HELP WANTED: Career and Technology Education in Baltimore ...

HELP WANTED: Career and Technology Education in Baltimore City Public Schools

PUBLISHED BY The Abell Foundation 111 S. Calvert Street, Suite 2300 Baltimore, Maryland 21202



MARCH 2005

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Methodology

This Abell Foundation report was prepared largely by the research of Barbara Hopkins who worked with the Office of Career and Technology in the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) over the last year to collect and analyze information and data.

The report was commissioned by Dr. Bonnie S. Copeland, CEO of BCPSS, and the High School Reform Steering Committee as a way to further inform the efforts of improving achievement in Baltimore City's zoned high schools.

The Abell Foundation thanks Cheryl Jones, BCPSS, and Katherine Oliver, Lynne Gilli, and Jeff Lucas at the Maryland State Department of Education for their cooperation and expertise, and Molly Rath for her writing contributions.

It is the intent of The Abell Foundation to support further study in the area of Career and Technology education within Baltimore City public schools.

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Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 II. Background: The History of Career Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 III. Is CTE Valuable?

i). The National Case for CTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 ii). The Case for CTE in Baltimore City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 IV. Meeting the Demand: The State of CTE in Baltimore City Public Schools i). Overview of BCPSS's CTE program on paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 ii). Baltimore City CTE in Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 V. Identifying the Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 VI. Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

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I. Executive Summary

C

CAREER & TECHNOLOGY: organized educational activities that A. offer a sequence of courses that provides individuals with the

academic and technical knowledge and skills the individuals need to prepare for further education and for careers (other than for careers requiring a baccalaureate, master's, or doctoral degree) in current or emerging employment sectors; and B. include competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problemsolving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, and occupational specific skills, of an individual.1

Vocational education, first offered in America's public high schools in the early 1900s, has evolved over the last century, responding to different times, falling under different names, and assuming different forms. Career and Technology Education (CTE) today encompasses not just technical preparation for a specific field, but also the strong academic underpinnings and analytical and interpersonal skills that are widely deemed critical to success in the workplace. In Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS), however, a combination of low funding, increased academic standards, and neglect have relegated CTE to the list of endangered initiatives.

An approach to CTE integrates an occupational sequence of courses with rigorous academic coursework can both target workforce needs and address concerns related to academic skills and assessments. CTE has also been shown to engage disadvantaged high school students at risk of dropping out in a way that a strictly academic curriculum cannot. CTE graduates are also more likely to earn higher wages and report greater success in college than their non-CTE counterparts.

Finally, the goals of CTE are consistent with the workforce needs of Baltimore City. CTE can provide students with the skills they will need following high school graduation, both in the workplace and in post-secondary training and education. In Baltimore City, demand is growing for individuals who need not necessarily have four-year degrees but possess specific sets of skills to fill increasingly technical jobs. Likewise, in City schools, more than a third of 12th grade students report that they plan to work (or work in conjunction with part-time college) directly following graduation.

Yet CTE in Baltimore City's public high schools has been decimated over the last five years, a victim of neglect. In the FY'05 budget alone, BCPSS's CTE budget was slashed by 57 percent. Boasting 280 teachers and a central staff of a dozen prior to 2002, CTE today has 94 teachers and one central office administrator. CTE is floundering at a time when the philosophy on which it was founded--to make public education meaningful and useful to all Americans--is also being devalued by national education policy.

Career and Technology Education in Baltimore City Public Schools 1

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