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Reasons to implement Achieve Texas
Importance of Industry Certification
Goals of Achieve Texas:
- Career Clusters and Programs of Study (POS) are an integral part of the Texas education system.
- Every student prepares a personalized graduation plan in middle school to plan for grades 9–16 and beyond. The student chooses a Career Cluster and POS to guide his or her learning in the context of personal career interests. Plans are evaluated and updated annually.
- Clusters span all grades (P–16+). Career awareness begins in elementary school and transitions into career exploration in middle school. Career concentrations in high school help students transition into career preparation in postsecondary. All participants experience career advancement in employment.
- The education system is seamless between high school and postsecondary institutions. Students have opportunities in a POS to earn dual credit and articulated credit that flows seamlessly into postsecondary education or training.
- Partnerships are in place throughout the system. Partnerships are established statewide and locally between business and education. Educational institutions form meaningful partnerships.
- Academics are woven throughout the P–16+ curriculum. There is an integration of academic and technical knowledge and skills within the curriculum. Interdisciplinary teaching takes place and academics are taught in context. Curriculum alignment occurs between secondary and postsecondary education.
- Career guidance is dramatically enhanced. All students have access to quality assessment and career information resources. Career counseling is provided with a strong emphasis on career and college readiness.
- All students take part in extended learning opportunities. Every student chooses extended learning experiences such as service learning, internships, apprenticeships, and work-based learning.
- Professional development supports the cluster system. Professional development is a critical part of the teacher’s career. Schools of education train teachers for the cluster system.
Fort Bend CTE is ready to the move forward with the implementation of the Achieve Texas 16 Career Cluster initiative. We are motivated based upon the 10 reasons listed below as they support and allow all students to achieve success by preparing them for postsecondary opportunities, career preparation and advancement, meaningful work and active citizenship.
Top Reasons To Implement Achieve Texas
- Better serve all students
- Improve all students’ motivation to learn
- Reduce the number of dropouts
- Better prepare all students for college and career
- Increase academic and technical rigor
- Support efforts to redesign schools
- Redesign curriculum and instruction to be active, hands-on, and project based
- Better prepare all students for lifelong learning
- Meet the needs of employers for highly educated employees
Achieve Texas redesigns the way Career and Technology Education is organized in Texas. The system moves 6 program areas to 16 Career Clusters. A cluster may consist of courses from various program areas. The concept centers on establishing career pathway systems in all of our schools. The first step to implementing Achieve Texas is to make a commitment to embrace the cluster system as an essential education strategy in our community. Establish working groups or partnerships representing education, employers, and other community stakeholders. It is critical during the early stages of system redesign to establish buy-in from all stakeholders. This is best achieved by making them part of the process of system design and recruit leaders who are passionate about improving education and who understand the benefits of the pathways system. In the beginning, choose co-chairs from education and business.
Importance of Industry Certification
Career and Technology Education funding is a critical piece of Achieve Texas. Districts that accept Perkins funds must offer programs of study which is the Perkins name for Career Clusters/Career Pathways or Achieve Texas. Local districts are free to choose which clusters to implement based on the needs of the students, community, and local economy. Not all schools will be able to offer all clusters, but the goal should be to use advanced technology to give students a sample of each career and targeted industry cluster and enhance their opportunities for high-demand, high-growth, high-skill or high-wage occupations. Currently, the Texas Administrative Code §74.3 Description of a Required Secondary Curriculum states that a district must provide career and technical education courses selected from at least three of the eight (sixteen) career and technical areas (clusters) taught on a campus in the school district with provisions for contracting for additional offerings with programs or institutions as may be practical.
Industry certifications have been aligned with the Career Clusters.
Industry certifications are important components of the initiative and are gaining importance in the business world as evidence of skill attainment. Hundreds of certifications are available, and more are introduced each year. Earning a certification has many benefits. It gives students a sense of accomplishment, a highly valued professional credential, and helps make them more employable with higher starting salaries. Certification opportunities are one avenue through which Career and Technical Education fulfills its goals under state law: “Each public school student shall master the basic skills and knowledge necessary for: (1) managing the dual roles of family member and wage earner; and (2) gaining entry-level employment in a high-skill, high-wage job or continuing the student’s education at the postsecondary level.”
The concept of Achieve Texas is to ensure that all students can succeed in school, career, and life if they plan their own individual pathways of success. This incorporates enhanced career and college guidance for all students. The career clusters offer a guidance tool designed to help students plan their educational experience based on their career goals, and provide an organizing tool for redesigning schools, small learning communities, academies, and magnet schools. Career Pathway models represent a recommended sequence of courses based on a student’s personal interests and career goals. The idea is to connect what students learn in school every day to what they aspire to do tomorrow, thus increasing engagement with school and motivation to achieve. Along with enhanced guidance is the implementation of a factor to link programs and institutions so that students have smooth pathways and seamless education in which curricula, instruction, and assessment are connected and coordinated from high school through post secondary education or training, and into the workplace.
We ask that you join us by providing your support with our journey as we move toward making Achieve Texas a reality in Fort Bend ISD. Working together, investing in our future, we all contribute to the success of a global tomorrow.
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Career and Technical Education
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