# *Up-to-Date with DATE*

Important News and Information from OVAE's Division of Academic and
Technical Education (DATE)

April 2008

Editor: Ellen Kelly-Holland (<ellen.holland@ed.gov>)

Correspondents: Nancy Essey and Clara Lawson-Holmes

## 

## Message from the Director

Hot off the press! The following eight States exceeded their performance
levels under Perkins III, Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA),
and Title II of WIA (Adult Education and Family Literacy Act), and
qualify for an incentive grant under section 503 of WIA.

Arizona

Connecticut

Illinois

Missouri

Montana

Ohio

South Carolina

South Dakota

The link to the [Federal Register Notice]{.underline} for these States
to apply for their incentive grants is
<http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-8861.htm>. The application
deadline is June 9, 2008. 

Congratulations to each of these States!

Sharon Lee Miller

Director, DATE

***Financial Management Workshop Scheduled for September***

DATE is changing the location (and perhaps the date) for its September
2008 Financial Management Workshop (FMW) to Washington, DC. This change
was made to reduce the time and costs associated with travel to Mystic,
CT, where the session was tentatively planned to be held in connection
with the Fall Meeting of the National Association of State Directors of
Career and Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc). Further details
will follow.

Meanwhile, DATE is seeking State financial management staff to assist in
developing the final FMW agenda. Please submit names and contact
information, including phone number and e-mail address, to Nancy Essey
at <nancy.essey@ed.gov>.

***Discretionary Grant Project Directors Meeting Scheduled for June***

DATE will host a meeting for Perkins discretionary grant project
directors and staff on June 16-18, 2008, at the Westin Hotel in
Alexandria, Virginia. Discretionary grants are the Native American
Career and Technical Education Program (NACTEP), the Native Hawaiian
Career and Technical Education Program (NHCTEP), the Tech Prep
Demonstration Program (TPDP), and the Tribally Controlled Postsecondary
Career and Technical Education Institutions Program (TCPCTIP).

Among the topics for the meeting: (1) grantee/grantor relationships
(communication, monitoring, Perkins IV, EDGAR, expanded authorities,
restricted indirect costs, etc.); 2) grant management requirements; 3)
reporting requirements and program evaluation expectations; 4) an
overview of the Perkins IV core indicators of performance. The meeting
also will provide opportunities to

share information specific to each program and expertise across
projects, and offer focus group sessions to address areas of concern and
interest.

For further information, contact Linda Mayo at <Linda.mayo@ed.gov>.

***State Scholars Initiative (SSI) Summit Scheduled for April***

The State Scholars Initiative (SSI) will host the *National Summit on
Academic Rigor and Relevance* on April 29-30, 2008, in Boston, MA, to
examine the role and effectiveness of the business community in driving
national education reform conversations and to discuss reform efforts to
increase academic rigor and relevance in high school. Thirty-six
states/territories have registered teams: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT,
FL, GA, GU, HI, IA, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, ND, NH, NM,
OK, PR, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VI, WV, and WY. All states were invited
to send one six-member team to the summit.

For more information, contact Nancy Brooks at <nancy.brooks@ed.gov>

***State Scholars Initiative (SSI) Evaluation Reports Available***

The Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) has
released its *Year Two State Scholars Initiative (SSI) Evaluation
Report* (NCHEMS, 2008), which focuses on SSI student level outcome data
gathered in 47 districts in 10 SSI states: Louisiana, Massachusetts,
Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West
Virginia, and Wyoming. The report is located at
<http://www.wiche.edu/statescholars/files/EvalRptYear2.pdf>. The
appendices to the report can be found at
<http://www.wiche.edu/statescholars/files/EvalRptYear2_App.pdf>.

WICHE also released its *Annual Evaluation Report and Preliminary
Findings for SSI Project Goal One* (NIU, 2008), which addresses how the
22 active state-level business-education partnerships involved in SSI
are using business-education partnerships to influence high school
student course-taking. This report can be found at
<http://www.wiche.edu/statescholars/files/08EvalRpt.pdf>.

For more information, please contact Nancy Brooks at
<nancy.brooks@ed.gov> or Terese Rainwater at <trainwater@wiche.edu>.

***Next Steps Workgroup Scheduled Conference Calls for FY 2008***

DATE, in collaboration with MPR Associates, Inc., and DTI Associates,
Inc., host monthly Next Steps Workgroup (NSWG) conference calls for DATE
staff, State staff, representatives of national associations, and other
interested individuals to discuss issues pertaining to Perkins
accountability systems. Conference calls are typically held on the first
Thursday of each month (except in January and July) from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time (EST). Sub-groups may be formed as necessary to
address emerging or pending issues. The following calls are scheduled:

May 1 Defining High-Skill, High Wage and High Demand Occupations

June 5 Using Crosswalks to Report Data by Career Cluster and Pathway

July 10 Tech Prep Data Systems and Data Reporting

August 7 Issues and Changes in Reporting Special Populations and
Racial/Ethnic Categories

September 4 Tentative: New and Improved Placement Surveys

October 2 Tentative: Sharing Social Security Numbers

November 6 Topic to be determined

December 4 Topic to be determined

For further information, contact John Haigh at <john.haigh@ed.gov> or
Don Hilber at <dhilber@dtihq.com>.

***Agricultural Education News***

DATE's agricultural education initiative is working with the Danish
Ministry of Education to develop new programs and partnerships under a
cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Education and
Denmark. DATE staff members Larry Case and Amanda Cloud will spend April
26-30, 2008, on a study tour in Denmark to establish working
relationships with colleagues at two-year colleges there. The goal is to
begin a faculty/student exchange within the community colleges that
offer agricultural education teacher preparation courses. The student
tour agenda will include an introduction to Danish vocational education
and agricultural education that includes policies, facts, and figures
related to the agricultural sector in Denmark plus the challenges and
future workforce qualification requirements, international exchange
activities in agriculture, and international collaboration in
agricultural education.

Other members of the U.S. Agricultural Education Delegation include Jeff
Papke, National FFA Collegiate Team Leader and Executive Director of the
Postsecondary Agricultural Student Organization (PAS); Andrea
Siebenmann, Executive Director of Community Colleges International
Development, Kirkwood Community College; Shah Rahnema, Professor, Chair
Arts & Science and Business, Technologies Division at Ohio State ATI;
Rick Parker, Division Director and Instructor at the College of Southern
Idaho (CSI) and Director for AgrowKnowledge; and Dr. Larry Devane,
President of Redlands Community College in El Reno, Oklahoma.

For more information, contact Larry Case at <larry.case@ed.gov>.

***Mark Your Calendar!***

***(Note: Events listed below are sponsored or funded by OVAE, or are
events at which OVAE will present)***

+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| ### Event Title/Sponsor     | ### Dates/Location | ### DAT            |
|                             |                    | E Point of Contact |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| State Scholars Initiative   | April 29-30, 2008  | [nancy.brooks@     |
| (SSI) Institute -- *Western |                    | ed.gov](mailto:ell |
| Interstate Commission on    | Boston, MA         | en.holland@ed.gov) |
| Higher Education (WICHE)*   |                    |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 28^th^ Annual Conference of | May 20-23, 2008    | <                  |
| the National Association    |                    | john.haigh@ed.gov> |
| for Career and Technical    | Boise, ID          |                    |
| Education Information --    |                    |                    |
| *NASDCTEc/NACTEI*           |                    |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 2008 International          | May 25-28, 2008    | <s                 |
| Conference on Teaching and  |                    | teve.frank@ed.gov> |
| Leadership Development -    | Austin, TX         |                    |
| *National Institute for     |                    |                    |
| Staff and Organizational    |                    |                    |
| Development (NISOD)*        |                    |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| ### Event Title/Sponsor     | ### Dates/Location | ### DAT            |
|                             |                    | E Point of Contact |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Discretionary Grant Project | June 16-18, 2008   | <                  |
| Directors Meeting -- *DATE* | Alexandria, VA     | scott.hess@ed.gov> |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 6^th^ Annual Career         | June 16-18, 2008   | <                  |
| Clusters Institute --       | Atlanta, GA        | scott.hess@ed.gov> |
| *NASDCTEc*                  |                    |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| DATE's Financial Management | Dates TBD          | <n                 |
| Workshop                    |                    | ancy.essey@ed.gov> |
|                             | Washington, DC     |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

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