# *Up-to-Date with DATE*

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

October/November 2008

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

Correspondents: Nancy Essey and Clara Lawson-Holmes

## 

## Message from the Director

This month, DATE welcomes a new staff member who will serve as Deputy
Director. Margaret Romer brings a wealth of experience to our division
having served as Special Assistant to Assistant Secretary for Special
Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) Tracy Justesen, other
posts in OSERS, as well as leadership and teaching positions in the
District of Columbia Public Schools. She will assist in our office's
efforts to serve students with disabilities and other barriers to
participation in career and technical education programs. Margaret has
degrees in special education and business from the University of
Maryland and University of Pennsylvania. We hope you will have the
opportunity to meet Margaret in person soon!

Sharon Lee Miller

Director, DATE

***Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) - Reminder***

The Perkins Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) database is for states to
begin reporting their narrative, fiscal, and accountability information
and data for program year (PY) 2007-2008. States must finalize their
submissions by the December 31, 2008, reporting deadline.

***As a reminder, for PY 2007-08, states are only required to submit the
following accountability data:***

-   Enrollment data for all students, by disaggregated categories of
    students, and tech prep students (if the state has maintained all or
    a portion of its Title II tech prep program).

-   Performance data on the three Perkins indicators that are tied to
    the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)---academic attainment in
    reading/language arts, academic attainment in mathematics, and
    graduation rates. States must provide this data for all students, by
    disaggregated categories of students and, tech prep students (if the
    state has maintained all or a portion of its Title II tech prep
    program).

For more information, contact Sharon Head <sharon.head@ed.gov>

# 

***State Scholars Has Two New Products***

The State Scholars Initiative (SSI) recently completed their September
newsletter, which features updates on the expansion of the SSI programs
in nine states: Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi,
Missouri, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Utah. The newsletter can be
found at: http://wiche.edu/statescholars/newsletter/08sept/index.aspx.

The proceedings document from the April 2008 summit, *No Longer at Risk:
A Nation in Peril*, is also now available. Among other things, the
proceedings contain the PowerPoint slides that were presented at the
summit. The document is available online at:
http://www.wiche.edu/statescholars/summit/proceedings.pdf.

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

# 

# ***New Rigorous Programs of Study Grantees Meet in DC*** 

DATE hosted an orientation meeting from October 20-21, 2008, in
Washington, DC, for the six states that were awarded grants under the
*Developing Rigorous Programs of Study Through Statewide Articulation
Agreements Initiative*: Florida, Indiana, Hawaii, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, and South Carolina. The purpose of the meeting was four-fold:
(1) provide an orientation for directors and staff, (2) establish
networking communities, (3) identify commonalities and differences among
states for working on program and policy barriers, and (4) develop
action strategies for the grant program.

For more information on the grantees, contact Scott Hess at:
<scott.hess@ed.gov>

# ***Financial Management Workshop Held in October*** 

DATE conducted a one-day financial management workshop on October 17,
2008, in Washington, DC for state career and technical education
directors and their financial management personnel. The purpose of the
session was to help individuals develop a better understanding of the
financial processes and requirements of the U.S. Department of
Education. Over 100 individuals attended the workshop.

OVAE plans to make recordings of the workshop sessions available for
those who were not in attendance. Stay tuned for further details.

For further information, contact Sterling August at
<sterling.august@ed.gov> or Nancy Essey at <nancy.essey@ed.gov>.

***Virtual Data Quality Institute Held in October***

The Virtual Data Quality Institute (DQI) was held on October 2-3, 2008.
The main purpose of the institute was to provide state teams with
technical assistance on the Perkins IV core indicators of student
technical skills attainment. Over 460 participants from 52 states
participated!

Background materials and PowerPoint presentations from the virtual DQI
remain available on the Peer Collaborative Resource Network (PCRN) at
<http://www.ovae.org/DQI/index.cfm?page=ebinder.cfm>.

For more information, contact John Haigh at: <john.haigh@ed.gov>.

***Next Step Work Group***

The Next Step Work Group will host its monthly conference call on
November 6, 2008, from 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Topics
for discussion will include:

-   Debrief on the 15th Annual Data Quality Institute

-   Debrief on the Financial Management Institute

-   Preparation Strategies for 2008 Perkins IV Consolidated Annual
    Report (CAR)

-   Clarification on Technical Skills Attainment Measurement Definition
    presented at the October Virtual DQI.

The agenda and call in information is available on the PCRN website at
[[http://cte.ed.gov/quality/index.cfm]{.underline}](http://cte.ed.gov/quality/index.cfm).

***Agricultural Education Update***

The National Council for Agricultural Education (NCAE) met from
September 30-October 3, 2008, in Columbus, OH, to promote the growth of
quality agricultural science education programs nationwide. The NCAE
took action on several items:

-   The current structure and evaluation methods of the experiential
    learning component of agricultural science education and potential
    changes.

-   A teacher supply and demand study as a joint project between the
    NCAE and the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE).

-   The allocation of \$15,000 to identify and evaluate existing
    innovative program delivery models for agricultural education.

-   The establishment of a post-secondary Agriculture, Food and Natural
    Resources (AFNR) Taskforce to extend the growth and quality
    initiatives to post-secondary instruction and ensure seamless
    transitions between secondary and post-secondary levels.

-   The approval of the National Curriculum Content Standards for
    agricultural, food and natural resources.

For further information about the NCAE, contact Larry Case at
<Larry.case@ed.gov> or visit
[[http://www.teamaged.org/councilindex.cfm]{.underline}](http://www.teamaged.org/councilindex.cfm).

***NCC-CTSO Meeting at OVAE***

The National Coordinating Council for Career Technical Student
Organizations (NCC-CTSO) held their bi-monthly meeting on October 16,
2008, at the OVAE headquarters in Washington, DC. Each organization
provided information about recent and upcoming events as well as key
initiatives, including:

-   The Student Technology Association's Web site redesign
    ([[www.tsaweb.org]{.underline}](../www.tsaweb.org)).

-   FCCLA and SkillsUSA student Congressional visits.

-   Update on the Collaborative CTSO International Professional Exchange
    program organized in Ohio by Business Professionals of America.

-   The National FFA Organization\'s new partnership with Campbell\'s
    \"Help Grow Your Soup\" campaign
    ([[www.helpgrowyoursoup.com]{.underline}](../www.helpgrowyoursoup.com)).

The group continued to identify areas for potential collaboration,
including handling requests from developing countries that want to model
our nation's career technical education student organizations.

Mike Smith, President of Alliance for Student Activities, spoke about a
new effort to advocate for student engagement in extracurricular
activities. For information, visit the Web site at:
[[www.alliance4studentactivities.org]{.underline}](../www.alliance4studentactivities.org)

For more information on the NCC-CTSO, contact Steve Brown at
<Steve.brown@ed.gov>.

***National FFA Celebrates 81^st^ Convention***

The National FFA Organization celebrated its 81st National Convention
from October 22-25, 2008, in Indianapolis, IN. Over 54,000 FFA members,
advisors, parents, school administrators, business and industry
sponsors, and other guests were in attendance.

OVAE sponsored an interactive booth in the career show that promoted
careers in teaching agricultural education.

In addition, Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer addressed the
convention and challenged the students to make a difference and share
the story of contemporary agriculture. He also signed a memorandum of
understanding between USDA and FFA to advance school-based agricultural
education.

Highlights of the convention can be found at
[[http://convention.ffa.org/]{.underline}](http://convention.ffa.org/).
For further information, contact Larry Case at:
[www.Larry.Case@ed.gov]()

***Perkins Monitoring Team Schedule***

Upcoming scheduled monitoring trips include:

-   November - Full monitoring visit to Wyoming from November 3-7, 2008.

-   December - Full monitoring visit to Connecticut December 8-12, 2008.

For more information on the monitoring visits, contact Ed Smith at:
<edward.smith@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 |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 42^nd^ Annual Conference -  | November 5-8, 2008 | <Ell               |
| *Council for Resource       |                    | en.holland@ed.gov> |
| Development (CRD*)          | Washington, DC     |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Next Steps Work Group       | November 6, 2008   | <                  |
| Conference Call - *DATE*    |                    | John.haigh@ed.gov> |
|                             | 2:00 p.m.-3:00     |                    |
|                             | p.m. EST           |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 2008 ACTE Convention and    | December 4-6, 2008 | <Ed                |
| Career Tech Expo --         |                    | ward.smith@ed.gov> |
| *Association for Career and | Charlotte, NC      |                    |
| Technical Education*        |                    |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

# 

# 

#