Earlier this year, Kimberly Beltran in the Cabinet Report wrote about the growing concern over the potential loss of traditional job training should the legislature pass Governor Browns proposed budget. Beltran wrote: “Nearly $400 million that once was set aside in the state budget each year specifically for Regional Occupational Centers and Programs has now been rolled into Gov. Jerry Brown’s new school funding formula.  While the money will still go to districts and county offices of education, it does so as part of a lump-sum base grant with few strings attached. In other words, there is no longer a state requirement that the funds be spent on any one program but rather as local administrators and school boards see fit.”

Recently the California State Budget Act passed and the Governor’s resolve to give local school boards discretion on spending is the new way forward. While this is not “new news” to many teachers who are employed by Regional Occupational Centers and Programs (ROCPs)… it is still alarming for those who work for an ROCP which is “at risk” of closing.   Career Technical Education advocates must effectively engage with local school district officials in order to preserve the programs and services they now provide to students, or respond by providing the types of programs and services that students and parents call for.

Adjusting to the Big Shift 

California’s new Local Control and Accountability Program  places responsibility on locally elected officials to plan how the previously restricted funds will be used at the local level.  At the core of local implementation of LCFF are the new Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs).  The LCAP program provides a base funding increase to most school districts, and significant one-time funds to plan and prepare for the shift from state to local accountability. A core component in the new plan is that it provides greater transparency by demonstrating how resources are being used, with the goal of improving public trust and supporting engagement in local decision making.

Districts use the LCAP to provide a narrative for the district’s overall vision and strategy for achieving specific outcomes for students, and showcases how that vision and strategy relates to the district’s entire budget.

Locally developed LCAPs are organized around several key state priorities that districts and schools must consider as they devise local strategies and approaches, including:

Improving student achievement and outcomes along multiple measures, including college and career readiness.

• Providing all students access to fully credentialed teachers, instructional materials that align with state standards and safe facilities;
• Implementing academic content and performance standards;
• Promoting parental involvement and participation; and
• Supporting student engagement, promoting positive school climate and providing access to a broad course of study.

The Challenges of Integration

While the way funds are allocated to school districts is changing, it is also clear there is great interest in reinventing how schools prepare students for college and careers. There have been two tracks for students in public schools for many decades… and proponents of vocational training and academic learning routinely jockey for position in the school curriculum and master calendar.

I encourage those who will engage in the new planning process to read a report by Mark Williams: Innovation in Career and Technical Education Methodology to appreciate the historical roots of the divide, and to gain perspective on how CTE can be integrated in new ways. Read the study, and share it with others who will collaborate to see how your local school district can take the best elements of core academic and career technical education and combine them in ways that benefit the students.

We are now seeing excellent integrated curriculum, such as that provided by the C-STEM Center, and others.  How, or will, schools integrate at the school site? Will there be “one” track for all students? Will students who were traditionally enrolled in ROCP courses now be enrolled in academic college prep courses? As a “local control” state it will be interesting to see how school officials and educators work together to respond to the integration challenges. These are very interesting times.

I like the advice given by Steve Jobs to students:   “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Stay hungry. Stay foolish.