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Purpose:
Maine statute (Title 20-A MRSA, Chapter 222: Standards and Assessment of Student Performance) specifies that each school system shall address in its Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) by the end of the 2002-2003 school year how it will implement Career Preparation Education for all students, including interim targets for partial implementation. Title 20-A further specifies that each school system shall implement the Career Preparation standards of the Learning Results by the end of the 2006-2007 school year [delayed at least one additional year due to the proposed funding formula], contingent upon funding based on Essential Programs and Services or its equivalent.
The purpose
of the Career Preparation Implementation Plan is to ensure that all students
enrolled in
·
aligned with the system of
· focused on the learning of all students
· oriented to continuous improvement
Rationale:
· Career Preparation Education will impact all students and communities.
· Career Preparation Education is included in the Maine Job Council’s Strategic Plan.
· “The Blue Ribbon Commission on Postsecondary Educational Attainment” recommends Career Preparation Education as a key step in improving the aspirations of Maine Students.
·
The implementation of Career Preparation
Education has the potential to enhance and align student aspirations such that
they complement
Therefore, with respect to the above mentioned Maine statutes and after reviewing “best practices” for Career Preparation Education in K-12 schools in Maine and brainstorming and discussing concerns for students, educators, and schools, the Career Preparation Design Team makes the following recommendations for implementation of the Maine Learning Results Career Preparation content standards.
Plan development and
certification
School districts in
2002-2003: Each school district shall address in its Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) a plan for the implementation of student learning in the content area of Career Preparation by the end of the 2006-2007 school year, contingent upon funding of Essential Programs and Services or its equivalent. Each superintendent will certify to the Commissioner that this plan is included in the district’s CEP.
Fall 2003: Students in grade 6, who will graduate 2010,
will be required to meet the standards of the Career Preparation Learning
Results, contingent upon funding of Essential Programs and Services or its
equivalent.
*2003-04: Review Cycle for the System of Learning Results begins. Each year one content area from each of the following categories will be reviewed:
A. English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Studies; and
B. Career Preparation, Modern and Classical Languages, Health
and Physical Education, Visual and Performing Arts.
*2006-2007
The Superintendent shall certify to the Commissioner that
the local assessment system meets the assessment system standards established
in Chapter 127 for Career Preparation, contingent upon funding based on
Essential Programs and Services or its equivalent.
The Local
Assessment System shall provide school results (grade spans PK-2 and 3-4) and
student results (grade spans 5-8 and 9-12) for Career Preparation, contingent
upon funding based on Essential Programs and Services or its equivalent.
2009-2010: Achievement of the content standards in Career Preparation
is a diploma requirement for all students, contingent upon funding of Essential
Programs and Services or its equivalent.
N.B. The phrase “contingent upon funding of Essential Programs and Services or its equivalent” means that these regulations will go into effect if money is appropriated by the Maine State Legislature according to a funding formula entitled “Essential Programs and Services” or an alternative but equivalent funding model, which defines the fiscal resources necessary to implement Maine’s Learning Results in all eight content areas.
Establish a team
Effective implementation of Career Preparation will require the consideration of the needs and perspectives of a wide range of interested parties. A diverse and representative team of key players in grades K-12 could include:
Business Educators
Business stakeholders
Classroom teachers K-12 (academic and vocational)
Curriculum coordinators
Family and Consumer Science Educators
Guidance Counselors
Jobs for
Parents and other community members
Regional Maine Career Centers (DOL)
School to Work/Career Coordinators
School administrators
Students
Tech Educators (Industrial Arts)
Examine the current status of K-12 activities
within the district regarding
Conduct a needs assessment to determine the current status of Career Preparation programs across the district and to identify the projected needs in terms of human and materials resources (e.g., staff, curriculum, instructional materials, instructional space, technology).
As part of this process, a
district will identify at each grade span the Career Preparation Content
Standards and Performance Indicators that currently are being taught and
assessed (and how) in each grade level and/or specific course in the grade
span. Depending on the size of the
district, this analysis may include multiple teachers at each grade span.
Examine “best
practices”
Various
models, programs and curricula for Career Preparation have been developed
nationally and statewide. The planning
team should carefully review and examine these programs and materials, which
can be located through state departments of education, national, regional and
state organizations, and local school districts with exemplary programs.
Through goal setting, it will be important to recognize and address the requirements and associated timelines for a sequential, articulated application of the Career Preparation standards for all students in grades K-12. The plan should describe the district’s vision for full implementation.
Develop interim
targets for partial implementation K-12
Depending on
the size and number of schools within a particular district, a timeline for
full implementation of Career Preparation may take a number of years to
accomplish. Additionally, the first
class of students required to meet the Career Preparation standards as part of
its high school diploma requirements will graduate in 2011, i.e. students
entering grade 5 in the fall 2003 (a delay of at least one year from the
original legislated date, based on the proposed funding formula of Essential
Programs and Services). Planning
backwards from 2011, interim target dates and program descriptions for partial
implementation at various grade levels and/or schools within a district
recognize this reality and will allow for incremental progress and adjustment
to the plan as it develops.
Plan for
professional development
School
district decisions and budgets will dictate the professional development
opportunities afforded to teachers and administrators within a district. In order for full implementation to occur,
identify prospective plans for training opportunities and other professional
development activities necessary for the establishment, maintenance,
improvement or expansion of Career Preparation (contingent upon funding). Examples might include reading, research,
conference attendance and/or school site visits. Include this information in the
implementation plan.
Curriculum
Development K-12
Curriculum development for
Career Preparation in grades K-12, based on
Each school district should
review, revise and develop curriculum and associated instructional activities aligned with
Based on the LAS Guide:
Principles and Criteria for the Adoption of Local Assessment System (Maine
Department of Education, June 2003), each school district may develop, pilot
and implement assessments to measure achievement of Career Preparation at three
grade spans (PK-4*, 5-8, secondary). It
is anticipated that districts will also have the opportunity to use model
assessments, based on the
Additional assessments in
Career Preparation will be developed during an Assessment Development Institute
(summer 2004), contingent upon funding of Essential Programs and Services or
its equivalent, for use in a school district’s local assessment system.
Each district’s
implementation plan should include a plan for the development of local
assessments in Career Preparation.
*The PK-2 and 3-4 grade spans are combined in the LAS Guide:
Principles and Criteria for the Adoption of Local Assessment Systems.
Determine methods of documentation
Each school district must
make decisions as to how individual student achievement of the Career
Preparation standards within each grade span will be documented consistent with
Local Assessment System requirements and protocols used in other content areas.
The Career Preparation
Design Team recommends a Career
Portfolio Process as a significant form of documentation and assessment and as a means to
integrate all Career Preparation Standards work, in addition to its required
use in Career Preparation Standard B: Education/Career Planning and Management
in grade spans 5-8 and 9-12.