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CEI-PEA operates a major initiative to advance career technical education (CTE) programs available to New York City public school students. The CTE Initiative includes both school-based and workplace-based programs, and it serves students across the spectrum of abilities, from high-performing students to those with special needs. The goal of the Initiative is to prepare students for work in the new economies of the 21st century. The CTE Initiative is based on partnerships with public K-12 schools, private businesses, and higher education technical training programs. These partnerships leverage existing resources and bring together experts across sectors in order to build training programs that are both practical and academically challenging.
Globalization has led to a major restructuring of the American workforce. Low and semi-skilled jobs are increasingly being “outsourced” overseas, leaving Americans who used to fill these jobs facing an extraordinary employment gap. At the same time, we have fully entered the “Information Age.” Almost every profession requires employees at all levels to be technologically literate. Even lower-level positions require technological sophistication: waiters use touch screen computer monitors to manage orders, paralegals use sophisticated software to prepare legal documents, receptionists must log calls into networked databases, and more.
American public education has responded to these major changes by making college preparation the main goal for K through 12 systems. Under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, states have set academic standards benchmarked to college admission, and all public schools are assessed for their ability to prepare students to meet those standards. The entire system is aligned around college preparation as the goal for our children.
While NCLB is a powerful policy aimed at ensuring that all children in America receive the same educational opportunities, the law does not ensure that all children receive the same opportunities for job preparation. Considering the fact that most of the top ten fastest-growing jobs require technical education rather than a traditional college education, this gap in service is a major oversight. Moreover, with as many as 34% of New York City school students directly entering the workforce rather than going on to college,** not preparing them for the new workforce threatens to leave these students far behind in the new economy.
The goals of preparing students for higher education and preparing students for the workforce should not be seen as inconsistent. Research shows that career-themed education programs are among the most successful educational programs in the country. For example, in 2004, the International Center for Leadership in Education and the Council of Chief State Schools Officers launched the Bringing Best Practices to Scale Initiative, which identified 30 of the nation’s most outstanding high schools. Of these 30 schools, 26 use career or theme-based programs as their primary instructional delivery system.
In a 2005 summary of research, Richard Kazis of Jobs for the Future noted three major benefits of career technical education programs:
Willard R. Daggett of the International Center for Leadership in Education found that career technical education “can indeed be a key to success in getting all students to achieve an academically rigorous and relevant curriculum.”
CEI-PEA is developing three main program areas in the CTE Initiative:
School-Based Programs – CEI-PEA is working with several New York City public schools to implement and advance career technical education programs within the school setting. These programs are designed to prepare students for entry into the workforce and prepare them to pursue higher education, if they so choose.
Project HOPE – CEI-PEA is working with Project HOPE (Healthcare Offers Permanent Employment), a successful job training and alternative education program offered through the Hebrew Home at Riverdale. Project HOPE works with special education students who are at high risk of failing or dropping out of the public school system. The job-training program prepares students for work within the healthcare industry and gives many of these students the inspiration necessary to complete their education.
Continuing Education at City Tech – CEI-PEA is working with the New York City College of Technology (City Tech), the technology education college within The City University of New York, to develop continuing technical education training for graduates of the New York City public school system.
For more information, please contact CEI-PEA Senior Fellow Steve Kahn.
* The list provided by the Bureau of Labor statistics includes several categories that seem to overlap such as “dental hygienist” and “dental assistant” or “home health aide” and “home care aide.” These terms indicate differences in degrees of training, certification and compensation.
** In the 2004-2005 New York City school reports, approximately 66% of students had plans to enter two or four-year colleges and universities. The remainder, which are included in the 34% figure, indicated plans to directly enter the workforce, enter the military or pursue “other” activities.