills are most important, and through other electives and life experiences, students will pick up the “soft skills” they will need for real life.  

Is it time to reframe the emphasis on curriculum, skill standards, and core academic assessments to a broader question?

Should we be asking - What are the actual knowledge, skills and attributes a student – a person – needs to be successful in further education, in the world of work, and in their community and family roles?  

Assuming that this broader question yields a different answer than just the academic skills needed for postsecondary education, how can we align the work of education around this more holistic approach to career and life readiness?  

In this episode with Steve Fujii from Battelle for Kids, we assert that the first step in this journey is for our public schools, with input from their community, to each create a Profile of a Graduate, or what is also called, Profile of a Learner.  In this episode, we learn about the WHY and the HOW of this process.

Valuable Learning Links

NC3T’s Profile of a Career and Life Ready Learner.

Battelle for Kids Portrait of a Graduate

Show Sponsor

Today’s episode is sponsored by NC3T’s CareerSmart Classrooms, a new system of resources and professional learning to help every education infuse their classroom with motivating and relevant career content.  Find out more here.

About Today’s Guest

Dr. Stephen P. Fujii, a Senior Director at Battelle for Kids, based in Columbus, Ohio.

Mr. Fujii has a distinguished background in educational leadership, strategic planning and organizational change. His view of leadership took roots in the US Army as a commissioned officer.  Later he joined the National Guard and entered service as an educator. 

Stephen has taught middle school and high school, and held numerous leadership positions, from assistant principal in a Career Academy, Dean of Students, middle school principal, high school principal, director of CTE, Director of school district Operations and finally Superintendent of Marion City Schools.   Steve has earned two graduate degrees in “policy and leadership” from THE Ohio State University.  

Additionally, Fujii is a recently elected local Board of Education member with Big Walnut Local Schools.

Through his work with Battelle for Kids, Stephen is one of the lead consultants that work with school districts in helping to ask these questions about career and life readiness and help them create their Portrait of a Graduate.