.jpeg)
Objectives
As a small district with “a really robust CTE program,” Shelton Public Schools needed one place to see and analyze all their CTE data. According to Director of Data and Assessment Tara Richerson, close to 75% of the district’s high schoolers take CTE courses: “CTE is embedded not just in our math and science courses, but even in arts and music and PE.”
Shelton recently transitioned its comprehensive high school to an academy model, where freshmen explore various disciplines before selecting one of four career pathways: Business, Finance, and Hospitality; Health Sciences; Manufacturing, Engineering, and Technology; and Natural Resources. Tracking enrollment and student success in each academy was key to understanding how to grow each program of study.
At a Glance
Challenges
- Difficult to evaluate students’ progress
- Establish clear metrics to measure student success in each academy track
- Recognize CTE learning in courses and activities not associated with a specific CTE track
Benefits
- Easy to monitor proportionality and other Perkins requirements
- Supported instructors with real-time, accessible data to make informed decisions
- Understand enrollment patterns and influence next term’s registration
Testimonial
"The CTE application is becoming the place where it all gets pulled together. That is a real time-saver."
Tara Richerson, Director of Data and Assessment
Outcomes
One place for data analysis
When you have “several hundred CTE courses” with an enrollment of over a thousand students, Richerson says, “it’s hard to really look at student outcomes,” whether that’s grades or enrollment or completion of an IRC. Shelton appreciates a system that “draws all that data together” to answer important questions: Which programs or student populations are facing attendance challenges? How many students who start a course of study complete an IRC?
Connecting with community
To help students “find that next step,” Richerson says the district’s CTE director is continually adapting offerings to match demand in the community. Data is a key component to engage additional businesses and community collaborators. One new CTE program of study at Shelton aims to provide translators and interpreters for the region’s growing Guatemalan population.
Charting students’ progress toward an industry-recognized credential is “a big deal,” not just for students’ career prospects but to fill gaps in community services.
Inform resource allocation
Richerson notes that “being able to look at trend data over time will be critical” for Shelton and other districts who are facing budget shortfalls and trying to make the most effective use of their resources. Data from the CTE application will “give some shape to the conversation of what programs we’re going to need next year.”
Pursuing proportional enrollments
Richerson looks forward to examining enrollments from different perspectives as their program develops. She’s already seen the impact of sharing demographic data with CTE instructors: Shelton’s automotive program saw recruitment of females increase by almost 10% over two years. Now the CTE activities include a Women in Automotive Day to highlight the field for other girls.
With demographic data easily accessible in the CTE application, Richerson anticipates more insights into areas “where we have gaps for recruitment or where we maybe need to add more courses.”
Flexible setup
In the process of building out courses for their academies, Shelton staff have developed ways to classify and configure their data “to generate meaning for the questions that come up.” While it makes sense to have some data organized by academy, Shelton also wants to capture other work-based learning. District freshmen, for example, complete a project-based learning week, complete with a business pitch to members of the community.
Solution
Richerson has been using SchoolData applications at her last two districts and values partners who are “always thinking of new ideas.” She and her team lean on Homeroom for early-warning risk indicators and for data validation that ensures alignment with state and federal reporting.
After using the specialized application for CTE programs, Shelton is also exploring the use of ALE for its alternative learning school as well as Language Services Plans for its 1200 multilingual students.
Meanwhile, the CTE staff are looking forward to having another year of program data in the CTE application. Exploring YOY trends will help them continue to offer programs that provide students with valuable skills and credentials they can “add to their resume and share with potential employers.”
