Civics and the Work Force

1. Northeastern University April 26. 2011 Civics and the Work Force Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

2. CVTE Regional history in Massachusetts The Regional Vocational Technical High School experience in Massachusetts was the result of strong legislative leadership. Many of these schools are nearing 40 years old. They need to be updated, and their mission needs to be understood. College isn’t for everyone…., and some folks do valuable work with high quality training found in CVTE institutions Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

3. RVT Schools formed in the 60’ & 70’s • 85% construction paid by state/federal grants beginning in the 1960’s through 1977. 26 regional districts formed serving over 79% of Massachusetts communities. • 50% operational support from state and 100% transportation reimbursement produced these independent newly formed entities. • Distinct mission and free from most political urban influence (from appointments to unions). Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

4. How Do we measure success in CVTE programs • Work related employment • College/post secondary enrollment • 1 year follow up and a 5 year follow up on graduate employment Why Not measure other high schools, community colleges, and colleges and work force development programs in a similar fashion? Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

5. SVTHS CO-OP Education Placement Week of April 25, 2011 1st # total of enrolled / 2nd # eligible / 3rd # placed / ( # ) = last year Total Number of Students Placed 141 (103 last year)

6. Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

7. A few facts about Shawsheen • 1340 high school students as of October 1, 2010. • Regional Vocational Technical High School serving communities of Bedford, Burlington, Billerica, Tewksbury and Wilmington • Offers 19 CVTE majors expanding to 21 programs in 2011 (dental lab and medical Lab technician programs to augment health assisting) Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

8. A few facts about Shawsheen (2) • 10 members school board (2 per town) employs 9 administrators, 129 teachers, 14 aides, 11 secretaries, 6 full time cafeteria workers, and 5 part time cafeteria workers • Established in 1967, doors opened in 1970 • Group students homogenously in Math & English classes • Students allowed only 6 absences per semester to qualify for passing grade – only doctor notes and court orders accepted Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

9. Tremendous Interscholastic success in sports and robotics in 2010/2011 • Division 4 Super Bowl Football Champions • Girls Soccer - League & State Vocational Champions • Golf Team - League & State Vocational Champions • Cross Country Team - League Champions & State Vocational 2nd Place • Robotics Team - 2010 New England Trebuchet Champions (2 years in a row) • Wrestling Team – League & State Vocational Champions • Boys Hockey Team – League & State Vocational Champions • Girls Basketball Team - League Champions • Swim Team - State Vocational Champions Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

10. Student Success Indicators Average Daily Attendance 2003-04 93.8% 2004-05 94.5% 2005-06 95.2% 2006-07 95.5% 2007-08 95.6% 2008-09 95.9% 2009-10 96.5% 2010-pres 97.0% Drop Out Data 2002-03 1.2% 2003-04 0.9% 2004-05 1.5% 2005-06 0.8% 2006-07 0.2% 2007-08 1.3% 2008-09 0.5% 2009-10 0.5% Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

11. Shawsheen MCAS English Performance Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

12. Shawsheen MCAS Math Performance Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

13. Percent of disabled MCAS test takers in 2009 Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

14. Percent of students scoring advanced or proficient in 2010 MCAS Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

15. Median Student Growth Percentiles in MCAS for 2010 Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

16. 2009 Graduation Rate Report 4 year report (percentages) Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

17. Total School District Per Pupil Expenditures Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

18. FY10 Net School Spending as compared to foundation budgets Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

19. Civics In MA History Frameworks? History Curriculum framework includes the following units/grades related to civics: • Grade 3: Massachusetts and its Cities and Towns: Geography and History • Grade 5: United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government: Early Exploration to Westward Movement • Grade 12 Elective: American Government Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

20. Civic Involvement at Shawsheen • Skills USA governing structure with full student participation • National Honor Society structures with responsibilities into the community • Student Council and School Council • Government Courses at the senior year • Students involved in public speaking events surrounding civic issues Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

21. Most Importantly • Students have input in what they want to major in during their high school experience. • There is a direct correlation between what they do in school and a real work experience • IN a serious way – a Northeastern at the High School level Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

22. Is College for Everyone? Less than 40% of students today acquire a Bachelor’s Degree. President Obama wants that increased to 60% in ten years. Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

23. The next fiscal crisis? Maybe the expense of college Student Loans have been increasing year after year with more than $300 billion additional student debt over the last four years. It reached $830 billion this past June, crossing the credit card debt for the first time Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

24. New Completion Challenge to Higher Education • President Obama recently asked community colleges across the nation to take on a central role in his economic policy by asking that the community college system increase the number of associate’s degrees awarded by 5 million over the next decade.

25. Degree Awards Must Grow Sharply • Community colleges in nation collectively award fewer than 800,000 associate’s degree per year, so an increase of 5 million over the decade implies that the system will have to increase degree awards at a rate of 60 percent per year to meet the President’s goal.

26. Recognition of a New Challenge • James Rose, chair of the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges summarized the problem most succinctly when he noted in The Chronicle of Higher Education “We have great capacity for open access, for getting them in….(t)he challenge for us is getting them across the stage to get their certificate or diploma”

27. My Two Daughter’s • St. Joe’s University 2002 • 869 degrees awarded • 71 Psychology • 382 from the Haub School of Business (92 in Marketing and 80 in Food Marketing) • 60 BA’s in English • 8 BA’s in Mathematics • 4 BA’s in Physics • UMass Amherst 2003 • 5046 degrees awarded • 1564 from College of Social & Behavioral sciences • 987 from the College of Humanities & Fine Arts • 283 from the College of Engineering • 92 from the School of Education Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director

28. Civics and Vocational Technical Education - • Vocational Technical Education programs in Massachusetts High Schools work. Students are engaged and see relevancy in their educational experience. The technical activity is inherently meanigful. • There is no competition between civics and work based education. • In a true democracy, where every life is valued, we can’t have one without the other…

29. Civics and Vocational Education have dual purposes “He Who hath a Trade hath an Estate” Benjamin Franklin “The Best Social Program in America is a Job” Hubert H. Humphrey Charlie Lyons Superintendent-Director