Creating a vision for education in the 21st century: a report of the Secondary Role Project of the Georgia Council on Vocational Education

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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CREATING A VISION
FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTIJRY
A Report ofthe Secondary Role Project of The Georgia Council on Vocational Education

Prepared By:
Gail Fletcher, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Gail Trapnell, Ph.D.
Project Consultant
JANUARYI 1993

E::.CEIVED
JUL2() i~95 ~CUMENrs lUll UBRARJes

EXECmlVE SUMMARY
CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN TIlE 21ST CENTURY:
A Report ofthe Secondary Role Project of The Georgia Council on Vocational Education
Prepared By:
Gail Fletcher, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Gail Trapnell, Ph.D.
Project Consultant JANUARYI 1993

Executive Summary

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1

Purpose and Objectives of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1

Role of GCOVE in the Project

2

CREATING AND DEFINING THE SHARED VISION

3

Provide Multiple Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3

Profile of Georgia School Completion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3

OntheJobTraining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4

Basic Beliefs Regarding Student Capacities

4

DESCRIBING THE CONCEPTUAL MODEL

6

The Elementary School Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 6

The Middle School Segment

7

The High School Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8

Make Changes in the Structural Context of the School

8

Establish Core Curriculum/Graduation Performance Outcomes

9

Components of the High School Segment

11

Incorporate Vocational Education Fully

14

ADOPTING THE MODEL: Implications and Recommendations

15

NEXT STEPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

APPENDICES
Bibliography Assumptions and Operating Principles Project Participants Directional Statements

Acknowledgements
Sincere appreciation is expressed to the 1,000 plus business and community leaders, policymakers, educators, students, and parents who gave so willingly of their time and expertise to envision a preferred future for our Georgia schools and vocational education. Unfettered by currently perceived limitations and restrictions and setting aside political divisiveness, these individuals dared to dream of "what could be"-and how it could be accomplished within a collegial community of individuals who truly care about the educational achievement of all students.
As promised by the Georgia Council on Vocational Education, an attempt has been made in this report to capture the essence of these visions, dreams, and inspirations so that these thoughts can be shared directly with state and local policymakers for further planning.
Special appreciation is expressed to Mr. David Lee, Governor's Office of Planning and Budget for his advice and to Dr. Richard Lynch, University of Georgia, for his advice and assistance in critiquing and editing this manuscript. A special thanks to Dr. Cliff Smith and Dr. Jay Rojewski for conducting meetings, gathering feedback, and synthesizing data; to Ms. Gerry Hesse for giving us the seed of the idea for the report cover design; and to Mrs. Dawn Anderson for being the glue that held this project together.
Gail M. Fletcher, Ph.D. Executive Director
Georgia Council on Vocational Education
Gail Trapnell, Ph.D. Proiect Consultant Transformational Training and Development

Members of The Georgia Council
On Vocational Education, 1993
Ms. Mylle Bell, Business Representative
* Ms. Becky Bridges, Career and Guidance Counseling Representative * Dr. James Clark, Secondary Vocational Education Representative
Mrs. Marion Delaney-Harris, Special Populations Representative
* Mrs. Ann Hightower, Special Education Representative * Ms. Amanda Hyatt, Chair, Business Representative
Mr. James Kendrick, Business Representative Mr. Irving Mitchell, Special Populations Representative Mr. Steve Simpson, Labor Organizations Representative Mrs. Julia Singletary, Business Representative Dr. Roger Slater, Postsecondary Education Representative
* Mr. Clarence Williams, Vice Chair, Labor Organizations Representative
Mr. John Varner, Business Representative
Vision Project Committee Member
Members of the Vision Coordinating Committee, 1991-92
Dr. James Clark, Committee Chair, Member, Georgia Council on Vocational Education Ms. Amanda Hyatt, Member, Georgia Council on Vocational Education Mr. Clarence Williams, Member, Georgia Council on Vocational Education Dr. Peyton Williams, Associate State Superintendent of Schools,
Georgia Department of Education Mr. William Johnson, Director, Vocational!Applied Technology Instruction Division,
Georgia Department of Education
Dr. John Preston, Chair, Vocational and Career Development Department, Georgia State University
Dr. Richard Lynch, Chair, Vocational, Business and Adult Education Department, University of Georgia
Mr. James Bridges, President, Valdosta Technical Institute Dr. Gail Fletcher, Executive Director, Georgia Council on Vocational Education Dr. Gail Trapnell, Project Consultant, Transformational Training and Development
Ex Officio Members
Mrs. Lorri Pitchell, Chair, Georgia Council on Vocational Education
Mr. David Lee, Director, Educational Development Division, Governor's Office of Planning and Budget
Mr. Steve Wrigley, Executive Assistant, Office of the Governor

Introduction

Recent reports such as America's Choice: Low Skills or High Wages, the Forgotten Half, and the SCANS report (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary
Skills from the U.S. Department oHabar) have underscored the need for all students, male and female, to be prepared to obtain and maintain employment, as well as to continue their education without remediation. As Georgia's businesses have begun to compete in a global economy, it has become increasingly apparent that education must shift its emphasis. It must focus on making learning relevant, developing critical thinking skills, teaching team work, and applying academics to the workplace and other real-world contexts.
As schools in Georgia begin to meet these needs by restructuring education, it is critical that the role of secondary vocational education be defined in terms of what it should contribute to the overall goals, objectives, and design of Georgia's total educational system. To this end, the Georgia Council on Vocational Education (GCOVE) embarked on a statewide project entitled, "Creating the Vision for Secondary Vocational Education in the 21 st Century" in June of 1991 to assist state and local policymakers in defining a new vision for secondary vocational education. This broad-based participatory project was built upon two questions:
1} What should be the vision for secondary (high school) vocational education in Georgia in the 21 st century in terms of: goals and outcomes? the teaching/leaming process? the integration of vocational and academic education?
2) In order to meet pro;ected workforce needs, what should a high school look like in the year 2000, in terms of structure, curriculum, organizational management, and so on?
The first question was raised as the result of an earlier study which was conducted
by GCOVE in 1990, The Georgia Workforce 1990-2000 And The Projected Vocational-Technical Education Response. The second question was raised for
GCOVE's consideration by the State Superintendent of Schools.
Purpose and Objectives of the Project
The two questions were combined into one purpose statement:
Determine the role vocational education should play in assuring that Georgia's secondary school graduates are prepared to function eHectively in the 21st century.
The project focused on secondary vocational education in its dual roles within the overall educational system. It addressed the "unique" or leadership role of vocational education in meeting the needs of Georgia's multi-talented and multicultural student body, together with its "partnership" or support role with academic education.
The following objectives were set for the project:
Identify the overall structural context of the school within which vocational education should operate to maximize its effectiveness.

[Education] must
focus on making learning relevant, developing critical thinking skills, teaching team work, and applying academics to the workplace and other real-world contexts.

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CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21 ll CENTURY

.. . to encourage
meaningfu~
lasting change . ..
a shared vision must be created among all ofthe parties who are interested in vocational education.

Identify the educational foundation which should be laid in the early grades to assure that every student has equal access to success in vocational education at the secondary level.
Describe the unique contribution which vocational education should provide a principal partner in the overall educational system.
Describe the partnership role which vocational education should play in preparing students to function effectively in the 21 st century.
As a specific target outcome for this project, GCOVE identified National Education Goal #3:
By the year 2000 ... every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our modern
economy. (America 2000)
Role of GCOVE in the Project
GCOVE concluded thatto encourage meaningful, lasting change within vocational education programs in Georgia, a shared vision must be created among all of the parties who are interested in vocational education. Consequently, GCOVE chose to serve as the convener and catalyst for a broadly-based participatory process. During the year-long project, input and feedback was solicited from well over 1,000 Georgians. Local superintendents, school principals, vocational administrators and supervisors, academic and vocational teachers, curriculum directors, staff development coordinators, university professors, parents, students, school board members, legislators and other state-level policymakers, business and community leaders, and other people at the grassroots-level were brought together from throughout Georgia to:
1) formulate a new vision for secondary vocational education and
2) identify alternative strategies to achieve that vision.

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2 CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21 li CENTURY

Creating & Defining the Shared VlSion

Through a variety of approaches, including invitational retreats, regional forums, think tanks, focus groups, specific consensus-building activities, surveys, and so on, a conceptual model evolved. This model was developed out of the framework of ideas and beliefs expressed by state- and community-level participants, as recounted below.

Provide Multiple Options

Participants said repeatedly that Georgia's secondary schools should prepare every student equally to:
obtain productive, meaningful employment upan graduation from high school;
pursue advanced study at a postsecondary institution of choice; engage in responsible citizenship; and recognize the need for lif&-Iong learning.
Given the rapidly accelerating requirements of adult life, participants contended that it is critical to meet the goal of ensuring that each student has multiple options available upon graduation. This goal is particularly important in view of the fact that an analysis of workforce needs indicates that approximately 80% of all jobs will require some postsecondary training by the year 2000.
Prome of Georgia School Completion
Given the goal of multiple options, the following questions were posed:
What are WIt achieving in our schools currently?
Are there discrepancies in where we are now and what WIt want to achieve?
Rounding the numbers from the data provided by the State Department of Education, the following profile emerged for Georgia:
For every 100,000 students who enter 1st grade:
only 60,000 will complete 12th grade, leaving 40,000 schoolleavers who will attempt to enter the workforce.
Many of these students will ultimately settle for minimum wage jobs - or welfare or prison.
Of the 60,000 who complete 12th grade:
only 30,000 will enter college, leaving an additional 30,000 individuals who will enter the workforce.
Of the 30,000 who enter college:
only 15,000 will finish college with a four-year degree, placing an additional 15,000 in the workforce with less than a college
degree, many of whom will have had no preparation for gainful employment.

.. . an analysis
of workforce
needs indicates
that approximately
80%
ofalljobs will require
some postsecondary
training by
the year
2000.

Thus, of the 100,000 who enter 1st grade in Georgia, approximately 85,000 individuals will enter society with less than a college degree. Many of these

I
CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21 ll CENTURY 3

a student in
Georgia is
uas smart as any other
student in the world.
The problem
is not with the 'raw materia~' but with
the processing. "

individuals will have skills inadequate for productive employment or responsible
citizenship, and approximately 40,000 of them will have skills inadequate for
continuing their education at the postsecondary level.
On-the-Job-Training
This problem is further compounded. Although business representatives often say, "Send us people who can read, write, and calculate, and we'll train them," according to the Georgia Department of Labor, the facts are:
Of the 162,251 business establishments in Georgia as 01 May 1991, 86% or 139,83901these businesses hac/less than 20 employees and no
training c/epartments.
National statistics indicate that 66% of all training dollars go to train managers and supervisors who are typically college educated. Of the $30 billion spent on training by business and industry, $27 billion was paid byone-halfofone percent of all U.S. employers. In international comparisons, the United States ranks 14th among the major countries in the world in the public investment of training dollars as a percent
of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (America's Choice). This abbreviated analysis
of need further underscores the relevancy and importance of the educational goal
to prepare all secondary school graduates for productive employment and further
learning.
Basic Beliefs Regarding Student Capacities
Participants noted that there is a widening gap between the educational model and instructional delivery system that we now use in the schools and the structure and needs of the current workplace. Participants asserted that Georgia schools must reflect the competencies of tomorrow's workforce. They felt that this can be accomplished by restructuring education, increasing the rigor of the curriculum, and raising our expectations for all students' performance. However, they also strongly emphasized that along with these changes must come additional support services for students and more flexible time frames for completing instructional tasks. The point was made that a student in Georgia is "as smart as any other student in the
world. The problem is not with the raw material, but with the processing."
During discussions at the invitational retreats, regional forums, and focus groups, participants reaffirmed their beliefs that:
All students can learn and every student can maximize his or her potential;
Students learn at different rates, have different learning styles, and multiple types of intelligence (beyond verbal and mathematical! reasoning abilities);
Learning takes place most effectively when:
students are actively engaged in the learning process, learning is relevant to their daily lives, needs, and interests, students have a positive concept of themselves as individuals
and of their unlimited capacity to learn, and the focus is on the development of the whole student.
Certainly these are not new ideas. To many, these educational premises appear trite or elementary. But when positioned as basic, underlying beliefs in the design of educational systems, participants noted that a radical shift in
educational practice and resources is required. It means that the educational system must identify and provide the type of intervention at the time and place and in the manner necessary for each student to learn. This caused participants

I
4 CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21 st CENTURY

to question the justification for continuing many of our current educational practices, such as:
standardized schedules, Carnegie units based on seat time, limited formats for assessing student performance, labeling children in the early grades with such catch phrases as
"slow," "at-risk," "trouble-maker," etc., and identifying the mythical "vocational student" or "general education
student" as early as elementary school level, among others. Regardless of the composition of the group or the area of the State, the action research technique, or the program format used, people insisted on speaking to the issue of education in a comprehensive sense and not just the component of vocational education in isolation.
The educational
system must identify and provide the type of intervention [needed] at the time and place and in the manner necessary for each student to learn.
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CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21 SI CENTURY 5

Describing the Conceptual Model
In the end, participants outlined a three-part model for Georgia's public education system which, indeed, might be described as a "21 st century vision for education in Georgia." The model was developed with the understanding that it represents an evolutionary process of unceasing improvement and refinement. As requested by the participants, it is presented as a conceptual model which attempts to provide a scaffolding of concepts upon which local schools and local school systems can develop their own models of excellence for bringing about a transformation in education. The model includes segments for elementary, middle, and high school "levels." Highlighted within the model is a focus on the recommended roles of vocational education.
The Elementary School Segment
The model for the elementary school segment is illustrated in Figure 1. The major components recommended for inclusion in this segment are listed below.
1J Provide the types of early support services which will help to assure that all students enter kindergarten ready to learn.
Intervention support services at this level might include: learning laboratories; learning style assessments; and counseling services for both child and family.
Transitional support services might include:
development of schookommunity collaboratives with social service
agencies; a monitoring/support system which provides a continuum of
coordinated social and education services.
The Elementary School Segment

HOME ELEMENTARY (K-5)
FIGURE 1
6 CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21~ CENTURY

MIDDLE/ JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL (6-8)

2) Focus curriculum on the development of:
basic literacy skills, self-awareness, career awareness, and physical fitness.
3) Provide the types of educational programs and intervention support services needed to assure that each student: exits "fifth grade" with fifth grade-level skill proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics (without being constrained by standardized timeframes and lock-step grade levels to meet the prescribed standards); has an awareness of the array of career opportunities available to be explored at the middle school level and begins to see "interconnectedness" among basic literacy skills, careers, and selfawareness (e.g., "Do I like to work with other people or by myself?"); develops the physical fitness needed to sustain and enhance his/her continued educational achievement.
4) Provide the types of transitional and support services needed to assure that each student moves successfully from the elementary to the middle school level.
The Middle School Segment
The illustration in Figure 2 depicts the conceptual design for the middle school segment. It includes the following components.
The Middle School Segment

MIDDLE/JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
(6-8)
FIGURE 2

HIGH SCHOOL (9-12)
CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21~ CENTURY 7

11 Continued curriculum focus on:
the mastery of basic academic/literacy skills, career orientation and exploration, the enhancement of positive self-esteem, and physical fitness.

Broaden the base
of community,
business, and parental involvement
which is
incorporated into

21 Provide the types of educational programs and intervention support services necessary to assure that every student:
exits "eighth grade" with eighth grade level proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics (without being constrained by standardized timeframes and lock-step grade levels to meet the prescribed standardsl;
has positive self-esteem; develops the physical fitness needed to sustain and enhance his or her
educational achievement; continues to learn and integrate literacy with career information and
application in the real world; and may tentatively select a career area in which he or she desires to
develop saleable skills at the high school level.
31 Provide the types of transitional and support services needed to assure that each student moves successfully from middle to high school level. Broaden the base ofcommunity, business, and parental involvement which is incorporated into the design of these services.
Although there was not consensus on this issue, many participants recommended that when a student demonstrates proficiency in the competencies required for advancement to the high school level, a "certificate of mastery" be awardedsimilar to that proposed in the Oregon Plan. At the same time, they cautioned that, if used, the certificate should not be viewed as an "exit" examination. Instead, this would be the level of mastery which would qualify one to obtain approximately onethird of the minimum wage, entry level jobs that are currently available.
After mastering the competencies required to enter the high school level, students would proceed to a second "advanced" core curriculum. At this point, students could choose to add advanced studies to the core which would prepare them for a career cluster and allow them to pursue further education in the technical school or college of their choice. With the achievement of such a course of studies, all students would, indeed, be qualified to pursue multiple options upon their graduation.

the design

The High School Segment

of [transitional
and support services).

The high school segment is depicted in Figure 3. Before presenting the individual components of this part of the model, it is necessary to discuss the foundation on which the participants recommended that it be built.
Make Changes in the Structural Context of the School
Project participants agreed that if the recommended model is to be fully adopted, changes will have to be made within the school structure and/or curriculum context. The changes which the participants identified are outlined below.
Move away from a focus on Carnegie units, seat time, and fixed class,
term, and year scheduling patterns. Incorporate flexible scheduling. Develop the curriculum in such a manner that academic credit can be

I

8 CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21~ CENTURY

------ -- - -- -

granted for vocational courses and vocational credit can be granted for academic courses. Remove barriers to the advanced placement of students and to the acceptance and transfer of earned credit. Eliminate all tracking in Georgia's secondary schools. Focus on the school as a community learning center and family resource: maximize local community and business resources and develop cooperative teams and efforts within neighboring local systems as part of a collaborative educational enterprise.
To achieve these changes in the structural contextofthe school, the participants urge local schools and school systems to engage the total community in planning. They strongly encourage local schools and school systems to move into interactive, strategic planning processes to define and achieve this 21 st century vision for education.
In essence, participants advocate a shift from viewing time as absolute and standards as variable to viewing standards as absolute and time as the variable. Hence, they recommend a move away from a focus on Carnegie units, seat time and fixed class, term, and year scheduling patterns. In place of this, they recommend flexible scheduling which allows for an increased emphasis on thematic and integrated curriculum designs, multi-media learning, and distance learning. They also recommend increased emphasis on ungraded classes and the use of cooperative learning strategies and peer mentoring systems.
To move in the direction of thematic and integrated curriculum designs, multi-media learning, distance learning, ungraded classes, cooperative learning, and portfolio assessment of authentic performance, it is clear that strong collaboratives will have to be developed-not just throughout the total faculty of a school, but also between the school and the total community within which it resides. Collaboratives will also have to be built between the public schools and the technical institutes, the colleges and universities, and also the teacher preparation programs. As recommended by the participants, increasing emphasis must be placed on inter-relatedness, interaction, contextual planning, fluidity, and flexibility. Divisions in subject matter which traditionally have been held sacred must be removed if education is to meet the needs of the whole student.
Establish Core Curriculum/Graduation Performance Outcomes
As illustrated in Figure 3, a "core curriculum" for all high school students is at the heart of the conceptual model. This "core curriculum" is in contrast to the currently used "common curriculum" in which students generally all move through the same or similar instructional materials at the same pace and the completion requirements are demonstrated via a standardized, written test at the end of an allotted time.
The participants whose input was used to develop this model recommend that:
"All students, prior to graduation, be required to demonstrate proficiency (mastery) of the prescribed skills and attributes, both academic and vocational, that will enable them to succeed in productive employment and in the pursuit of higher education. The prescribed academic and vocational skills should be those deemed relevant by parents, educators, and business/industry. "

[make] a
shift from viewing time as absolute and standards as variable
to viewing standards as absolute
and time as the variable.

I
CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21 ll CENTURY 9

To this end, the participants recommend that:
"Each school system implement a comprehensive, integrated, and performance-based K-12 core curriculum which is jointly planned between academic and vocational educators and includes input from business/ industry and community resources; through a unified delivery ofthe core curriculum, all students will be equally prepared for employment and advanced educational study."
To establish such a core curriculum, itfirstwill be necessary to translate current Stateestablished high school requirements into "graduation performance outcomes." Participants recommend that the following be designated as graduation performance outcome areas:
higher-order thinking skills, including critical, creative and analytical thinking;
decision-making skills; problem-solving and reasoning skills; employability skills, including interpersonal and job search skills,
workplace values and ethics employment skills in broad-based occupational areas to assure
preparation for satisfying, career-sustaining employment; family life/parenting skills; leadership skills, including team-building and intra-personal skills; physical fitness; and positive self-steem.
It is expected that instruction in these outcome areas would draw from all areas of the curriculum, such as mathematics, vocational studies, language arts, science, fine arts, etc. Participants further recommend that proficiency standards within the designated outcome areas be established as requirements for graduation.
The High School Segment

HIGH SCHOOL (9-12)
FIGURE 3
10 CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21~ CENTURY

FURlHER LEARNING
PRODUCTM EMPlOYMENT AND RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP

Participants agree that being able to demonstrate these core performance outcomes, at some level, is important for all students and that achievement most likelywill be demonstrated differently by individual students. However, porticipants stress that the target gool of the schools must be to enable all students to demonstrate the competencies needed in the workplace of tomorrow. Regardless of whether a student is training for an occupation which requires a high school diploma, a technical school certificate or degree, or a college degree, at some point, each
student will be holding a job.
Components of the High School Segment
The high school segment of the conceptual model is depicted in Figure 3. The model
has at its heart a core curriculum, which is designed for gil students and is supported
by extensive intervention and transitional services. Project participants specified that the following components are essential to the model:
1) Core Curriculum
a) academic studies, b) applied academic studies, c) career studies, and d) community or work-place experience,
2) Support Services
a) intervention, and b) transitional.
A brief discussion of each of the components follows. It is understood that the elements which comprise the components will evolve continuously over time, reflecting the needs of society.
Core Curriculum
Participants agree that if we are to assure that Georgia's secondary school graduates are prepared to function effectively in the 21 st century, the core curriculum must reAect the needs of the workplace and the needs of the adult individual. Participants recommend that this broad component be comprised of the content areas which include traditional academic studies, applied academic studies, career studies, and community or workplace experience.
Academic Studies They identified academic studies as the traditional areas
of study, such as language arts and foreign languages; physical, health and life sciences; mathematics; and the social sciences, including history and geography.
Applied Academic Studies They were identified as those currently available,
such as applied math, applied communications, and the principles of technology. They also recommended adding other applied courses in the areas of workforce readiness, applied biology, applied chemistry, home and family living, parenting, physical fitness, and also music and art. It was said that music could serve as a vehicle for teaching applied math and art could be used in teaching applied communications.
Combining Content Area Studies Although many of the participants call for a
separate element in the core curriculum entitled "academic studies" and another element entitled"applied academic studies," other participants urge that the two be merged-some went so far as to say that if content cannot be taught in an applied format, it should not be taughtatall. However, proponents of either perspective identified the same outcome objective as being of critical importance: actively engaging every student in a learning process that is relevant to his or her everyday life and aspirations for the future.

.. . translate current . .. high school requirements
into
~raduation
performance
outcomes~
.. . such as higher order thinking
skills, ... employability
skills, ... andfamily life/parenting
skills.

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CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21 u CENTURY 11

[ . . . join formal studies]
with company training programs to enhance
the employment ofgraduates
and to position
them as the preferred
choicefor entry-level employees.

Career Studies Throughout the year, participants continuously called for the re-
naming of vocational education and the broad program areas encompassed within the vocational umbrella. The use of the suggested term, "career studies," had wide approval among the 400 or so individuals who critiqued the proposed model in its early stages.

Within the career studies umbrella, they also endorsed the use of the
designations, business and office; environmental, natural, and food resources;

health and medical; marketing and service: and technical and trade. Partici-

pants recommend focusing the career studies component of the model primarily

on broad occupational or career cluster areas, such as the previous designa-

tions. They advise that all students should be prepared for career sustaining

employment and career advancement via career ladders. Further, they emphasize the importance of assuring a wide transferability of skills in the

\

market place.

Participants said that the career studies curricula must be kept up-to-date; it must
focus on developing those skills which are demanded for successful participation in a global economy. Several outcomes were identified for career studies:
All students should be able to understand and use modern technologies.
All students should be able to cope with diversity in the workplace.
Graduates of career studies should be flexible, with the ability to adapt to changing workforce demands.
The career studies curriculum should prepare graduates to: enter the workforce within an international and diverse environment and culture, possess broadly marketable skills, be competitive internationally, and be able to move easily from the working world to adult education and/or higher education.

For those students who choose to pursue advanced work in the career studies component, specialized programs/courses reflecting current and projected
employment demand should be offered in the school systems at the high school
level to meet the needs and interests of students. Such programs/courses, participants urge, should be flexible in design, adaptable to change, and proactive in meeting future skill requirements.

The high school level career studies curricula must be articulated or joined with curricula in postsecondary institutions in such a way as to facilitate the transferability of course credits, to allow for advanced student placement, and to enhance advanced technical preparation. Participants call for the expansion of such current articulation efforts as Tech Prep throughout all career areas.

Further, they urge that the curricula be articulated with company training

programs to enhance the employment of graduates and to position them as the

preferred choice for entry-level employees. This might suggest that educators

J

assist students in developing a student portfolio which could be made available

to potential employers. In addition to including a high school transcript, such

a portfolio might also include information such as punctuality in school,

attendance, citizenship, attitudes, and behavior. Businesses might consider

paying wages to high school graduates as beginning workers based on their

high school transcripts, taking into consideration the other factors included in

the portfolio.

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12 CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 2 pI CENTURY

Finally, participants recommend that secondary career studies programs be evaluated against contemporary curriculum standards (such as those used in othercountriesl, the achievementof student outcomes, community involvement, and other quality components. The participants strongly urge that ineffective or obsolete programs for which employment deman~ is declining be eliminated.
Community or Workplace Experience Participants recommend that all students
complete a school-supervised, business- or community-based experience as a requirement for graduation. More specifically, they recommend that every student complete a series of community-based, real work-world experiences which have identified outcomes, are progressive in nature, are sequential in scope, and which are a component of the core curriculum requirement for all students for graduation. They call for the experiences to begin in the lower grades of high school and continue throughout grade 12. Some suggest having such experiences begin towards the end of the middle/junior high
school grades (grade 8 or 91.
The format of this"experience" component might include internships throughout the spectrum of career areas; practicums interfaced with thematic curriculum projects; apprenticeships; cooperative education program designs across both academic and career studies areas; entrepreneurial ventures established within the school setting to enable students to develop the basic competencies requisite for going into business for themselves; and/or community service projects. The choice of the format for this experience might be the student's.
Support Services
To ensure that students experience continual successes during their school careers, participonts recommend "intervention" support services be employed to target individual student needs from kindergarten through the twelfth grade level. And to ease the transition periods from home to school, from primary grades to intermediate grades to high school grades, and from school to work or to higher education, participants recommend that "transitional" support services be made available to students.
Intervention Support Services This component includes access to a wide array
of language, reading, science, math, and career laboratories, as well as multimedia learning laboratories. State<>f-the<>rt technology support systems are recommended to provide interactive, distance learning; instructional materials development; and school!system management services.
The participants recommend that alternative schools, such as Cities-in.$chools, magnet schools, and community-or business-site schools become commonplace alternatives. They urge that academic, career, personal, and family counseling services be made available at the school and/or system level. Continuous and comprehensive aptitude, career interests, and learning style assessments should be provided for every student to assure educational achievement. Teachers should be given the same opportunity to use these assessments to evaluate their own learning styles, aptitudes, and interests. This will provide additional information to teachers to use in working with their students.
Through such a network of intervention services, students would not be allowed to drop out of school, but, instead, would be provided with a variety of educational safety nets specifically designed to accommodate their individual needs and talents. Through such a system, all student populations will be equitably served, including at-risk youth, non-English speaking, handicapped, nontraditional, low achievers, multkultural, gifted, and other exceptional

To ensure that students experience
continual successes
during their school
careers . provide
a continuum
of coordinated
socia~
education, and
employment services.

I
CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21~ CENTURY 13

students. Indeed, it is envisioned that the intervention services would be so effective as to eliminate the need for student labeling and homogeneous grouping.

Transitional Support Services As might be guessed, the transitional support
services component includes many of the same services as those identified under intervention support services, as well as in other earlier segments of the model. Italso includes other special services provided through the development of schookommunity collaboratives with social service agencies; employment services; community organizations, including parent groups; and with business and industry groups.

. . multiple opportunities

The participants call for the establishment of local and state monitoring and support systems which maintain contact and working rapport with students in Georgia public schools from pre-kindergarten years to post-high school years. They urge that such a monitoring/support system provide a continuum of
coordinated social, education, and employment services. The goal of this
system is to enhance the life and welfare of every student, as well as to provide a continuous, personal, caring contact with every person. Indeed, such services would assure the successful transition of every student from high school to the graduation option of his or her choice.

for

interaction

among

all teachers

"

must be

provided . ...

No skill

area

exists in

isolation

Incorporate Vocational Education Fully
The delineation of specific subject matter roles must be significantly different than they have been in the 20th Century. The emphasis must be placed on a holistic, integrated approach to educational design. To meet this goal, a partnership role must be established between academically-trained and vocationally-trained teachers which is built upon mutual respect. This means that multiple opportunities for interaction among all teachers must be provided so that they might learn to appreciate each other's special strengths, skills, and expertise.
There are many opportunities for partnership offered by the conceptual model. For instance, career studies teachers might partner with academic teachers to supply a focus for the enhancement, refinement, and application of basic academic skills. Academic teachers might partner with career studies teachers to strengthen the experiential design and real world relevancy of the academic studies curriculum. While the unique focus of vocational education (career studies) might be on preparing students to meet the required graduation performance outcomes in the employability and employment skill areas, becoming proficient in those skill areas is based on the simultaneous development of higher-order thinking skills, decisionmaking skills, problem-solving and reasoning skills, family life/parenting skills, leadership skills, physical fitness, and positive self~steem. No skill area exists in
isolation from the others; rather, all areas of proficiency are inter-related.

from

the others;

rather, all

areas of

proficiency are inter-related.

I
14 CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21~ CENTURY

Adopting the Model
Implications & Recommendations

The strength of the conceptual model is in its holistic, comprehensive, communitybased nature. Thus, toadoptthe model, itwill be necessary for interested educators
and community members to evaluate their current educational systems joinrly and
holistically. Most importantly, to adopt the model is to adopt the philosophy that education must be "student-centered." Although it is apparent that it would be extremely difficult to implement all aspects of the model at one time, if one puts the belief "every student can learn" into practice, the various components of the model begin to fall into place. The individual elements which are selected for incorporation
within each of the components of the three segments of the model most likely will
differ from one community to another. This is as it should be, since every community has different needs and resources.
Although, collectively, educators, employers, and the public<lt.large have said for many years that they believe in the basic assumptions and many of the components upon which this model rests (for example, students learn at different rates, higher order thinking skills and inter-personal skills should be taught, etc.), the fact is that much will have to change if we are to put these beliefs and ideas into true practice. Following is a brief discussion of the actions which elicited the strongest statewide agreement, as well as some of the implications of putting them into practice.
1. Develop a comprehensive conceptual model which incorporates vocational education in its leadership, support, and partnership roles and is designed to allow for local input and flexibility.
Each of the groups solicited for feedback call for the development of a conceptual model, rather than a uniform, mandated, state model. Participants strongly recommend that common elements, benchmarks, goals, and outcomes be identified at the state level; but that the strategies designed to achieve these ends be developed by the local school systems in concert with their communities. They also recommend that local school systems be encouraged to identify objectives, subobjectives, and strategies which will enable them both to meet their unique needs and to exceed expectations established by the State.
One of the major implications of adopting such a model is that it will be necessary for community members and educators to collaborate and work together on an ongoing basis to develop successful, meaningful strategies. This means that each group will have to learn the other's "language" and be able to accommodate multiple and diverse perspectives. It also means that a concerted effort will have to be made to ensure that all segments of the community are represented in the planning process.
The participants have implied that three roles exist for vocational education: leadership, support, and partnership roles. If academic and vocational education teachers are to begin to think of themselves as partners, provisions must be made to assure that communication and planning take place among them on a regular basis. One of the first places this must start is in teacher preparation programs in the colleges. This is where teachers first learn to model their behavior. The question is, do the colleges begin making the changes first or do the schools-or do they begin together?
In the schools, the necessity for increased interaction and communication among all teachers will have implications for scheduling and the structuring of staff

.. . to adopt the model is to adopt the philosophy that education must be 'studentcentered' [and communitybased].

I
CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21 ll CENTURY 15

. . vocational education can no longer be addressed as an isolated component ofthe educational process.

development. As a matter of fact, extensive staff development will have to be arranged for not just teachers, but administrators and career/guidance counselors as well. Again, this will impact the colleges. Another consideration for scheduling staff development sessions is the inclusion of students as part of the mix. Particularly in such areas as exploring the uses of technology in the classroom, the student will often prove to be an apt team member and instructor. Increased staff development will be costly in terms of time and money, but will provide a many-fold return on the investment. It will provide a more neutral setting for teachers, administrators, and students to learn to work together in new ways.
2. Infuse vocational education throughout the curriculum.
One of the major findings of this project is that vocational education can no longer be addressed as an isolated component of the educational process. GCOVE was
told repeatedly that career development should be a thread that is woven throughout
the curriculum for all students, starting with career- and self- awareness in kindergarten and progressing to career studies in high school through the use of applied learning which combines the best of both academic and vocational education.
This finding has several implications. First, vocational education will have to be accetJted as a valuable component of the educational process. Vocational education cannot be infused throughout the curriculum unless vocational and academic teachers are given an opportunity to learn about and experience each other's strengths and special skills. Hence, it will be necessary to encourage academic and vocational teachers to work with one another and provide school planning time in common. Staff development, in such areas as creating thematic studies, integrating curriculum, training teachArs to "team" with other teachers, to serve as facilitators, etc., will be crucial to bringing about this type of change. Equally crucial will be training for administrators in areas such as team-building, use of technology as a tool in the classroom, scheduling, and so on. These changes imply that colleges of education will have to work closely with schools to understand the adjustments that will be necessary in staff development programs (and also in teacher preparation programs).
Finally, most of the participants cautioned that those schools and school systems which adopt this model must be mindful that to "infuse" or "integrate" vocational education into the curriculum does not mean to absorb it to such an extent that its unique contribution of teaching employability skills or training for a particular career path or job cluster is lost.
3. Design learning experiences as though we really believe that every student can learn.
If we truly believe that every student can learn-that they just have different learning styles, learn at different rates, and have multiple types of intelligence-then acting on this premise will have major implications for the way in which learning is designed.
Project participants advocate working with each secondary student to outline an appropriate sequence of courses in a program of study, as well as calling for a core curriculum and graduation performance outcomes. The focus of the program of studies is placed on being" student<entered" in contrast to bei ng "content<lriven."
In stressing that individual students might demonstrate the achievement of these outcomes differently, in essence, they have recommended an "individual education plan" (IEPl for all students. Providing an IEP for each student has a number of implications. To be able to manage so much information simultaneously calls for exploring available technologies in such areas as individualized instruction and automated classroom management systems. New, creative staffing patterns may

I
16 CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21 U CENTURY

have to be explored, taking advantage of community volunteers and other available resources. Alternative scheduling may also have to be examined. And, of course, additional staff development will be an issue-not just for teachers, but
also for curriculum directors, guidance counselors, and administrators.
Further, if we believe that every student can learn and that each student should have an IEP based on individual needs and strengths, then the purpose of putting students in educational tracks becomes moot: Hence, project participants call for the elimination of all educational tracking and, instead, recommend the development of holistic, integrated programs of study where students may proceed at their own pace.
Participants recommend that standards be viewed as absolute and time as the
variable. They call for flexible scheduling which allows for an increased emphasis on thematic and integrated curriculum designs, multi-media learning, and distance learning. They also recommend increased emphasis on ungraded classes and the
use of cooperative learning strategies and peer mentoring systems. To be able to institute such changes, it may be necessary not only to provide staff development
in these areas, but also to provide release time For teachers and administrators to observe and conFer with colleagues in other schools where such programs and changes are working well.
4. Move to a core curriculum with perfonnance-based graduation outcomes which are measured through multiple criteria.
The majority of the participants from across the state call for the development of a core curriculum for all students based upon graduation performance outcomes. A major implication of adopting this recommendation is that the school and community will have to take a broad, long view of their educational system and determine how to translate current State-established high school requirements into graduation performance outcomes. They will have to determine the specific strategies which will be used to meet the designated graduation performance outcomes and how the school and community intend to focus on them. This activity will require much time on the part of both volunteers and staff to accomplish.
Participants recommend that assessment be broadened to include more than multiple-choice, standardized tests. Instead, they recommend that more emphasis be placed upon the use of performance-based tests and portfoliO assessments of authentic performance in the school. It is acknowledged that this type of assessment can be more costly in terms of development and time taken to administer than paper and pencil tests. However, for a teacher who is welltrained and supported in the method, it can come much closer to evaluating a student's true performance. When a mix of assessment techniques is used, a much more accurate picture ofa student's actual performance is reflected. Training teachers to make appropriate use of the various assessment formats available to them will have implications for teacher, administrator, and counselor preparation programs and staff development programs.
5. Eliminate all tracking in Georgia's secondary schools.
Participants feel strongly that all instruction should be geared towards preparing students for continued learning-both in postsecondary institutions and in the workplace. Ifeach student is provided with an individual education plan (IEP) which is designed to ensure that he or she develops a set of agreed upon core competencies, then there would no longer be a need to label students and place them in separate learning tracks.
Regardless of geographic region, participants were adamant that, at the very least, the general education track should be abolished. They feel that the general education track accomplishes neither the goal of preparing students for the

.. . all instruction should be
geared towards preparing students
for continued learning
-both in
postsecondary institutions and in the workplace.

I
CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21 ll CENTURY 17

.. . it
ts ...
unrealistic to expect the schools,
[alone] to provide
all the meaningful 'real-world, ,
applied experiences
that we would
like for students to have.

workforce nor of preparing them for further education. The participants say that every student should be encouraged to pursue a challenging four-year plan of study in the high school.
6. Make the school a resource center for the whole community.
Project participants repeatedly stated that society has become so complex in its needs and problems that it is impossible to expect the schools and the education community to meet them all. They recommended over and over that the school facility serve as the focal point and delivery site for as many social services as possible and for referrals to additional services. Many participants soy that the Family Connections program (a collaborative initiative of the Department of Education, Department of Human Resources, and Medicaid programs) is a move in the right direction and that the model should be expanded to include more private and public providers and additional services. Some even see the school as a resource for providing educational access, possibly through computer networks, for professionals and the community-<lt-Iarge.
To achieve this objective, educators must feel comfortable with opening the school to outside help from social service agencies and the community. They must be willing to build collaboratives with these outside groups and accommodate diverse, multiple perspectives. Providing space and accommodations for these individuals or groups and planning for time to meet with them on a regular bosis will require concerted effort by all parties.
7. Establish more and better linkages with the business community, as well as with the community-at-large.
Just as it is impossible to expect educators to possess all of the same skills as professionals in the social services fields in addition to teaching skills, it is also unrealistic to expect schools to provide all the meaningful "rea~world," applied experiences that we would like for students to have. Many of the participants recommend that business people be encouraged to come into the schools to tutor, to serve on occupational advisory committees for curriculum, etc., and thatteochers be encouraged to go to the business community to arrange apprenticeships, cooperative education opportunities, entrepreneurial experiences, etc. Through this process of "cross-pollination," both the education and business communities could come to a better understanding of the needs and challenges facing the other and encourage all parties to identify more effective ways to spread available community resources. This collaboration, operating in conjunction with the guidelines and goals established by the State, would also prOVide an environment thatwould allow communities and schools to rise above average to the cutting edge.

I
18 CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21~ CENTURY

Next Steps

In these pages, the Georgia Council on Vocational Education IGCOVEI has endeavored to capture the essence of the vision, dreams, and inspirations of the many Georgia citizens who participated in this project, "Creating the Vision for Secondary Vocational Education in the 21 st Century." In keeping with their requests, GCOVE will present the model to the Governor, the Board of Education,
the Board of Technical and Adult Education, and the Board of Regents, as well as
to other state and local policymakers.
GCOVE will broadly disseminate the report and make it available to all interested parties. We will continue to make presentations of the model to groups upon request, as we have throughout the life of the project.
GCOVE will continue to act in its role of convenor and facilitator. Meetings will be sponsored to bring together educators from college teacher preparation programs, local and State staff development professionals, and staff from the Professional Standards Commission to discuss the implications of the model for teacher, administrator and counselor training, certification, and staff development.
GCOVE will continue to support actions which encourage increased articulation among education institutions. It will continue to assist in identifying artificial barriers
which must be removed if a system of seamless education is to be realized in
Georgia.
Finally, GCOVE will continue to seek ways to support school restructuring efforts which are student<entered and incorporate vocational education fully into the educational process.

It
'IS
hoped that this

... & Some Final Thoughts
The development of a vision of vocational education, within the educational process, for the 21 st century is an evolutionary process. Refinements must continually be made at the state and local levels to further delineate, clarify, and strengthen this visionary thrust. Even the vision, itself, must be re-examined periodically. For growth and improvement to occur, change must be continual; otherwise systems and institutions become stagnant.

conceptual model will
provide

Schools must be viewed as individual systems which are part of an even larger system. This view requires an emphasis on interdependence, interaction, contextual planning, fluidity, and flexibility as opposed to rigidity and conformity in the design and management of educational institutions and systems. As Alvin Toffler
said, each organization, including schools, must be viewed "as a living creature." And Charles Garfield tells us in Second To None, the 21 st century will require that
schools not be managed as "static predictable machines, but as a living, dynamic ecosystem, a community constantly evolving in response to its environment."
From the synergy of a broad-scale, participatory process, a conceptual model for education emerged, a model that provides a basis for developing innovative designs and strategies to meetthe needs of every individual student more effectively. Some have called the model radical, while others have said it does not go far enough. It is hoped that this conceptual model will provide a starting place for community consensus and a scaffolding of concepts upon which local schools and local school systems can develop their own models of excellence to bring about educational transformation.

a
starting place for
community
consensus. . .
I

CREATING A VISION FOR EDUCATION IN THE 21~ CENTURY 19

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Assumptions & Operating Principles
Assumptions
1. A wide diversity of opinion exists among individuals within the educational and business communities regarding the role of vocational education at the secondary level in Georgia's schools.
2. The differences in perspectives are predicated largely upon the rich, but varied, background experiences of the
individuals who, themselves, impact directly and indirectly upon the conceptual design of Georgia's secondary educational system.
3. The singularly most important motivation of individuals who impact upon the design of Georgia's secondary educational
program is that of effectively meeting the needs of Georgia's current and future multi-cultural and multi-talented student body wherein all students can be successful in demonstrating their full potential.
4. All individuals and groups who participate in the deliberation process are capable of setting aside their preconceived beliefs and experiential conditioning to objectively examine the issues and arrive at a determination which will be in the best interests of the multi-cultural and multi-talented student body of Georgia.
5. Georgia's education system is perceived by many to be in a state of crisis having an alarmingly high dropout rate with
an increasing percentage of "at risk" youth entering the educational system each year as a result of a growing array
of social problems which are impacting the system.
6. It is recognized that the role of vocational education in Georgia's secondary schools should be integrated within and supportive of the overall goals for secondary education in Georgia.
7. The effectiveness of any secondary school program is largely dependent upon the successful development of a strong
educational fovndation at the elementary and middle school levels of instruction.
8. The identification of an appropriate role for vocational education at the secondary level assumes that vocational education must address both its unique and partnership roles in reducing the dropout rate, in addressing the consequences of the social problems impacting the system, and, indeed, is integral to school reform efforts.
9. The identification of an appropriate role for education at the secondary level must be made in keeping with realistic economic constraints and with the objective of utilizing state and local resources in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
10. The Georgia Council on Vocational Education seeks to serve as a catalyst in providing an objective forum and
deliberation process wherein the role of secondary vocational education for the State of Georgia may be determined
in a manner which will best serve the needs of individual students and the State.

Operating Principals
The forum and deliberation process will:
1. Be open to all groups and individuals within the educational, familial and business communities who are interested in
impacting upon the identification of this role.
2. Encourage and support the active participation of all groups and individuals to assure the objective examination of all perspectives.
3. Reflect a democratic, consensus-building process.
4. Seek to develop and enhance individual ownership both in the deliberation process itself as well as in the outcomes of that process.
5. Interface with all concurrent efforts and thrusts operative within the State which may impact upon the determination of this role.
6. Include within the deliberation process an objective examination of both national and international models of excellence in vocational education as well as research data bases to assure that, insofar as possible, decisions reached will be informed decisions.

Participant Summary *

Fall Regional Forums

Moultrie:
Sept. 25,1991 Total: 72 Business: 5 Education: 66 Government: 1

Jesup:
Sept. 26, 1991 Total: 44 Business: 0 Education: 43 Government: 1

Gainesville:
Oct. 8, 1991 Total: 44 Business: 1 Education: 41 Government: 2

Swainsboro:
Oct. 11, 1991 Total: 44 Business: 2 Education 39 Government: 3

Spring Regional Forums

Rome:
April 27, 1992 Total: 175 Business: 40 Education: 67 Government: 2 Students: 66

Warner Robins:
April 30, 1992 Total: 93 Business: 12 Education: 45 Government: 3 Students: 33

Invitational Meetings

Simpsonwood-Atlanta
June 20, 1991 Total: 90 Business: 7 Education: 30 Government: 44 GCOVE: 9

Thinktank Retreat:
Simpsonwood-Atlanta January 9, 1992
Total: 30 Business: 2 Education: 22 Government: 3 GCOVE: 3

Meetings With Educational Organizations
July 1991-Dec. 1991 Georgia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Georgia Association of Educational Leaders Georgia Association of Educators Georgia School Boards Association Georgia School Super-intendents Association Georgia Vocational Association

Americus:
Sept. 27, 1991 Total: 49 Business: 0 Education: 48 Government: 1
Atlanta:
Oct. 17, 1991 Total: 83 Business: 4 Education: 40 Government: 8 Unknown: 31

Barnesville:
Oct. 3, 1991 Total: 44 Business: 2 Education: 41 Government: 1

Valdosta:
May 7,1992 Total: 77 Business: 25 Education: 36 Government: 1 Students: 15
Educational Charette:
Simpsonwood-Atlanta June 7-9, 1992
Total: 64 Business: 5 Education: 31 Government: 19 GCOVE: 8 Students: 1
Spring Focus Groupst
Macon April 8-9, 1992
Total: 21 Superintendents: 5 Principals: 3 Voc. Supervisors: 4 RESA Dir./Staff: 9

*The numbers recorded for the forums-particularly the fall forums~re only approximate. In many cases, people did not sign the attendance roster or did not indicate their occupation category. tAdditional focus groups were held in Atlanta with staff from the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget and the Department of Education; they were also held with students from Decatur High School and North Avenue Academy.

Directional Statements
The following directional statements were developed by synthesizing feedback obtained from over 200 individuals who represented professional education organizations and special populations groups together with data obtained from the 470 or so participants who attended the first invitational working retreat and the fall regional forums.
Curriculum Outcomes
A comprehensive, in.tegrated, performance-based K-12 core curriculum will be implemented to provide instruction on prescribed competencies to ensure that students possess fundamental knowledge and skills needed in the workplace, to enter postsecondary education, and to serve as a foundation for change and adjustment throughout adult life.
To this end, the following curriculum outcomes must be achieved for all students:
Basic skills instruction will be emphasized throughout the curriculum and will focus on the development of thinking,
reading, writing, communicating, and computing skills. Minimal standards will be established (i.e., at the 8th grade level) prior to advancement into higher level (i.e., high school) academic and/or vocational courses.
A holistic approach that emphasizes the integration of work, family, and life skills will be adopted so that graduates have an ability to balance and integrate responsibilities at the workplace, at home, and in the community. An integrated academic/vocational core curriculum will include, at a minimum, use of technology, keyboarding, computer applications, financial and resource management, parenting and family life, economics of work and the workplace, global economics, workplace values and ethics, diversity in the workplace, and responding to workplace changes over the span of a lifetime.
An advanced curriculum will include skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, critical thinking, reasoning, and leadership.
The career development of all students will be enhanced through career awareness and exploration activities. Curricula
will emphasize individual career paths, focusing on each student's future (i.e., life after high school). Early structured intervention will be expanded to achieve realistic and attainable goals.
The curriculum will be up-to-date and teach relevant skills in an effort to prepare a workforce that can both understand and use modern technologies.
To this end, outcomes for all students will be as follows:
High school graduates will be prepared for entry-level, career-sustaining employment and postsecondary education. Georgia graduates will be Aexible, have an ability to adapt to changing workplace demands, be prepared to enter the workforce within an international and diverse environment and culture, possess marketable skills, be competitive internationally, and will be able to move easily from the working world to adult education and/or to higher education.
All students, prior to graduation, will be required to demonstrate proficiency (mastery) of prescribed skills and attributes, both academic and vocational, as deemed relevant by parents, educators, and business/industry that will enable them to succeed in productive employment and in the pursuit of higher education.
Students will be developed to their fullest potential within a rigorous, creative, and quality curriculum designed to be practical, functional, and relevant to current and future workforce needs and which prepares them equally for postsecondary education.
Each student's strengths, weaknesses, needs, interests, and gools will have been accurately identified and assessed. Specific learner outcomes and individualized, instructional strategies will have been addressed to meet these needs, interests, and goals.

Curriculum Structure
Each school system wi II implement a com prehensive, integ rated, and performa nce-based K- 12 core curricu lu mwh ich is joi ntly planned between academic and vocational educators and includes input from business/industry and community resources;
through a unified delivery of the core curriculum, all students will be equally prepared for employment and advanced
educational study.
A significant career exploration component will be infused into the K-8 curriculum to include self-concept enhancement, use of a career assessment laboratory, broad-based career awareness, family-work-life interrelationships, and hands-on experience with entry-level skills. Intervention programs and experiences will be provided for youngsters identified with immature academic/vocational skills.
Specialized vocational education courses will be offered in school systems at the high school level. Such courses will be flexible in design, adaptable to change, and proactive of future skill requirements. Minimally, specialized vocational education courses will include the competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills, attitudes, outcomes) deemed necessary for entrylevel, career-sustaining employment in businesses and industries.
Program Components, Collaboration & Involvement
All students will complete a school-supervised business- or community-based work experience (e.g., job shadowing, apprenticeship, cooperative education, community agency or social service internship) as a requirement for high school graduation. Such experience(s) may take place during the academic year and/or during the summer months.
All students, K-12, will be provided with valid and meaningful career guidance and counseling through the assistance of career counselors and support groups; equitable counseling for all students will be guaranteed.
All middle and high school students will receive brood-based career information and guidance from a variety of real-world experiences including mentors from business- and community-based agencies, projects sponsored through business partnerships, job site visitations, resource speakers, and short-term placements.
Secondary vocational education programs and curriculum shall be articulated with postsecondary institutions to enhance transferability of credits, advanced placement, and advanced technical preparation.
Secondary vocational education programs and curriculum shall be articulated with company training programs to enhance employment of graduates and to position high school vocational education as the preferred choice for entry-level employees.
Businesses and industries, civic groups, social service agencies and familial groups (i.e., parents) will collaborate with schools in planning vocational education programs, validating curriculum, providing support services, guiding and counseling students, providing industry certification for vocational programs, and evaluating program effectiveness.
Advisory committees will be expanded to incorporate additional subject areas from academic and vocational disciplines.
Teaching Strategies & Teacher Education
All teachers, academic and vocational, will demonstrate fundamental beliefs in the value of all students, that all students can learn, and that every child can be a winner.
Vocational education teachers will be regularly updated in technical skills, educational theory, and effective educational practices; released time will be provided for teachers to retool and upgrade.
Teacher education will have changed as a result of a new vision of a coordinated, integrated public education system. Focus in teacher education will be on working with pre- and in-service teachers to help them:
apply the knowledge base about teaching and learning, human growth and development, assessment (diagnosis and prescription!, different learning styles, and effective practices with their students and in their schools;
adapt well to their work with a diversity of students in a multicultural environment; motivate students;

develop a pedagogical repertoire that includes using students as resources, tutoring, inquiry, group and individualized methodologies, discovery, cooperative learning, simulations, technology, multi-media presentations, and a plethora of other strategies that use both the right brain and left brain modalities;
use the work environment for a variety of educational purposes; create in schools a caring, cooperative, supportive environment for all students and especially for those who are at risk
of dropping out; jointly plan (Le., academic and vocational teachersl student projects and team teaching activities; participate as a collaborative partner in planning and teaching a comprehensive core curriculum, K-12; offer instruction through a variety of delivery systems; e.g., satellite, independent study, in lab-based environments, in
business and community settings, etc.
University teacher educators will be involved with planning and delivering quality staff development and inservice education programs.
School Restrocturlng, Policy & Management
All tracking will be eliminated in Georgia's secondary schools. Holistic, integrated programs of study reflecting a wide variety of curriculum components, program designs, and instructional processes, including vocational education, will be designed
to address and strengthen the innate capacities, multiple types of intelligence, and career aspirations of each student.
Labeling, classifying and grouping of students on the basis of intelligence, aptitude, or achievement tests will be eliminated. Instead, focus will be placed on cooperative learning, peer teams, mentoring, applied learning, and on multiple instructional processes to address the needs of a culturally and academically diverse student body. Students should not be allowed to drop out of school, but should be provided with an array of educational safety nets specifically designed to accommodate their individual needs and talents.
High schools will become comprehensive learning centers which maximize the coordination and utilization of community and business resources throughout multiple learning sites as part of a collaborative educational enterprise.
The focus of Georgia's secondary educational institutions will be that of total quality-quality management, quality time, quality processes-which, collectively, produce quality learning for all students. Such an approach minimizes the emphasis given to such traditional, quantitative measures and designs as:
Carnegie units/seat time/time on task fixed class size fixed subject areas fixed class periods fixed school days a fixed school year confined school-campus settings
Site-based, participatory management will be fully embraced to maximize local flexibility in the design of innovative configurations of human, fiscal, and physical resources which can most effectively support and enhance individual student achievement.
Both horizontal and vertical curriculum articulation, student matriculation, transfer, and transition will be predicated on the competency development and/or competency achievement of the individual student to produce a seamless system of education.
State and local funding formulae, accountability standards and measures, and accreditation and certification requirements will be revised to reflect a primary emphasis on producing qualitative student outcomes.
All counselors, administrators and teachers will demonstrate knowledge of the school's total program, including vocational education.
Secondary vocational education programs will be evaluated for contemporary curriculum, standards (similar to those of programs in other countries!, achievement of student outcomes, community involvement, and other quality components; ineffective, obsolete programs will be eliminated.

All student populations will be equitably served through all programs in the schools-at risk youth, nonEnglish speaking, handicapped, nontraditional, low achievers, multicultural, and other exceptional students.
External and internal publics will be well informed of the offerings, students outcomes, and benefits of vocational education.
Vocational education will be funded adequately to meet the training needs of industry and the learning needs of students.

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A copy of the full report may be obtained from:
Georgia Council on Vocational Education 254 Washington Street, SW
Arlanta, Georgia 30334-8501 (404) 656-7782
Funding support for this publication was provided as part of a grant to the Georgia Council on Vocational Education from the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act.
The Georgia Council on Vocational Education is a private sector led citizens advisory council. Members are appointed by the Governor and represent business, industry, labor, agriculture and education. The primary responsibility of the Council is to advise the Governor, the Governor's Employment and Training Council, the State Board of Education, the State Board ofTechnical and Adult Education, the business community, and the general public of the state on policies and initiatives that should be undertaken to strengthen and modernize vocational-technical education.
The Georgia Council on Vocational Education does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin or handicap in its educational programs, activities, or employment policies.