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It seems like a big 'no-duh,' but industry officials and academics say that too often the curriculum taught in our schools and colleges is far from aligned with the competencies employers are expecting.
Enter the Curriculum to Career Choices (CtCC) - SmartPathways project.
Ector County Independent School District, Odessa College and Texas Tech University, led by the Institute for Evidence-Based Change, have collaborated in a groundbreaking pilot project that involves utilizing
O*NET
's
marketable skills database to better align O*NET's
detailed descriptions of occupational characteristics
with academic learning outcomes.
CtCC SmartPathways
enables the district and colleges to review and design their educational outcomes so that they meet the needs of employers in the region.
"This particular initiative encompassed a K-16 dialogue in discussions and strategy, and that really was one of the most rewarding parts of this program," said Marie Vasquez-Brooks, Associate Dean of Nursing and Allied Health at Odessa College who helped coordinate the effort that seeks to integrate student learning outcomes in K-12 schools with community colleges while making community college and university academic student learning outcomes more relevant to careers.
"When faculty recognize that they can be effective in guiding students to success in the world of work, their role is not only useful, but also rewarding," observed Dr. Marianne S. Wokeck, IEBC's Director of CtCC SmartPathways.
Says Dr. John Yopp, IEBC's Director for Strategic Partnerships,"We're showing that in working together, we can make positive change happen."
O*NET is a
resource
with the potential to bridge the chasm of understanding between education and the world of work. Let's use it.
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Southwestern's College Preview Day |
Working Together ...
Speaking of teamwork.
That's the concept of the South County Collaborative, a new IEBC-facilitated, collaborative effort involving Southwestern College and the Sweetwater Union High School District jointly focused on improving student preparedness and completion rates.
The college and the high school district are in the process of analyzing their math and English requirements to make sure exit expectations from Sweetwater match
the entrance expectations at Southwestern.
Faculty and staff participating on the SWC-SUHSD professional alignment councils in math and English are moving ahead to develop a specific implementation plan for closing gaps and developing assessments that clearly identify college readiness skills in high school courses.
"We're not just talking about alignment of curriculum, but alignment of expectations," said Rhea Faeldonea, an assistant principal at Hilltop Middle School who is among the co-leaders of the effort. "To date, there has been a lot of clarifying of assumptions."
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Unlocking the Data
The data is there for all to see. Problem is, it is often housed in a manner that perpetuates the silos of education. That's why IEBC has designed, developed,
and implemented a solution that creates cross-sector data tables to support reporting and metric development - a
solution that was detailed
during a presentation at the 2016 National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
STATS-DC
Data Conference
.
The presentation tackled challenges centered on the Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS), which links preschool, K-12, postsecondary education, and workforce data, measuring whether students are on track to graduate and telling schools whether they are preparing students to succeed in college and the workforce.
But IEBC notes that SLDS's capacity is limited by the difficulty of connecting sector-based data sets and producing sustainable reporting solutions. In working with SLDS users, IEBC has developed an extendable reporting system that utilizes cross-sector fact tables to answer a wide range of research questions and support data use strategies.
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IO Education Forms Strategic New Partnerships
A leader in education technology for nearly two decades,
IO Education
is partnering with IEBC and Dellicker Strategies to further work with
schools
in bringing
expert analysis to bear on
how best to
leverage student
data in improving education outcomes.
IO Education
aims to help schools and districts break down data silos and aggregate state, district, classroom and assessment data to develop a rich understanding of student growth.
"Working with IO Education advances our mission of helping educators make smart, data- informed decisions that ultimately benefit students," said Brad Phillips, IEBC President/CEO, "This collaboration will benefit administrators, teachers and students across the U.S."
IEBC seeks strategic partnerships with organizations that share our values and our passion working to improve student success for all.
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The Data Whisperers
IEBC has expanded its data products and services making it possible to merge your data sets within and across pre-K, K-12, community colleges, universities, and the labor market into single data warehouses where student cohorts can be tracked and reported from the start of their education through full-time employment. Yes!
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Coming Up
Sept. 7-9, Hyattsville, Maryland
Achieving the Dream President/CEO Karen Stout will open the summit with an address on data insights. Brad Phillips, IEBC President/CEO,will be a Plenary speaker addressing
Building a Culture of Evidence and Inquiry.
IEBC Analytics Webinar, Sept. 28
A no-cost webinar from IEBC for state and regional leaders of Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS).
Unlocking SLDS - Cross Sector Data Linking and Reporting For
more information, contact Janet Nowell at
jnowell@iebcnow.org
or call us at 619-436-1477
.
National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP)
,
Oct. 17-18, Louisville, Kentucky
The national conference includes a workshop presentation by Jordan Horowitz, IEBC Vice President:
Beyond Graduation Rates: Leading and Lagging Indicators for Concurrent Enrollment.
Alignment Guidebook
You've been asking for it. W
atch for it this fall.
The Alignment Guidebook:
A
step-by-step process for collaborative curriculum alignment, including regional readiness, roles and responsibilities, alignment steps, protocols, procedures, templates and more.
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Institute for Evidence-Based Change |
(
760
) 436-1477 | www.iebcnow.org
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