Front Features

From the Desk of our Beloved Executive Director, Dr. Ronald D. McCage

VTECS, Career Clusters, and Perkins IV—Like Three Peas in a Pod

As your state teams meet and plan for work being done with the advent of the Perkins IV Program, please keep in mind that VTECS can help you make the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 work better for you.

As a nutshell reminder, since its beginning in 1973, the primary purpose of VTECS has been to help define and validate career and technical education content upon which quality programs and assessments can be developed and linked to employer-based standards. Furthermore, we make this information available in VTECS DIRECT™, a user friendly software database system, and as each version has been released, more and more attention has been paid to including features that allow the user to include and customize their own CTE competencies, instructional elements, assessment items, and Career Cluster information.

Every Perkins Act since 1984 has placed every increasing emphasis on documenting student academic and technical competence, and VTECS has a long history of helping states to define and validate industry based standards and assessment systems to address these issues. The new act now takes documentation of skills one step further by creating separate measures for secondary and post secondary that require documenting core academic competencies and technical skills using NCLB and valid and reliable employer based deliveries. In fact, every LEA must now offer at least one career and technical education program of study that includes:

	Minimum of three sequential courses containing rigorous and challenging core academics
	Address employer-validated technical standards
	Lead to industry certification, a post secondary credential or an associate or baccalaureate degree

The program of study concept contained in Perkins grew out of the Career Cluster and Career Pathway initiative. VTECS was deeply involved in this initiative in that our organization did most of the early research and ground work for creating the concept as we know it today. The evolution of the initiative can be summarized in four steps:

1. VTECS Executive Director, Ronald D. McCage wrote a commissioned paper for the U. S. Department of Labor in March of 1994, as advisory to the National Skill Standards Board.
2. As a result of this paper, the development of a fourteen industry/occupational group/career major, occupational specialty frameworks that were formally adopted by the VTECS Board in May, 1996.
3. Same information was also used by OVAE as a part of their research base for determining which clusters they would use for data collection purposes
4. To varying degrees, same information was used by the NASDCTEc State’s Career Cluster Initiative to determine the 81 pathways for which knowledge and skill statements have been developed within the sixteen cluster framework.

In addition to being the Career Cluster Leader for the Arts, Audio-Video Technology and Communications Cluster, VTECS continues to partner with NASDCTEc to co-sponsor the annual Career Cluster Institute and to update the Career Cluster knowledge and skill statements. In return, VTECS is authorized to house this information in VTECS DIRECT™, which means this is the only software available that allows the user to manipulate, modify, enhance and structure the knowledge and skill statements at the Foundation and Pathway levels.

Given this background, our board decided in January of 2006 that VTECS would concentrate on keeping the VTECS software systems current, while updating and developing competencies and standards around which assessment items, assessment vehicles, and scenarios (a form of problem based curriculum) could be developed and aligned. A concept paper, “Providing Industry-Validated Competencies, Standards, Item Banks, Assessments, and Scenarios Across State Lines,” focuses on the conduct of this type of work within and across state lines. It is now available and can be acquired by contacting our office. Even more significant to note, VTECS is working with Pitsco, and Arizona to collaborate on a Statewide Standards and Assessment System Project, “Recommendations for Providing Technical Assistance to the Arizona Standards and Assessment System.”

Our board believes that the concept as outlined in this paper is a viable approach to addressing the recently passed Perkins accountability requirements in a consistent and economical way. Both the concept paper and the Arizona project are discussed below.

Throughout the act there are references to several other tried and true CTE concepts such as applied learning, articulation between secondary, post secondary and beyond, co-op, internships, mentorships. Again, VTECS has one of the best vehicles in the country for managing any and all forms of work based learning. In fact, VTECS Connect™ is so comprehensive and functional that Terry Fields built the Indiana Technical Reporting System around it, and InTERS now serves as that state’s accountability system for Perkins as well as for management of CTE at the local level.

I look forward to speaking with you about where VTECS is going and in exploring any and all options for VTECS working with your state. Thanks for your time and consideration.

New VTECS Marketing Campaign is Underway

VTECS has already begun to design and run some new marketing vehicles such as VTECS Connect and DIRECT promos that have been used in States to advertise software usage. You may already have seen us nationally in the ACTE Atlanta 2006 Convention Program Guide and Directory where VTECS ran a full color page Ad. Keep your eyes peeled for a new company brochure/packet that will be released in the new year along with some new marketing ads.

And, on December 8, Brenda Hattaway went to the South Carolina Education Television studio to film a VTECS Connect training video!! Many thanks to Amy McCaskill for making all the arrangements and to Jackie Johnson of SCETV who directed the video. Shellie and Micah made cameo appearances. More about this project and the results soon but be sure to check your local Video Store for this DVD which is to be released in the new year!!

Training Tracker - On the Training Trail with Brenda & Do I Need to Say it--Shellie, Of Course

Fall, 2005, was very nice for Brenda Hattaway and Shellie – New Hampshire in October and Minnesota in November – both for the VTECS Drive-In Events. While in Minnesota they also did a Train-the-Trainer Workshop coordinated by Barb Herrmann and joined Barb at a state Tech Prep Conference on the campus of the University of Minnesota!!

They closed out 2005 with a special appearance (i.e., a session presentation) at the Focus 2005 conference which was a part of ACTE in Kansas City in December.

January, 2006, was quite exciting for the duo – but it had nothing to do with the training trail … Brenda took a fall down some steps while in New York City and broke her elbow. (Shellie thinks that she could have prevented this accident, but she wasn’t along … it wasn’t a training trip, you see.)

Even with a “braced left arm in a sling”, Brenda (and Shellie) helped with the Georgia workshops on January 19-20 in Macon. This is an annual event arranged by Mamie Hanson, Tech Coordinator, during which two labs are used and there are a total of six training sessions. Participants may choose either beginning or advanced workshops. Ken Potthoff and Tim Withee deserve much credit … Ken led 3 of the sessions and Tim led 2 sessions. Robyn Marshall assisted Brenda with her advanced session (plus she provided Brenda’s transportation!!).

Brenda made her first trip alone (following the “elbow incident”) on March 24, when she drove to Columbia, South Carolina. She was an invited instructor in the South Carolina Career & Technology Education Work-Based Certification Pre-Service/In-Service Training Program. She taught a group of 35 teachers about classroom assessment (and got invited back for next year!) While Shellie doesn’t care much for assessment (a feeling shared by most students), she did make a brief appearance when Brenda showed the class how to track student progress with VTECS Connect.

(Note: On April 10, Shellie had to have surgery on her left front leg …now that’s taking “I wanta be just like Mom a bit too far!!”. She is doing fine, all healed, back to chasing squirrels, and digging in the flower beds.)

By mid-May, Brenda and Shellie were back in full swing on the training trail. They did VTECS Connect training in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at Chattanooga State Technical Community College on May 23, – coordinated by John Townsend. They did a follow-up session with the CSTCC instructors on July 20 – working with each instructor individually.

On June 5 – 6, they make their annual trip to Little Rock, Arkansas, for what is always a great activity planned by Susan Prater. Both days were devoted to VTECS Connect – approximately 30 Marketing Instructors on June 5 and twenty Cooperative Education Coordinators on June 6.

Then it was off to the Career Cluster Institute, June 12 – 14. Brenda “headlined” two sessions at the Institute and led a post session workshop on VTECS DIRECT.

They closed out the month of June with VTECS Connect and VTECS DIRECT training sessions – arranged by Amy McCaskill – at the South Carolina Education and Business Summit in Greenville, South Carolina, June 26 – 28.

In October, Brenda led a VTECS DIRECT workshop in Stillwater, Oklahoma, for 36 Oklahoma State CTE staff. The primary focus was on using the software to organize programs within clusters. Ruth Eckenstein organized this workshop after attending the DIRECT post session offered at the Career Cluster Institute.

While the “training duo” did get a break from workshops during July, August, and September, they were busy doing presentations:

High Schools That Work Conference

On July 13, Brenda had the privilege of co-presenting with Webster Dorsey and Dorothy Brown from Anne Arundel County Public Schools – Annapolis, Maryland, at SREB’s High Schools That Work Conference in Orlando, Florida. Their presentation, A Strategic Plan to Create Rigor and Relevance in Work-based Learning Programs, focused on Anne Arundel County’s move from a “one-size fits all” approach to work-based learning to the use of a task analysis framework and database application that has increased the rigor of the training agreements, led to higher student achievement, and increased employer participation. VTECS Connect was highlighted as the tool that has made the program so successful!

Alabama: VTECS DIRECT & Career Clusters

Ron and Brenda traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, in September for a presentation to the state staff on Career Clusters and VTECS DIRECT. Bethany Clem made all the arrangements.

South Carolina Workforce Development Conference

Brenda presented at the South Carolina Workforce Development Conference on October 31 in Myrtle Beach. The session, A Customized Training Program Model for Maintaining a Skilled & Capable Workforce, was attended by South Carolina Onestop Center staff.

Last but not Least, We are Thrilled to Make a Very Special Announcement: There’s a New Member to the VTECS Family: Shellie Has a “Little Brother”

On May 28, Brenda adopted a "brother" for Shellie (with her approval, of course) ... his name is Micah and he's a 2 ½ year old Flat-Coated Retriever mix. He’s a Karina survivor, tennis ball chaser, toy unstuffer, tug of war champ and a very exuberant fellow (quite the opposite of Shellie’s laid back style). But Micah is a smart boy who quickly learned that his big sister was very wise and that Mom Brenda was “in-charge”.

Brenda and Shellie are especially proud of their new family member since he graduated from obedience school on November 18, and while he wasn’t valedictorian, he passed his final exam with flying colors and didn’t even have to cram the night before!!

So Brenda and Shellie have company on the “training trail” and you’ll be hearing lots more about Micah.

Tim and Ken On the Road

Out on the training trail in 2006, Tim Withee had great sessions in Georgia, Florida and toured three cities in New Jersey where VTECS Connect and DIRECT were show-cased.

Ken Potthoff trained in Louisiana, Georgia, and Missouri. Most notably, he had the pleasure of doing an initial training with Missouri DESE Cluster Leaders and Missouri Center for Career Education Curriculum Specialists on a state project to align its programs of study with the 16 Career Clusters for Perkins IV with the help of VTECS DIRECT™.

VTECS was also on the National Tech Prep Network (NTPN) Program in November of 2006 in Dallas where Ken Potthoff led a roundtable session on the Missouri Program of Study Alignment with Career Clusters using VTECS DIRECT.

 

“. . . computers are being called upon to perform many new functions, including the consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog.” –Doug Larson

Get ready for updated versions of VTECS Connect™ 2.1 and VTECS DIRECT™ 5! Exciting changes are being made to both software packages. Many of the enhancements are based on feedback from our user community so we are confident these changes will make VTECS Connect and VTECS DIRECT even more powerful and easier to use.

First, since some of the changes to VTECS Connect™ 2.1 are rather significant, VTECS Connect 2.1 will become VTECS Connect 2.2. VTECS Connect 2.2 will include a link to the VTECS Connect™ Student Data Import from MS Excel® program. The new data import program is used to bring student records into VTECS Connect from other student record management systems. The program uses Microsoft Excel as the “bridge” to move the data. The program is in the final stages of testing and a draft manual is complete.

A “Save and Next” button has been added to the student record screen to expedite data entry from one student record to the next. Since users often update the same information for a group of students at one time, the “Save and Next” button will streamline the data-entry process by eliminating the need to close and open each student’s record. This enhancement was suggested by a user at Chattanooga State Technical Community College in Tennessee.

Another feature that expedites data entry is the new Work/Wage rapid entry screen. A group of users in Alabama requested this feature. The rapid entry screen is useful for quickly entering data when some of the data is the same for almost every field. There will also be a “save as default” option for work/wage data.

VTECS DIRECT 5 is also “under construction.” An updated Related Academic Skills import program will be more powerful than before since some of the fields in DIRECT have been expanded to contain more information.

The test generator portion of DIRECT will also be easier to use with the addition of folder names to the window. This enhancement will significantly help users when generating and organizing tests.

Be sure to add your name to the VTECS e-mail mailing list to receive the latest news about these software updates and more!

Hip-Hip Hurray! VTECS, Pitsco, and Arizona to collaborate on a Statewide Standards and Assessment System Project, “Recommendations for Providing Technical Assistance to the Arizona Standards and Assessment System.

On On August 16-18, 2006, Dr. Ron McCage, Executive Director, VTECS; Ms. Brenda Hattaway, Assistant Executive Director, VTECS; along with Dr. Harvey Dean, CEO and Founder of Pitsco; and Dr. Mike Robinson, President of Technical Fluency Institute, a unit of Pitsco, traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to meet with Barbara Border, Helen Bootsma, Milt Ericksen, and others. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the establishment of a Statewide Standards and Assessment System that meets or exceeds the accountability requirements of the recently adopted Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 and the Arizona Joint Technical Education District (JTED) Requirements as specified in Arizona House Bill 2700.

Essentially, the U. S. Department of Education has served notice that the new benchmark for technical proficiency will be the demonstration of knowledge and skills through assessments that document that students are moving toward industry certification and/or post secondary standards which are very parallel to the JTED Requirements. In addition, the new Perkins Legislation requires that federally supported programs be taught as a sequence of courses that constitute a legitimate program of study for which evidence of the documentation of competence can be provided.

Essentially, the JTED Requirements, as per Arizona HB 2700, state that:

3.d. ..“A program will be designed to lead the student toward certification that is accepted by a vocation or industry as a demonstration of skill or competency in that vocation or industry.

3.e. …requires students to obtain a passing score on an examination that demonstrates a level of skill or competency for that program of study that is accepted by a vocation or an industry.

3.f. Meets the standards of a career preparatory vocational program as determined by the Career and Technical Education Division of the Department of Education.”

This means that beginning in FY2007-08, Arizona CTE program completers must be assessed against industry competency standards that have been specified for inclusion in local CTE programs in order to be considered for funding.

To implement these directives, Arizona has decided to:

Convene a group of high level CEOs, Union, Legislature, Education, and others to determine the following:

• Verify that standards exist and are valid.

• Certify that an industry exam is available and equal to their needs.

• Certify that the process being used is valid and consistent across districts

• Provide students with certificates as evidence of competence

• Work with the business community to make these certificates valued and provide students with added wages and incentives to stay on the career ladder in that occupation

Establish a Stakeholders Group of Personnel from JTEDS, Comprehensive CTE programs and Administrators, and Others as needed to provide input for the system to identify the programs for which assessments will be needed, to identify problems in the system, and to ensure that equity and quality exist for the Assessment System.

Establish an assessment center at Arizona State University with qualified personnel who have CTE background, assessment background, test and measurement background, web-based skills applicable to on-line systems, and the ability to work with local districts, JTEDS, and ADE, the Skill Standards Board, and the Stakeholders Group to establish the system as needed to meet the needs of Arizona. This group would receive technical assistance and support services from VTECS, TFI/Pitsco, and other entities as specified in their program of work.

Specifically, the Arizona State University Assessment Center would:

Identify assessments already available from industry that are consistent with the programs being offered by JTEDS and that also address Comprehensive High School CTE courses and programs.

Identify the Levels of assessments that are to be made available depending on the type of institution and length of the program.

Identify assessments not available that are potential candidates for use in Arizona

Use the AZ CTE Curricula that has been validated with AZ industries or a basis for judgment. Where curricula does not exist an industry group is to be convened.

Provide an on-line system that will ensure assessments are accessible to students in rural as well as urban areas.

Provide an on-line system to serve secondary comprehensive CTE, JTEDs, CCs desiring to use, and through DES One-Stop Centers desiring to use

In the context of this project, VTECS has been asked to provide technical assistance and support to the development and operation of this system to include the identification and provision of a reliable web based on-line assessment delivery system.

Some of the primary services that VTECS will provide to Arizona are listed below; however, our capabilities are not limited to this list:

1. Advising ADE and ASU on how to set up the assessment center and conduct the processes.

2. Assisting ADE/ASU in determining priorities and linking existing standards and items.

3. Locating standards, item banks, and assessments from other states and organizations based on an ADE/ASU/VTECS gap analysis of what exists versus what is needed.

4. Developing items as requested based on results of the gap analysis and priority setting outcomes.

5. Conducting on-site standards setting, item writing, and technical committee review and validation sessions.

6. Training of assessment center staff and technical writing teams regarding the identification and/or development and validation of assessment items and assessments.

7. Training and assisting with field testing and diversity accommodation issues as related to assessment construction and administration.

8. Provision of processes and materials for conducting assessment, technical reviews, validations process and field testing activities, etc.

9. Providing a web-based assessment system delivery partner.

10. Others as requested.

Needless to say, VTECS is very pleased to be involved in this endeavor. For more information on this project, please contact Ron McCage at 800-248-7701 ext 544 and rmccage@vtecs.org.

Who is Pitsco? http://www.pitsco.com/default.asp

Read more about Technical Fluency Institute: http://www.techfluency.org/
 

VTECS Wins Residential Construction Program Curriculum Development Project!

Break out the champagne!! We’re celebrating VTECS’ being awarded a contract by Laborers-AGE Education and Training Fund (Laborers-AGC) to develop curriculum materials for a Residential Construction Program. Four modules are currently projected:

Basic Carpentry, Flooring Systems, Wall framing, and Roof Framing

The project begins immediately (December, 2006) and runs through January, 2008. VTECS will develop the following products for Laborers-AGC:

1. A validated Residential Construction Task List for entry level Construction Craft Laborers.

2. Participant guides for each module identified through the research activity. Four modules are currently projected: Basic Carpentry, Flooring Systems, Wall framing, and Roof Framing. All modules will be provided in Microsoft Word® format and will conform to existing Laborers-AGC curricula format.

3. Instructor guides that correspond to each participant guide that conform to existing Laborers-AGC curricula format.

4. Microsoft PowerPoint® or other visual presentation materials for instructor support and recommendations for DVD presentations for use in the classroom.

5. Participant evaluation tools including written and performance assessments and instructor guidance on trainee evaluation for each module.

Learn more about Laborers-AGC at http://www.laborers-agc.org/

About Laborers-AGC

Laborers-AGC Education and Training Fund is a partnership between the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

Since its establishment in 1969, this non-profit labor/management trust fund has enjoyed a history of success through cooperation. Curriculum development, designed with the adult learner in mind, is one of the core functions of Laborers-AGC. All of the material received by LIUNA members and apprentices during training is intended to be use as a resource on the job.

Laborers’ training reaches every state in the US and every province in Canada. Laborers-AGC’s affiliated funds service the training needs of hundreds of LIUNA local unions and thousands of construction-related contractors by providing relevant and necessary training to LIUNA members and apprentices. Each year thousands of LIUNA members and apprentices receive training at one of the state-of-the-art training facilities that comprise the Laborers’ training network.

Laborers-AGC currently offers education and training materials to its affiliates that include nearly 30 programs and over 180 modules in subjects that are related to work in the construction; building and heavy & highway, environmental remediation, utilities, and demolition industries. Through this contract with VTECS, Laborers-AGC is adding a Residential Construction Program to this impressive list!

VTECS’ Management of the States 16 Career Clusters
Data Review and Update Project

Over the last two years VTECS has been the lead on a large project to review and update the States 16 Career Clusters. Tim Withee has spearheaded this endeavor while working closely with Ron McCage. What started out as a simple review process has turned into a wonderful opportunity to help the clusters evolve. Below is an overview of what has happened over that two year span.

• Initially VTECS was asked to make the modifications needed to effectively carry out a review of the Career Cluster Knowledge and Skills on-line. These modifications included Career Cluster material edited by Charles Losh. The material was then provided to each approved cluster leader for review.

• VTECS was charged with identifying and contacting and working with the appropriate cluster leaders. In cases where there was not an active cluster leader, or productive contact person, VTECS assumed that role for the purposes of carrying out this project so that all clusters received the same treatment.

• Each cluster leader and a small group (at least one person per pathway per cluster) selected business and industry representatives for the review. They were given six weeks to review and edit the content of their respective clusters. Cluster leaders asked business and industry representatives to review the content for accuracy and commonality, as well as identify “gaps” and obsolete information.

• Following the cluster leaders edits, VTECS consolidated all cluster leader input and reconstituted the database for the on-line content review conducted by the national advisory committee’s business and industry reps for each cluster. Simultaneously, VTECS provided instructions for cluster leaders to use to identify the number and type of business and industry representatives they wanted on the on-line database for the purpose of reviewing this version of the foundation and pathway statements.

• The on-line review process was run over a four month period. Knowledge and Skills “content” were reviewed by the each cluster’s designated business and industry representatives.

• Upon completion of the on-line review, VTECS consolidated all the input and reconstituted the database to produce an up to date version of the knowledge and skills for each cluster. The data was given to each cluster leader and their respective National Advisory Council (NAC) for final review. VTECS attended all 16 clusters National Advisory Council meetings to discuss the results of the survey and edits or adjustments to be made. Currently we are on a second round of National Advisory Council based on the need for further editing.

• Once the NAC reviews have been completed, VTECS will consolidate the input and provide the cluster leaders and NASDCTEc with an updated version of the statements and up to date database for reproduction and dissemination as per the career cluster task force directives.

Overall, the project has been a wonderful experience for VTECS. We have had the chance to help the data evolve, and to collaborate on the processes and work with the people behind the data. One of the most critical pieces was work done with the cluster leaders and National Advisory Councils in ensuring that the data was finalized. These individuals and groups are truly dedicated to the work and they were a pleasure to work with. It is our hope that as the review of the cluster continues, so will VTECS involvement.

Contact Tim Withee (twithee@vtecs.org) for more information.

VTECS Delivers on National Hospitality and Tourism Curriculum for NAF

VTECS finished a national curriculum project with the National Academy Foundation (NAF) where we managed curriculum writing teams to develop three new Academy of Hospitality and Tourism courses that are now being implemented in NAF’s network of high schools nationwide after being published by Pearson Publishing.

VTECS role in this project was to manage the overall project, manage the writing teams, and provide instructional design and curriculum development expertise to the writing process and final products. Ken Potthoff was the overall VTECS-NAF project manager and worked closely with Ron McCage.

The three academy courses developed by VTECS follows along with their respective Course Project Manager

	Systems for Hospitality and Tourism – Tim Withee
	Business for Hospitality and Tourism – Melissa Briscoe
	Economics for Hospitality and Tourism – Ken Potthoff

Negotiations and work on this project begin in the fall of ’05 and ran until the summer of ’06 where Ken Potthoff, Tim Withee and Melissa Briscoe, long time VTECS Consultant, presented on their projects at the annual NAF Conference in Detroit this past July. VTECS staff and the curriculum teams also attended a week-long NAF training seminar in New York, on January 9-12, 2006 hosted by NAF. Finally, in developing the Economics of Hospitality and Tourism course, VTECS worked with the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE), and specifically, curriculum development workshops were conducted at the Arizona Council on Economic Education in Scottsdale, AZ. We want to thank them for allowing us to use their wonderful facility.

Contact Ken Potthoff (kpotthoff@vtecs.org) for more information. Visit NAF’s website: http://www.naf.org/cps/rde/xchg

VTECS used its 67th Board of Directors Meeting to conduct an externally facilitated review of its vision, mission, and goals in order to provide a clearer focus for the future. The ultimate outcome of this review is that VTECS plans to concentrate on providing updated competencies and industry-validated standards for existing and emerging occupations upon which scenarios, item banks, assessments, and customized curriculum packages can be aligned to include state-of-the-art software and training packages for the management and delivery of these elements.

To carry out the agenda, the VTECS board asked the executive director to conduct a survey of current members to determine the high priority products and services that needed to be addressed first. VTECS reviewed each state’s response to the needs survey. In addition, staff were asked to identify, research and catalogue any curriculum, assessment and/or certification resources relevant to member needs. The first outcome of this endeavor is a compilation of industry developed certification identified by Maryland, South Carolina, and Virginia.

With the passage of the 2006 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act, it is evident that the new law as well as in the quality assurance criterion being developed by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, will support and drive the critical issues facing all states regarding the development and validation of a skill standards and assessments system across state lines for career and technical education.

Consequently, based on information gathered in the spring of 2006, several discussions with Pitsco/TFI, and recent decisions made by the VTECS Board of Directors, VTECS has moved forward in the creation of the concept paper and in the reality of the Arizona endeavor for implementing a multi-state system capable of identifying, housing, validating, and delivering current and relevant industry-based competencies, standards, item banks, assessments, scenarios, and customized curriculum packages that:

• Have credibility with and economic value to business and industry.
• Are endorsed by business, industry, and education leaders.
• Are embraced by parents, students, workers, and the community at large.
• Are continuously and consistently upgraded and revalidated by employers.
• Are further validated at the post-secondary level for articulation purposes.

This concept paper is titled, “Providing Industry-Validated Competencies, Standards, Item Banks, Assessments, and Scenarios Across State Lines,” and can acquired by contacting the VTECS office.

Hence, it is highly critical to understand that this paper is being put into practice with the Arizona Endeavor already detailed: “Recommendations for Providing Technical Assistance to the Arizona Standards and Assessment System” and thus not only has national appeal for all states but international potential. VTECS will be developing a prospectus on this paper as we set our sights on finding viable partners to move forward on this promising vision by Ron McCage.

Home Sweet Home for ACTE

Having ACTE 2006 in Atlanta sure made life easier for VTECS' staff members this year. In fact, Ron McCage, Brenda Hattaway, Robyn Marshall, Tim Withee and Ken Potthoff all helped run Booth #512 where we showed and discussed our products.

VTECS Receives Award and Presents at IVETA Conference

Just before ACTE Atlanta ’06, IVETA (International Vocational Education and Training Association) conference was held in Atlanta as well. Brenda Hattaway gave a presentation on November 29. The theme of the conference was “EVALUATING CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION: Identifying the Social and Economic Benefits of Investments in Technical and Vocational Education". Brenda’s presentation, A Model for Quality Work-Based Learning Programs that Document the Impact of Technical and Vocational Education, highlighted the impact of three activities with which VTECS has been involved:

	The Indiana Systems Approach to Workforce Certification
	Warren Technical School – A Work-Based Learning Program for Special Needs Students
	The Georgia Youth Apprenticeship Program

During the awards luncheon VTECS was presented with a Robert Cain Certificate of Appreciation for its many years of supporting IVETA and for providing computer projection equipment for the conference every year.

Interested in IVTEA, go to their website at http://www.iveta.org/

Back in the Saddle Again at 4th Annual Career Cluster Institute

Once more, the really big June event was the 4th Annual National Career Cluster Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. And again, VTECS was highly visible:

Registration

VTECS staff – Ron McCage, Brenda Hattaway, Tim Withee, and Sandi Davison – helped with registration throughout the conference providing numerous opportunities to visit informally with institute participants.

Exhibits

Brenda and Tim staffed the VTECS table during the reception where institute participants could learn more about all that we have to offer.

Sessions

“Discover VTECS DIRECT 5™ – Count on VTECS Connect 2™: Software Systems that Put You in Control” presented by Brenda Hattaway, Ron McCage, and Tim Withee. This session provided demos of both of VTECS’ software systems with special focus on their use in implementing Career Clusters.

“Developing Scenarios – Do Your Scenarios Need a Bit of Caffeine?” presented by Brenda Hattaway. In this session participants had great fun learning about scenarios for instruction or assessment. There was much laughter during the hands-on activity of writing a scenario for making a cup of coffee. (Of course, there were actual cheers for the chocolate covered espresso beans distributed at the end.) One participant said: “A fun presentation, practical ideas that I can use!”

Post-Session – VTECS DIRECT 5

States were invited to send up to two people for a hands-on training session on VTECS DIRECT 5. Representatives from several states attended the half day of training led by Brenda and Tim.

We look forward to seeing you in ’07 at the 5th Annual Career Clusters Institute in Phoenix where VTECS will be in full force. Visit our website for updates on this exciting annual conference. www.vtecs.org

Oh Yes! VTECS Tech Coordinator Annual Inservice – 2006

The 2006 Technical Coordinator Inservice was packed with lots of learning, sharing, and fun!

The setting for the February 28 – March 2 event was Scarlett O’Hara’s Atlanta, Georgia. One day was devoted to hands-on activities with our VTECS Connect™ 2.1 and VTECS DIRECT™ 5.

Inservice participants received new editions of the Technical Coordinator Handbook, the VTECS Connect Quick Reference Manual, VTECS DIRECT Topics, and a special CD with all three manuals, three of the latest VTECS PowerPoint® presentations, and sample handouts, plus lots more!

Amy McCaskill, South Carolina, was elected Technical Coordinator Representative to the Board of Directors.

In addition to the more formal presentations, there were many opportunities for informal discussions.

Doug Webster (Vermont) Speaks to Group
Steve Scherb – VTECS’ Software Designer/Developer	Robyn Marshall & Sandi Davison – VTECS Staff

www.vtecs.org

Copyright 2006 by VTECS.  All rights reserved