ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE  March 23, 2012 8:10 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Kevin Meyer, Co-Chair Senator Joe Thomas, Co-Chair MEMBERS ABSENT  Senator Bettye Davis, Vice Chair Senator Hollis French Senator Gary Stevens COMMITTEE CALENDAR  PRESENTATION: ALASKA TECH PREP CONSORTIUM - HEARD PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION  No previous action to record WITNESS REGISTER CATHY LECOMPTE, Post-Secondary Member Board of Directors Alaska Tech Prep Consortium Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Presented "Growing Our Own: A Systemic Framework for Education and Workforce Development in Alaska." DIANE MAPLES, Coordinator Alaska Tech Prep Consortium Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Presented "Growing Our Own: A Systemic Framework for Education and Workforce Development in Alaska." ROXANNE MOURANT, Grant Administrator Alaska's Learning Network Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) Juneau, AK POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the presentation. ACTION NARRATIVE 8:10:19 AM CO-CHAIR KEVIN MEYER called the Senate Education Standing Committee meeting to order at 8:10 a.m. Present at the call to order were Co-Chair Thomas and Co-Chair Meyer. ^Alaska TECH PREP CONSORTIUM PRESENTATION ALASKA TECH PREP CONSORTIUM PRESENTATION  8:10:53 AM CO-CHAIR MEYER announced the business before the committee would be a presentation from the Alaska Tech Prep Consortium. 8:11:39 AM CATHY LECOMPTE, Post-Secondary Member, Board of Directors, Alaska Tech Prep Consortium, said the consortium was comprised of over 40 school districts, post-secondary institutions, business, and industry. She told the committee about her professional background. 8:12:11 AM DIANE MAPLES, Coordinator, Alaska Tech Prep Consortium, introduced herself and informed the committee of her professional background. MS. LECOMPTE said the story she and Ms. Maples would tell was about linking, leveraging, and aligning the pockets of greatness in the state that are happening in secondary and post-secondary partnerships. She provided a brief history of the Alaska Tech Prep Consortium. In 2004 the departments of labor and education and the university decided to better align the secondary and post-secondary education systems. These entities wrote and received a Carl Perkins Act grant to start the consortium and align what was already happening organically. She relayed her experience as campus director in Ketchikan working with the local high school. 8:14:19 AM She explained that the consortium works to line up a sequence of courses in a career path that a student can start in high school. The student receives post-secondary credit for taking a high school course that is aligned with a university course. That course is part of a career pathway and it counts towards a degree or certificate. Since 2007 high school students have taken over 35,000 credit hours, which translates to about $3.5 million savings in tuition. She noted that a high school tech prep course costs $25/credit versus $100/credit for a similar university course. MS. MAPLES added that this leverages the resource in the high school classroom. MS. LECOMPTE said an important part is that this program gets secondary teachers and post-secondary instructors together to talk about what the students need to be successful in the next step. She discussed the expansion from the course-to-course model to other areas of study and the decision to focus on health. The health career pathway follows the nationally recognized Program of Study framework. She highlighted the six steps of the health career pathways process: 1) to build cross-agency partnerships; 2) engage employers and conduct gap analysis; 3) clarify roles and responsibilities; 4) design programs of study; 5) identify funding needs and sources; and 6) align policies and programs. 8:22:02 AM MS. LECOMPTE reviewed the Alaska Career and Technical Education (CTE) Plan that was designed to align program planning with projected workforce needs. The plan identified six strategies: 1) make transitions accountable; 2) align curricula at all training institutions in the state; 3) identify career and technical education delivery models to attain needed knowledge and skills; 4) recruit, support, and retain high-quality CTE teachers and faculty; 5) maximize the use of public facilities and technology; and 6) establish and maintain sustainable funding mechanisms. She said the plan is to implement the Health Program of Study in three local school districts beginning this fall. The consortium is looking for funds to support the individual who will focus exclusively on this program and leadership in the regions to help make this model real for the students. 8:33:53 AM MS. MAPLES reviewed the handouts in the packets. MS. LECOMPTE highlighted that the investment that the legislature made last year in the CTE fund leveraged great results. CO-CHAIR MEYER asked how other legislators had responded to this idea. MS. MAPLES answered that they met with Senator Davis several weeks ago and she recommended a meeting with Senator Thomas. MS. LECOMPTE added that they met with Representative Dick's staff. CO-CHAIR MEYER asked how the distance-learning program was working and if enough classes were offered to meet the Alaska Performance Scholarship requirements. 8:39:26 AM ROXANNE MOURANT, Grant Administrator, Alaska's Learning Network, Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), said the distance-learning program had the capacity to offer the courses needed in districts. Many of the courses were currently purchased, but DEED was working to develop Alaska courses by Alaska teachers for Alaska students. CO-CHAIR THOMAS commented on early student disconnect, the cost of certain virtual classes like welding, and the need to avoid any perception that children were being channeled on a particular course of study. MS. MAPLES emphasized the value of the tech prep framework. 8:44:28 AM CO-CHAIR THOMAS highlighted the importance of making students aware of what it takes to be successful, the earlier the better. MS. LECOMPTE responded that using the personal career and learning plan as early as grade school allows students an opportunity for exploration. The idea is to involve the region and community to fulfill student needs. Using the framework of career clusters and pathways within those clusters is also a part of this, she said. MS. MAPLES added that without a framework there is no opportunity to link and leverage those resources. The work is done in silos and the students are more apt to fall by the wayside. She emphasized that this strategy can be modeled in any community and help students be successful. CO-CHAIR MEYER discussed President Gamble's recent presentation and the goal to have all courses in the university system compatible; the bills he and Senator Thomas introduced on vocational technical education; and Mayor Sullivan's education summit. He asked within what entity they envision the program director to reside. 8:52:16 AM MS. LECOMPTE answered that the idea is to continue the same model with Diane Maple continuing as the staff member. She noted that the funding ends in June, but the current model is that the Carl Perkins grant funds come through the community and technical college where she works. MS. MAPLES said Alaska is still figuring out within what agency the program best belongs. CO-CHAIR THOMAS commented on the impact of budgetary constraints and the need to narrow focus and avoid duplication. MS. LECOMPTE highlighted that the established framework was working. CO-CHAIR MEYER thanked the presenters. 9:00:24 AM Seeing no further business to come before the committee, Co- Chair Meyer adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee meeting at 9:00 a.m.