# *Up-to-Date with DATE*

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

September, 2008

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

Correspondents: Nancy Essey, and Clara Lawson-Holmes

## 

## Message from the Director

First and foremost, DATE extends a formal and public "thank you" to June
Sanford for hosting a most informative and productive fall meeting on
behalf of the National Association for State Directors for Career and
Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) in Mystic, CT. It was the
perfect venue for continuing our discussions on the major Perkins IV
implementation issues that we are confronting, particularly regarding
technical skills assessments. We look forward to the upcoming *virtual
Data Quality Institute (DQI)* on October 2-3, 2008, and learning how
many states, including Georgia, Ohio, and Utah, are tackling this issue
head on. We hope that you are identifying your state team members,
working with your state IT professionals, and getting your team
registered on the DQI Web site by visiting <http://www.ovae.org/dqi/>.
You can access the agenda and eBinder on the site as well.

We also hope that your state's financial management personnel have
signed up to attend DATE's *Financial Management Institute (FMI)* on
October 17, 2008 in Washington, DC. The registration Website is located
at <http://www.ovae.org/FMI/>.

We look forward to seeing you again---whether virtually or in
person---next month!

Sharon Lee Miller

Director, DATE

# ***DATE to Offer Further Opportunities for Technical Assistance on Accountability***

DATE issued an invitation to states and discretionary grantees on
September 15, 2008, to submit requests for customized technical
assistance to support the development and refinement of Perkins IV
accountability systems. Requests should be sent to Amanda Richards at
MPR Associates, Inc. at <arichards@mprinc.com> no later than Friday,
October 10, 2008, to be considered.

To view a summary report from selected states that received technical
assistance, please visit:
<http://www.edcountability.net/quality/support.cfm>.

If you have questions about opportunity, please contact John Haigh at
<john.haigh@ed.gov>.

# 

***Virtual Data Quality Institute Update - Reminder***

DATE will sponsor a Virtual Data Quality Institute (DQI) from October
2-3, 2008. The DQI Web site is now open for registration. The site also
contains the agenda and eBinder of materials and resources for the
institute. Please visit:
[[http://www.ovae.org/dqi/index.cfm]{.underline}](http://www.ovae.org/dqi/index.cfm).

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

# ***Financial Management Workshop Update - Reminder***

DATE will be hosting a one-day workshop for state financial management
personnel on Friday, October 17, 2008, in the Lyndon Baines Johnson
(LBJ) Building at 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, in Washington, DC. The
workshop will help financial management personnel to develop a better
understanding of the financial processes and requirements of the U.S.
Department of Education. An invitation letter from Assistant Secretary
Troy Justesen was sent to state directors on August 27.

Two financial management persons per state are invited to attend. DATE
is pleased to cover the travel costs for one person per state, which
will include airfare, lodging, ground transportation, and per diem for
two days and one night. For registration and the agenda, please visit:
<http://www.ovae.org/FMI/>.

If you have questions about this institute, please contact Nancy Essey
at <nancy.essey@ed.gov> or Sterling August at <sterling.august@ed.gov>.

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

The Perkins Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) database will open on
October 1, 2008, 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 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>

# 

# ***New Rigorous Programs of Study Grantees to Meet in October*** 

DATE has scheduled October 20-21, 2008, for the first meeting of the
project directors and lead staff for the states that were awarded grants
under the *Developing Rigorous Programs of Study through Statewide
Articulation Agreements* program, namely Florida, Hawaii, Indiana,
Nebraska, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

The purpose of the meeting is 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 meeting, contact Scott Hess at
<scott.hess@ed.gov>

***Task Force to Meet on the "Assessing the Feasibility of a National
Clearinghouse or Item Bank Project" to Meet in October***

DATE's contractors at MPR Associates, Inc., have scheduled a meeting to
be held on October 1, 2008, of the task force for the above-referenced
project. Task force members include, among others, the National
Association for State Directors for Career and Technical Education
Consortium (NASDCTEc), Association for Career and Technical Education
(ACTE), National Governor's Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
Council of Chief State School Officers. State directors of career and
technical education from Georgia, Nebraska, and Utah also will attend.
The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss findings of the technical
skill assessment feasibility study and next steps. The outcomes of the
meeting will be shared with all states during the October 2-3 Virtual
DQI.

***Student Organizations Collaborate with OVAE***

The National Coordinating Council for Career and Technical Student
Organizations (NCC-CTSO) held their bi-monthly meeting at the DATE
headquarters in Washington, DC, on August 28, 2008. The meeting focused
on ways that the CTSOs currently deliver the coursework identified in
the career pathways and ways they can improve this delivery in the
future. DATE's Scott Hess and Ray Davis updated the group on relevant
DATE activities, including an overview of the Rigorous Programs of Study
grants, and the meeting ended with a presentation by the National Guard
about their programs and partnerships to provide career guidance to high
school students.

For information on upcoming meetings, contact Larry Case at
<larry.case@ed.gov> or Steve Brown at steve.brown@ed.gov

***Monitoring the Progress of the FFA's '10x15' Goal***

The National Council for Agricultural Education will meet from September
30-October 3, 2008, in Columbus, OH, to assess progress towards their
"10x15" goal of having 10,000 quality secondary agricultural education
programs by the year 2015! The programs will serve students through an
integrated model of classroom/laboratory instruction, experiential
learning, and leadership and personal skill development. There are
currently about 7,400 programs!

For further information on this initiative, contact Larry Case at
<larry.case@ed.gov>

***FFA and 4-H Form Collaboration***

National leaders from FFA and 4-H met at the National 4-H Center from
September 9-10, 2008, to discuss the major initiatives of each
organization in an effort to identify areas of possible collaboration at
the national, state, and local levels. Among the possible areas for
collaboration: curriculum/educational materials, a coordinated national
research agenda, and improved methods of recruiting and training
organizational staff and volunteers at all levels.

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

***Perkins Monitoring Team Schedule***

  -------------------- --------------------------------------------------
  **Date**             **Location**

  October 6-10, 2008   Four Native American Career and Technical
                       Education Program (NACTEP) grantees in North
                       Dakota: Candeska Cikana Community College, Turtle
                       Mountain Community College, Fort Berthold
                       Community College, and Sitting Bull Community
                       College

  October 20-24, 2008  Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and
                       Technical Institute Program (TCPCTIP) grantee:
                       United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, ND

  October 22-23, 2008  Colorado -- Targeted monitoring visit

  October 27-31, 2008  Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Education
  (tentative)          Program (NHCTEP) grantees in Hawaii: Honolulu
                       Community College, the Oihana project for Native
                       Hawaiian CTE Students, Hawaii Community College's
                       Native Hawaiian Digital Arts Program, the Hawaii
                       Technology Institute, the Pharmacy Technician
                       Certification Program, and the Marimed Foundation.
  -------------------- --------------------------------------------------

  -------------------- --------------------------------------------------
  **Date**             **Location**

  November 3-7, 2008   Wyoming -- Full monitoring visit

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

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 |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| ### Virtual Da              | ### Octobe         | #                  |
| ta Quality Institute - DATE | r 2-3, 2008 via We | ## [***john.haigh@ |
|                             | b cast and Webinar | ed.gov***](mailto: |
|                             |                    | john.haigh@ed.gov) |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Financial Management        | October 17, 2008   | <n                 |
| Workshop - *DATE*           |                    | ancy.essey@ed.gov> |
|                             | LBJ Building,      |                    |
|                             | Washington, DC     |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Rigorous Programs of Study  | October 20-21,     | <                  |
| (RPOS) Project Directors    | 2008               | scott.hess@ed.gov> |
| Meeting - *DATE*            |                    |                    |
|                             | Washington, DC     |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| National Career Pathways    | October 23, 2008   | <                  |
| Network Conference --       |                    | john.haigh@ed.gov> |
| Pre-conference Strand on    | Cincinnati, OH     |                    |
| Tech prep Accountability -- |                    |                    |
| *National Association for   |                    |                    |
| Tech Prep Leadership*       |                    |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| National Career Pathways    | October 23-25,     | <                  |
| Network 2008 Annual         | 2008               | scott.hess@ed.gov> |
| Conference -- *National     |                    |                    |
| Career Pathways Network*    | Cincinnati, OH     |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 81^st^ National FFA         | October 22-25,     | <                  |
| Convention -- *National FFA | 2008               | larry.case@ed.gov> |
| Organization*               |                    |                    |
|                             | Indianapolis, IN   |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 42^nd^ Annual Conference -  | November 5-8, 2008 | <ell               |
| *Council for Resource       |                    | en.holland@ed.gov> |
| Development (CRD*)          | Washington, DC     |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 2008 ACTE Convention and    | December 4-6, 2008 | <ed                |
| Career Tech Expo --         |                    | ward.smith@ed.gov> |
| *Association for Career and | Charlotte, NC      |                    |
| Technical Education*        |                    |                    |
+-----------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

#