ACTE Evaluation Protocol for Career Academies Rick Delano Cofounder, Marketing Director LifeCourse A

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ACTEEvaluation Protocol for Career
AcademiesRick DelanoCo-founder, Marketing
DirectorLifeCourse AssociatesSeptember 30, 2005
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ACTE Career Academy Initiative

• Sandy Mittelsteadt, former NCAC ED, now education
  liaison at ACTE
• Career academy monthly column in Techniques
  magazine
• Communities of practice devoted to career
  academies on ACTE web site
• Career academy strand at ACTE meeting in December
  9 and 10 in Kansas City, Stefanie Sanford of
  Gates keynoting this strand
• ACTE Evaluation Protocol, an academy improvement
  tool, is now available

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The Career Academy Movement Adopted Standards of
Practice December 2004. Six groups Backed
Collaborated in Drafting the Standards

• CASN
• NAF
• NCAC
• NCEE
• SREB
• CRESPAR

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Standards Cover 10 Areas of Practice

• Defined Mission Goals
• Academy Structure
• Host District and School
• Faculty and Staff
• Professional Development

• Governance Leadership
• Curriculum Instruction
• Employer, Higher Ed Community Inv.
• Student Assessment
• Cycle of Improvement

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Timeline -Integrating Standards of Practicewith
an Evaluation Protocol

• Fall 2003 Initial evaluation protocol (rubric)
  drafted by Sandy Mittelsteadt and Angie
  Grasberger
• January 2004 NCAC board members form first
  evaluation team to test protocol with six Manatee
  County Career Academies
• All academies launched April 2003, academic teams
  w/ CTE programs
• Four qualified at levels 1 and 2, two had to
  remove academy name

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Timeline -Translating Standards of Practiceinto
an Evaluation Protocol

• Protocol provided improvement tool to
  school/district leadership, business leaders,
  academy teachers
• Second evaluation January 2005, same evaluation
  team, same academies
• Broad improvement across four initial academies
  (now level 3), two programs qualified for academy
  status at level 1
• Aha! for evaluators was the speed and quality
  starting academies around CTE programs

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Lessons Learned for CTE from Manatee County
Evaluations

• CTE teachers felt less isolated
• Academic teachers welcomed being part of a team,
  sought out opportunities to infuse contextual
  lessons to teach difficult academic concepts,
  particularly former middle school teachers
• Traditional values of CTE, drop out prevention,
  student motivation, enhanced by team of teachers
  and SLC setting
• CTE programs can expand across several
  specialties within career pathway
• Addresses NCLB goals
• Academy leaders gain administrative experience

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ACTE Evaluation Protocol Helps Insure Academy
Success by Focusing on Key Criteria

• Voluntary participation by students and teachers
• Parental consent and participation
• Team of teachers with common planning time and
  administrative support (ie. master schedule,
  reduced teaching load for academy leaders)
• Structured involvement of business community as
  mentors and active supporters
• Integrated/infused curriculum (academic and
  career)
• Post-secondary articulation or direct linkage

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Protocol effective for all academies, Economic
Development and Infrastructure

• Architecture/ Construction
• Agri-business
• Business
• Communication
• Design Manufacturing
• Engineering
• Environmental Science

• Health
• Bio-medical
• Law and Criminal Justice
• Public Service
• Teaching
• Technology
• Travel Tourism
• Finance

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Next Steps

• Improvement of existing evaluation protocol (Fall
  2005)
• On-line evaluator training course from Nova
  Southeastern University (November 2005)
• As Manatee County CTE district director Doug
  Warner says, you cant just say Im going to
  have a career academythere really has to be
  integrity behind it.