Dr. Shaink, chairman, called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m.
I. Career Prep Application Process
A. Career Prep Accountability
Donna Burmeister provided an update on the Career Prep Accountability system. The Michigan Department of Career Development requires any school district or public school academy that receives funds from the Career Preparation System to collect this data. The accountability system includes the 10th grade EDP Review and the 12th grade Career and Educational Plans Report. A meeting for representatives from local school districts will be held on Monday, March 10, 2003. Forms for the accountability system will be distributed at that time. All data collected will be due back to Cathy Stevenson or Donna Burmeister by April 17, 2003 in order to meet the May 1, 2003 deadline required by the MDCD.
Data will be analyzed during the summer with reports available for the EAG in the fall.
Gary Tower announced the following dates for the Career Prep application process:
· March 17: Career Prep Subcommittee Meeting
· March 24: Career Prep plans due to GISD from local districts
· March 28: Career Initiative Plan Presentation to Workforce Development Board
B. Education YES!
Brian Pyles provided an overview of the Education YES! Program coordinated by the Michigan Department of Education. Education YES! is a new system to evaluate school districts in Michigan. The program includes Indicators of Engagement, Indicators of Instructional Quality and Indicators of Learning Opportunities, which, in some cases, can be met by activities conducted through Career Preparation, Tech Prep and/or Perkins programs.
At Shiawassee RESD, staff has begun to look at the current activities being conducted by the eight local districts and determine how they fit into the Education YES! requirements.
To date, the State has not done much to align the Career Preparation System activities with Education YES! Brian, Donna and Gary Tower will work together to review these activities to determine how they support Education YES! requirements. This team will work with other partners such as Mott Community College, Baker College of Owosso and the two Chambers of Commerce to pull together this information for local school districts. It is anticipated that this review will take place in June, with information distributed in the fall.
C. No Child Left Behind
Brian also provided an overview of the No Child Left Behind federal legislation. The work group mentioned above will also link Career Prep, Tech Prep and Perkins activities to NCLB.
II. Career Prep/Tech Prep/Perkins Subcommittee Report
Gary Tower indicated that the Career Prep, Tech Prep and Perkins subcommittees were called together on January 27, 2003. The purpose of the meeting was to review current regional activities to ensure that these activities continue during the final year of the three-year planning cycle. The subcommittees recommended that the current formulas and activities remain constant; however, the dollar allocations within the activities could change.
Gary made a motion that the current formulas and activities for year three be maintained. Beverly Brown seconded the motion.
Beverly requested an explanation of the formulas used for the three programs. Gary explained that Career Prep was based on K-12 enrollment, Perkins was based on CTE enrollments and Tech Prep was based on enrollments by high school. Gary mentioned that based on preliminary numbers; it appeared that some CTE programs have increased enrollments while other programs have declined.
Gary noted that there is a slight increase in Perkins funding for next year; however, for the 2004 budget year, the Bush administration is recommending that Perkins be used for No Child Left Behind legislative requirements. Gary encouraged EAG members to contact their legislators to request the continuation of Perkins in its present form.
Brian mentioned that at the national ACTE conference, there was discussion that letters sent to legislators in Washington, D. C. are delayed by two weeks due to a cleaning process that takes place prior to the mail delivery. Because of this, ACTE encouraged members to utilized e-mail for all correspondence with legislators.
Dr. Shaink mentioned that there is a lack of understanding by the Bush administration on the complexities of career technical education.
Brian indicated that he supported the continuation of the current formula for regional Career Preparation dollars. However, he would like the Career Preparation subcommittee to consider shifting some of the dollars among activities rather than implementing an across-the-board reduction based on the Governor’s budget.
Gary indicated that was possible, depending on discussion that occurred at the March 17 meeting.
The motion passed.
III. Career Prep Regional Activity – Reporting Changes
Gary announced that the Career Initiative plan for 2003 – 2004 would be submitted to the Michigan Department of Career Development through the state MEGS system. As a result, timelines will be extremely important, as regions will be locked out of the system as of midnight, April 30, 2003.
IV. Tech Prep Report
Sherry Bradish provided an update on the Tech Prep system. The Tech Prep subcommittee has released the Tech Prep Funding Request for 2003 – 2004 programs. The RFP is due to Mott Community College on March 26, 2003. The Tech Prep Subcommittee will meet on April 4, 2003 to review the proposals. Recommen-dations for program funding will be made at the April 16, 2003 EAG meeting.
Currently, Tech Prep supports the following initiatives:
· Drafting and Design Consortium
· Automotive Technology Collaborative
· Counseling Component
Brian mentioned that in Shiawassee County, Tech Prep funds are also used to support:
· Family and Consumer Science
· Business Services Technology
· Agricscience
V. Other Announcements
Gary noted that the Bush administration has indicated that Perkins programs are not improving academic instruction, yet programs have not been asked to report this type of data. The next burden of proof will, in all likelihood, be in this area.
Donna reminded committee members of the fifth annual A+ Awards which will be held on May 7, 2003. This year’s event will be held at the Comstock Inn in Owosso from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Members were asked to mark their calendars!
Beverly announced that the GASC Technology Center is at peak enrollment this year. Staff have conducted recruitment meetings for next year at 25 schools and have five more schools to visit.
Dr. Princinsky indicated that Baker College has entered into the nursing area. The program is currently available at Baker College of Owosso and will begin in the fall at Baker College of Flint.
Linda Roeser announced that the Flint Chamber of Commerce has been contacted by the Jay Leno show inquiring about the Young Inventors program. The FCC provided a tape to the show and is waiting to here if a segment of Young Inventors will be aired.
Brian noted that Shiawassee County is continuing the development of countywide programming of CTE. The SRESD is contracting with Baker College of Owosso to provide three CTE programs: automotive, health careers, computers and graphic web design. In the 2003 – 2004 school year, SRESD will be adding heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), robotics/electronics and a second year to the automotive program. In addition, SRESD contracts for a cosmetology program.
Nancy Metcalf complimented Brian and his staff for the information and support they provide to the local school districts. She noted SRESD staff is always helpful and available to provide whatever assistance is needed.
Barbara Van Tol stated that at Davis Cartage Company they have noticed a change in the students who come into their company on job shadowing experiences. She indicated that the students are more aware of the many opportunities that exist within the world of work and are better prepared for the workforce.
Lisa Seigel complimented Davis Cartage Company for its excellent partnership with SRESD programs. Lisa also announced that SRESD would be hosting two sessions relating to Tech Prep and curriculum alignment. The dates for the sessions will be March 13 and March 18, 2003. All principals, curriculum directors and certified CTE teachers in Shiawassee County have been invited.
Cathy Stevenson provided information on the “Hire Education” program in Shiawassee County. Many area businesses have agreed to request attendance and transcript records from students as they apply for jobs. This reinforces the message students receive at school that attendance is important.
Dr. Lewis complimented Baker College on the implementation of its nursing program in light of the national shortage in the nursing area.
VI. Next Meeting Date/Agenda Items
The next meeting of the EAG will be held as follows:
April 16, 2003
8:00 a.m.
Slyvester Broome Center, Flint
The Career Initiative plan will be presented to the EAG for approval.
Approval of Minutes:
Dr. M. Richard Shaink, Co-Chair, EAG (Date)
Mr. Tim Herman, Co-Chair, EAG (Date)
MRS/TH:db/ch