>

>  THE REVIEW

>

>(Vocational and Technical Education; High Schools; Adult Education and 

>Literacy; and Community Colleges)

>April 30, 2005

>Susan K. Sclafani, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary

>Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)

>U.S. Department of Education

>

>Angela Desrochers-Editor

>

>The Review is an update from the Office of the Assistant Secretary at the 

>Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education.

>

>

>Secondary, Career, and Technical Education

>

>Prepared Testimony of Secretary Spellings Before the Senate Committee on 

>Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Lifelong Learning

>

>Thank you, Chairman Enzi, Senator Kennedy and the members of the 

>Committee. I want to thank you all for your focus on lifelong learning. 

>And I want to thank my esteemed colleague Secretary Chao for her expertise 

>and dedication. We have worked together on these issues for the past four 

>years.

>

>As Secretary Chao pointed out, we live in a very different world today 

>than the one our parents and grandparents knew. In that world, a single 

>occupation could last a lifetime, from Graduation Day to retirement; a 

>single skill could ensure a worker a comfortable living for his or her family.

>

>FULL STORY 

><<http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/orev043005.html#test>http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/orev043005.html#test> 

>

>

>National Spring Leadership Meeting held April 11-13

>

>For the first time, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) 

>jointly sponsored the National Spring Leadership Meeting with the National 

>Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium 

>(NASDCTEc) from April 11-13, 2005.  OVAE staff members appreciated the 

>state directors willingness to sponsor this joint meeting, as it helped to 

>set the broader context for our mutual interest in administering the Carl 

>D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998.  The theme of 

>the conference was transitions.   Dr. Susan Sclafani, OVAE s Assistant 

>Secretary, talked about The High School Agenda: A Meaningful Diploma for 

>Every Young American.   The agenda also included presentations by 

>Congressional Senate and House staff members regarding new legislation and 

>by OVAE policy and program staff members regarding plans for implementing 

>a new law.  Other presentations included information about new models for 

>career and technical education, the education-workforce connection, the 

>secondary-postsecondary connection, the new Perkins State CTE 

>Self-Assessment Tool (available at 

><<http://www.edcountability.net>http://www.edcountability.net>), newly 

>published studies regarding dual enrollment programs (available at 

><<http://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew>http://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew>), and several 

>breakout dialogue sessions.  Copies of the presentations are posted at 

><<http://www.careertech.org/spring_meeting_2005/>http://www.careertech.org/spring_meeting_2005/>.

>

>Financial Management Institute

>

>The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) hosted the Financial 

>Management Institute from April 11-13, 2005.  The purpose of the institute 

>was to offer training to states and territories so that we can work 

>together to improve the financial management of both adult and career and 

>technical education funds.  Our goals in offering this institute were to:

>

>FULL STORY: 

><<http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/orev043005.html#fmi>http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/orev043005.html#fmi> 

>

>

>State CTE Self-Assessment Tool introduced at Spring Leadership Meeting

>

>On April 13th, at the National Spring Leadership Meeting of the National 

>Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education (NASDCTE), 

>co-sponsored by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), the 

>newly developed and piloted Perkins State CTE Self-Assessment Tool was 

>rolled out to the state CTE community.

>

>OVAE s State Administration and Accountability Group initiated the 

>development of this self-assessment tool in 2003 to provide state grantees 

>the ability to ascertain and document the quality of their career and 

>technical education (CTE) programs.  This tool was designed to become part 

>of the Perkins III monitoring process and help states move beyond mere 

>compliance with the legislative requirements. Use of the self-assessment 

>tool as a part of Perkins monitoring process as a pre-visit activity will 

>begin for those states that are scheduled for monitoring visits this year 

>starting in July -- New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania.

>

>The instrument was provided on disk to all State Directors, has been 

>placed on the Performance Collaborative Resource Network (PCRN) site, and 

>can be accessed at the following URL: 

><<http://www.edcountability.net>http://www.edcountability.net> under 

>current topics.

>

>High School Students Using Dual Enrollment Programs to Earn College 

>Credits, New Reports Say

>High school students are taking advantage of programs to earn college 

>credits, according to two new reports by the U.S. Department of 

>Education's National Center for Education Statistics.

>

>Commenting on the results of the studies on which the reports are based, 

>U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said, "We are pleased to 

>see more high school students pursuing dual enrollment opportunities, and 

>the results in these reports underscore the significance of President 

>Bush's $125 million proposal to increase access to dual enrollment for 

>at-risk students. The President's plan would give grants to help states 

>create dual enrollment programs, scholarships and other activities so that 

>high school students may earn college credits."

>

>FULL STORY: 

><<http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/orev043005.html#dual>http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/orev043005.html#dual> 

>

>

>

>Adult Education and Literacy

>

>OVAE Helps States Improve English Classes for Immigrant Adults

>

>Sixteen of twenty-two states identified in the US Census as high-growth 

>areas for immigrant residents are sending teams to regional training 

>sessions provided by OVAE under a contract with the Center for Adult 

>English Language Acquisition (CAELA).  The training is helping state 

>educators find the best ways to teach immigrant adults the English skills 

>they need to participate in American society effectively.  The three-year 

>contract focuses on AL, AR, AZ, CO, GA, IN, KS, KY, NE, NC, NV, OK, SC, 

>TN, UT, and WA.  Training sessions are scheduled to be held in Washington, 

>DC, Anaheim, and Atlanta in April and May.

>

>Teams of English language teachers and teacher training professionals are 

>learning how to analyze data from their state s immigrant populations and 

>use a new system to match instructional materials to immigrant adults 

>specific needs.  A minimum of four professionals from each state are 

>participating in the training sessions.  They will train more English 

>language teachers of adults in their states.  States are matched with 

>others addressing similar adult education issues to maximize information 

>sharing.  State teams go back to their states equipped to develop action 

>plans that help their immigrant residents learn English.  States then 

>receive no-cost assistance from experts in implementing their plans.  A 

>guidebook is being developed to share information nationwide.

>

>

>Community Colleges

>

>Multi-Federal Agency Funding Sources for Community Colleges

>

>OVAE sponsored an all day conference that for the first time brought 

>together various federal agencies with the sole purpose of sharing 

>resources that are available to community colleges.  The conference was 

>held at the American Association for Community Colleges 85th Annual 

>Convention in Boston, MA, on April 9, 2005.  Attendees spent a day with 

>federal agency representatives to learn what programs, grants, and funding 

>opportunities are available to community colleges.  Representatives from 

>the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, U. S. 

>Department of Agriculture, U. S. Department of Labor, Homeland Security, 

>U.S. Department of Energy, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the 

>Health Resources and Services Administration in the U. S. Department of 

>Health and Human Services informed the participants about their funding 

>opportunities, tips for effective proposals, and how to apply.

>

>For a listing of federal resources that support community colleges, go to

><<http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/CCLO/brochure.doc>http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/CCLO/brochure.doc> 

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