FYI


>THE OVAE REVIEW

>

>February 28, 2006

>

>Beto Gonzalez, Acting Assistant Secretary

>

>Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)

>

>U.S. Department of Education

>

><<http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/2006/022506.html>http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/2006/022506.html>

>

>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.

>

>Center for Rural Education

>

>Rural Education Task Force/Center for Rural Education

>

>A new e-mail list has been established by the Center for Rural Education 

>to facilitate communications with rural constituents.  This list will be 

>used to disseminate information on the Secretary s Rural Education Task 

>Force, activities of the Center for Rural Education, and articles of 

>interest to rural educators.  To subscribe, please follow these instructions:

>

>·       Address e-mail to: 

><mailto:listserv at listserv.ed.gov>listserv at listserv.ed.gov 

><mailto:listserv at listserv.ed.gov>

>

>·       Write in the message's body:  subscribe RuralED [your name]

>

>·       Example:  subscribe RuralED John Doe

>

>Community Colleges

>

>A Community College Forms a Unique Partnership with Local Businesses

>

>In a time of unprecedented demands on our community colleges and high 

>schools, the City of Chicago and State of Illinois are working with 

>business partners and community colleges to provide innovative programs 

>for learners.

>

>At Wilbur Wright College (WWC) in Chicago, innovative educators and 

>business people have joined together to bring education from the college 

>campus into the workplace.  This unique program also has the commitment of 

>the City of Chicago through its TIFWorks Program, which gives businesses 

>grants for training from a portion of real estate tax payments.

>

>In the early 1990s, Wilber Wright College partnered with Eli s Cheesecake 

>Co. to form Eli s University, a program in which Eli s personnel were 

>given work time to earn a GED on-site. Personnel were released from work 

>so as to be able to attend class.  The partnership has since expanded 

>beyond that, offering numerous classes to Eli s employees (including 

>supervisors) plus additional classes for associates in nearby 

>businesses.  Under this program the community college trains adult 

>learners in classes that include the development of computer skills, such 

>as computer literacy, Outlook training and data base development, and good 

>manufacturing practices.  The program even includes the training of 

>employees in sign language to support the employment of deaf 

>workers.   Eli s president Marc Schulman believes in investing in 

>associates to update their skills.   Schulman s view is that by upgrading 

>the skills of the associates, his business benefits-he creates better 

>employees. We believe it s important to bring education into the workplace 

>. . . it makes it more highly productive, says Schulman.

>

>In addition, the president of the college has noticed a new benefit to the 

>college:  by experiencing the quality of a community college education, 

>Eli s employees now see the community college as a place for their 

>children to begin their own college experience.  Wilbur Wright s president 

>Charles Guengerich says We re very pleased . . . it s great to have 

>supportive business partners.  The unique role of the community college is 

>to reach out into the community.  When we reach out and form partnerships 

>everyone benefits.

>

>For more information on Wilbur Wright College and other innovative 

>programs, visit the Web site at 

><<http://wright.ccc.edu/>http://wright.ccc.edu/>.

>

>Adult Education and Literacy

>

>Support for States to Implement Standards-based Reform in Adult Education

>

>As states continue to develop and implement content standards for their 

>adult education programs, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education 

>(OVAE) is planning for future technical assistance to states.  In January, 

>we conducted a state needs assessment and usability evaluation of the 

>content standards warehouse to determine the best ways to support states 

>efforts to implement standards.  Over 40 adult educators from 24 states 

>participated.  The results of the assessment and evaluation activities 

>will help plan the next phase of OVAE s efforts to support the needs of 

>states already engaged in standards-based education reform.

>

>The state needs assessment focused on identifying the evolving needs of 

>standards-based reform.  The discussions addressed:

>

>§       The state efforts undertaken to date to develop and implement 

>standards

>

>§ The needs states face and anticipate as they move forward

>

>§ The support and technical assistance the states have procured and provided

>

>The states, which volunteered to participate, represented an array of 

>approaches to the development process and varying years of experience in 

>the standards movement.  Many states were part of the state standards 

>consortia project sponsored by OVAE last year.

>

>Building on these activities, this project will produce a plan for 

>delivering new services to states to promote standards-based 

>education.  The plan will include recommendations for technical assistance 

>and capacity building strategies to meet the needs of standards-based 

>reform.  The expected program of new technical assistance will be 

>announced in fall 2006.

>

>Secondary, Career, and Technical Education

>

>CTE State Directors Spring Meeting

>

>OVAE and the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical 

>Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) will jointly sponsor the annual spring 

>meeting for the state directors of career and technical education 

>(CTE).  The meeting will take place April 10-12, 2006, at the Hilton 

>Washington, in Washington, D.C.  An exciting agenda has been planned, with 

>topics focusing on promoting improved collaboration between secondary and 

>postsecondary education and the role of CTE in high school 

>improvement.  Speakers will include OVAE s Acting Assistant Secretary Beto 

>Gonzalez and other key staff, as well as congressional staff and 

>experienced educators.  There will also be a special session held on April 

>8 for the new state directors to give them an overview of the legislative 

>requirements, policies, and procedures for managing the Perkins grant 

>programs.  For more information, please contact Lois Davis at (202) 

>245-7784 or at <mailto:Lois.Davis at ed.gov>Lois.Davis at ed.gov 

><mailto:Lois.Davis at ed.gov> or visit the NASDCTEc Web site at 

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

>

>State Scholars Initiative Update

>

>The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) released a 

>Request for Proposal (RFP) on February 6, 2006 inviting state-level 

>business/education partnerships to apply for State Scholars Initiative 

>grants.  This competition will identify eight to twelve new states to join 

>the existing network of 14 states.  Each new state-level 

>business/education partnership may be funded at up to $300,000 over a 

>two-year period to implement State Scholars projects, which are described 

>in the RFP.  We encourage states not yet participating in the State 

>Scholars Initiative to consider responding to this RFP.  The current 14 

>state participants are not eligible to reapply for new or continuing 

>funds.  WICHE is managing the State Scholars Initiative for the 

>department.  Full Story

>

><http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/2006/022506.html#state>www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/2006/022506.html#state 

>

>

>Data Quality Institute

>

>OVAE hosted a Perkins Data Quality Institute (DQI) in Washington, D.C., on 

>February 8-10, 2006.  More than 200 people attended, representing 48 

>states.  The agenda and institute materials can be found on the PCRN Web 

>site at <http://www.edcountability.net>www.edcountability.net 

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

>

>The major objective of the DQI was to reach consensus on standardizing 

>several measurement approaches for Perkins III core indicators.  States 

>are required to collect and report data on their Perkins core indicators 

>as part of their state accountability program.  The institute featured 

>federal and state panelists who discussed strategies and methods for 

>improving program performance and data quality.

>

>During this 3-day event, participants were able to achieve consensus on a 

>definition of a program "concentrator" and increase standardizing of 

>selected measurement approaches.

>

>In follow-up to the DQI, OVAE will sponsor two regional conferences in 

>June 2006, in Phoenix and Atlanta to provide technical assistance to 

>states in identifying and overcoming obstacles in order to implement the 

>definitions.  Information about these upcoming regional meetings will be 

>posted to the PCRN Web site.

>

>Other Department News

>

>Meeting the Challenge of a Changing World:  The American Competitiveness 

>Initiative

>

>On February 3, 2006, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings 

>released "Meeting the Challenge of a Changing World: Strengthening 

>Education for the 21st Century," the department's policy details outlining 

>the education components of the President's American Competitiveness 

>Initiative and other math, science, and critical language programs.  To 

>meet the challenges of our changing world, and to improve our economic 

>security and national security, America must continue to innovate and 

>improve the nation's schools.

>

>More information about the American Competitiveness Initiative, including 

>the publication, Meeting the Challenge of a Changing World: Strengthening 

>Education for the 21st Century, can be found at: 

><<http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/competitiveness/index.html>http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/competitiveness/index.html>.

>

>Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Request Advances NCLB Implementation and Pinpoints 

>Competitiveness

>

>On February 6, 2006, President Bush announced a FY 2007 Department of 

>Education budget request that reaffirms his historic commitment to close 

>the achievement gap among our nation's students and provide a quality 

>education for every child.  The President's budget includes $24.4 billion 

>in funding for No Child Left Behind, up 4.6 percent from 2006 and up 40 

>percent since 2001.  Support for Title I grants to local educational 

>agencies would increase to $12.7 billion, up 45 percent since the 

>enactment of NCLB.  The budget also includes $380 million for new or 

>increased funding for math and science programs aimed at giving students 

>the skills they need to become competitive workers in the global economy 

>of the 21st century. Full Story 

><<http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/2006/022506.html#fiscal>http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/2006/022506.html#fiscal>

>

>New U.S. Department of Education Study Finds Strong Link Between 

>Challenging Studies and Degree Completion

>

>Completing academically challenging course work in high school 

>dramatically increases the likelihood of a student earning a bachelor's 

>degree, according to a new U.S. Department of Education study released on 

>February 14.  The study, The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion 

>from High School Through College, found that the academic intensity of a 

>high school curriculum is the strongest indicator of postsecondary degree 

>completion, regardless of a student's major course of study.  Full Story 

><<http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/2006/022506.html#study>http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/ovaereview/2006/022506.html#study>

>

>