1. Career Clusters Debbie Grantham Instructional Management Coordinator
Wayne County Public Schools
CTE Summer Conference
July 12 – 16, 2015

2. Career Clusters, Pathways, and Courses
Career Clusters – groupings of occupations used as an organizing tool for curriculum design and instruction
Career Pathways – sub-groupings of occupations within a Career Cluster which are based on a set of common knowledge and skills required for career success
North Carolina groups careers into 16 Career Clusters
Every NC Career & Technical Education course falls into one or more of the Career Clusters

3. CTE Concentrator
CTE Concentrator – a student who has earned four or more technical credits in a Career Cluster; with at least one of those courses being a completer course
Completer Course – second or third course in a series that builds upon skills acquired in the previous course (completer course has a prerequisite)
Foundation Course – provides fundamental knowledge and skills needed for student success in secondary and postsecondary education and careers in the Career Cluster
Enhancement Course – supplements the foundation courses within each Career Cluster

4. Criteria for CTE Concentrator
Student must earn four (4) credits in CTE courses in a particular Career Cluster:
Three (3) credits must come from the Foundation Course List
At least one credit must be a Level 2 CTE course
Level 2 courses require a prerequisite and are identified by an asterisk (*) on the Career Clusters documents
The fourth credit can be a Foundation Course or Enhancement Course

5. NC Career Clusters Document
Document published by DPI which contains all of the CTE courses approved by the NC State Board of Education representing all Career Clusters and Pathways:
NC Career Clusters
Each LEA can edit this document to publish a local guide reflecting its own Career Clusters, Pathways, and courses
Local document may also include any approved Local Course Options

6. Wayne County Public Schools - Career Clusters Chart
One-Page Document – printed front and back
Printed on Colored Card Stock
Used by counselors as a guide when scheduling students for elective classes
Used by CDCs and counselors when determining or verifying CTE Concentrators

7. NC Career & College Promise
Provides seamless dual enrollment educational opportunities for eligible North Carolina high school students in order to accelerate completion of college certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees
Career & College Promise courses are included in all of the 16 Career Clusters
CCP courses count toward a student’s CTE Concentrator status:
Level 1 – counts as a Foundation course in the Career Cluster
Level 2 – counts as a Foundation “completer course” in the Career Cluster
Level 3 – counts as an Enhancement course in the Career Cluster
How Community College Courses Count in Career Clusters

8. Identifying CTE Concentrators for ACT WorkKeys Testing
ACT WorkKeys assessment is a component of the READY Accountability Model and is included in the calculation for School Performance Grades
Schools are expected to meet the 95% Participation Rate of eligible students
Target Population = graduates identified as CTE Concentrators
Key to the process:
Clear understanding of how a student meets CTE Concentrator requirements
Skill to access and review the Diploma Assessment Report in PowerSchool
Verify all CTE Concentrators have a Silver, Gold, or Platinum NCRC OR are administered the ACT WorkKeys assessments

9. Diploma Assessment Report (DAR)
Report generated from PowerSchool that evaluates a student’s credits earned and courses scheduled to determine concentrator status
Diploma Assessment Report will identify the cluster to be achieved:
Column on DAR called “CTE Concentrators” which will identify all students who are concentrators based on completion of 4 courses in a Career Cluster
A plus sign (+) beside the cluster name indicates that the cluster is not complete, but is on track to be completed prior to graduation based on courses in which the student is enrolled
Diploma Assessment Report should be generated for the following students:
ALL Seniors
Early Graduates (Example: 11th Graders on track to graduate in 3 years)
Students who will be promoted at mid-year to the 12th Grade

10. Recommended Process for Identifying CTE Concentrators
Designated school staff will generate the Diploma Assessment Report to review the concentrator status for potential graduates:
Students who have a concentration identified on the DAR must take the ACT WorkKeys assessments
Students who are currently in a course (identified by a + symbol) that will result in a CTE Concentrator status must take the ACT WorkKeys assessments
Students who are identified as “No” under CTE Concentrators must be reviewed to ensure they are not potential CTE Concentrators who need to take the ACT WorkKeys assessments
In the review process, if a student is labeled “No” on the DAR and is determined to be a CTE Concentrator, an Override must be performed:
Overrides should only be performed for rare circumstances, such as Local Course Options
Overrides will appear on the DAR with an asterisk (*) beside the cluster name

11. CTE Concentrator Verification Process (established for Wayne County Public Schools)
Generate “Diploma Assessment Report” from PowerSchool to include ALL Seniors:
Click on “12” under Student Search to select all 12th Grade students
Click on “System Reports”
NCDPI Reports tab
Diploma Assessment Report
Save as an Excel Spreadsheet

12. CTE Concentrator Verification Process (established for Wayne County Public Schools)
Include Early Graduates and 11th Graders who will be promoted at mid-year to the 12th Grade:
Obtain list of students from counselors
Click on “11” under Student Search
Scroll to bottom of list and click on “Select by Hand”
Deselect all 11th Graders and choose only the 11th Graders that are determined to be Early Graduates or promoted to 12th Grade at mid-year
Click on “Update Selection”
Click on “System Reports” and generate DAR for selected students
Save as an Excel Spreadsheet
Copy & Paste the list of students to Diploma Assessment Report containing all Seniors

13. CTE Concentrator Verification Process (established by Wayne County Public Schools)
Format the DAR Excel Spreadsheet to create a working document to verify CTE Concentrators
Change CTE Concentrators column to read: CTE Concentrators from PowerSchool
Insert new column to the right to read: CTE Concentrators Verified by School
Format spreadsheet and delete any columns not needed
Create column to record NCRC completion and level (None, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum)
Column labeled “CTE Concentrators Verified by School” is used to record the Career Cluster completed by the student after checking the following for each student:
Historical Grades
Student Schedules (for BOTH Semesters)
Sample DAR Report by WCPS

14. Checking Historical Grades
Click on “12” under Student Search to select all 12th Grade students
Click on [Select Function] drop down arrow at bottom of student list
Select “Mass Print a Student Screen” from the list of Group Functions
Click on the “Quick Lookup” drop down arrow
Select “Historical Grades” and Submit
All students will be listed in the left menu:
Click on each student (one at a time) to view the Historical Grades for that student OR
Follow Mass Printing Instructions on the computer screen OR click on the printer button to print the Historical Grades report for each student on the list

15. Checking Student Schedules
Click on “12” under Student Search to select all 12th Grade students
Click on [Select Function] drop down arrow at bottom of student list
Select “Student Schedule Report” from the list of Group Functions
Change the date beside “Include Active Enrollments As Of” to Today’s Date
View or Print this report for each student

16. Maintaining Accurate Concentrator List
Process calls for “Team Work” between CDCs, counselors, and data managers:
Counselors/Data Manager will notify the CDC when a “new” Senior is enrolled at the school
Counselors will notify the CDC when a Senior makes a schedule change that involves a CTE course
CDC will update the DAR spreadsheet (working document) to maintain an accurate list of all Seniors, Early Graduates, Mid-Year Graduates, and students promoted to 12th Grade during the school year
Identifying CTE Concentrators should occur by November for ACT WorkKeys testing, and again in February in case there are additional students who have fulfilled the requirements to be a CTE Concentrator
Accountability reports are based on final data submitted by June 30 each school year

17. Career Clusters Test Student A Agricultural Mechanics I
Agricultural Mechanics II
Microsoft Word/PowerPoint
Carpentry I
Foods I
Student B
Microsoft Excel/Access
Principles of Business & Finance
Personal Finance
Adobe Visual Design
Student C
Marketing
Entrepreneurship I
Career Management
Teen Living
CTE Concentrator?
Career Cluster?

18. Career Clusters Test YES AGNR NO No Completer Course MRKT Student A
Agricultural Mechanics I
Agricultural Mechanics II
Microsoft Word/PowerPoint
Carpentry I
Foods I
Student B
Microsoft Excel/Access
Principles of Business & Finance
Personal Finance
Adobe Visual Design
Student C
Marketing
Entrepreneurship I
Career Management
Teen Living
CTE Concentrator?
YES
Career Cluster?
AGNR NO
Why?
No Completer Course
MRKT

19. Questions?
Thank You!!!