1. education

I M P L E M E N TAT I O N G U I D E
AchieveTexas
How to ensure
student success by
creating a strong
local career
pathways system
8 Steps
for Schools
Implement AchieveTexas
Align secondary and
postsecondary programs
Partner with business
and industry
Implement
Texas Achievement Plans
And more!
Lifelong Success for All Students
Dear Colleague,
exas has always pioneered innovative programs that improve how students learn and what they
achieve. We have set high standards and expectations for every student, and worked hard to make sure
schools are accountable for results. We believe significant educational advancements occur when we
break with traditional ways of thinking.
It’s now time to take the next step forward in Texas education. We are pleased to introduce this new
initiative that allows all students to achieve success by preparing them for secondary and postsecondary
opportunities, career preparation and advancement, meaningful work, and active citizenship. This initiative
is called AchieveTexas and it centers on establishing career pathway systems in all of our schools. It is based
on the belief that the curricula of the 21st century should combine rigorous academics with relevant career
education.
Career pathways are a way of reorganizing learning around clusters of study that will prepare students to
graduate ready to work in an ever more competitive global economy. In Texas, we have adopted the U. S.
Department of Education’s Career Clusters. The 16 broad career clusters and 81 pathways support the
Governor's Industry Cluster Initiative, which identifies high-growth/high-paying jobs in the 21st-century
Texas economy. The career clusters offer a guidance tool designed to help students plan their educational
experience based on their career goals, and provide an organizing tool for redesigning schools, small
learning communities, academies, and magnet schools. Career Pathway models represent a recommended
sequence of courses based on a student’s personal interests and career goals. The idea is to connect what
students learn in school every day to what they aspire to do tomorrow, thus increasing engagement with
school and motivation to achieve.
This booklet is your guide to implementing a pathways system in your local schools. It introduces the
concept of career pathways and clusters and offers you eight essential steps to building a strong system. At
the state level, we are supporting this effort by aligning curricula, standards, and professional development.
The Education Service Centers will also play a role by offering technical assistance as you implement career
pathways and clusters in your schools.
The Texas spirit is to pioneer new ideas. we invite you to join us in the journey toward making
AchieveTexas a reality. Working together, we can all take education in Texas to a new level of excellence.
Again, we hope you will support our mission of preparing the children of Texas for a lifetime of success.
T
Lifelong Success for All Students
What’s inside…
exas, like the rest of the world, is experiencing change at an amazing pace.
While the economy is steadily growing on the surface, underneath it is
volatile, with new technologies and other economic forces reshaping entire
industries. Although the unemployment rate is relatively steady, the media is full
of reports of downsizing and outsourcing. Some areas are desperate for workers,
while others are oversupplied. In today’s job market, it seems the only constant
is change. One statewide strategy, the Governor’s Industry Cluster Initiative, can
help us navigate that change.
Due to global competition, Texas graduates are not just vying for jobs with those
from across town or other states, they are also competing for jobs with welleducated workers from other countries. The only chance our children have of
staying ahead of the competition is if our schools make it a priority to keep up with
the developments in the world and truly prepare each graduate for lifelong learning.
This is what AchieveTexas is all about. It is an effort to redesign education so
that students are better prepared for opportunities in today’s and tomorrow’s
world. It recognizes that our education system is Texas’ primary way of building a
strong workforce that can compete favorably with that of any other state or nation.
AchieveTexas is an ambitious vision of an improved education system that is
based on rigorous real-world standards of performance established in partnership
with the business community. The initiative calls for parents to be actively involved
in their children’s education and career plan. It is a way to refocus school on how
students really learn—actively, hands-on, and through authentic problems
and projects.
This is your guide to implement AchieveTexas in your community. It covers the
benefits for you and your students, then describes eight fundamental steps for
system building. Each step includes a profile of a successful program currently in
place that demonstrates the concepts of “AchieveTexas in Action.” Finally, you will
find a list of helpful resources and a glossary of key terms.
Education must keep up with the changing world. AchieveTexas is an
opportunity to redesign schools to ensure that every student succeeds and
contributes to the Texas of tomorrow.
T
CONTENTS
Why Build a Pathways System?
Page 2
STEP 1
Implement AchieveTexas
Page 4
STEP 2
Span All Grades
Page 6
STEP 3
Implement TAPs
Page 8
STEP 4
Enhance Guidance
Page 10
STEP 5
Build Seamless Connections
Page 12
STEP 6
Establish Extended Learning
Page 14
STEP 7
Build Strong Partnerships
Page 16
STEP 8
Offer Professional Development
Page 18
Pathways Resources
Page 20
What Does That Mean?
Page 21
Page 1
Why Build a Pathways System?
It all comes down to the purpose of education: to ensure success for all students
The concept of AchieveTexas is
simple: all students can succeed
in school, career, and life if they
plan their own individual
pathways to success.
Top Reasons
To Implement
AchieveTexas
✪ Better serve all students
✪ Improve all students’
motivation to learn
✪ Reduce the number
of dropouts
✪ Better prepare all students
for college and career
✪ Increase academic and
technical rigor
✪ Support efforts to
redesign schools
✪ Redesign curriculum and
instruction to be active,
hands-on, and projectbased
✪ Better prepare all students
for lifelong learning
✪ Meet the needs of
employers for highly
educated employees
Page 2
For some students, this means going to a
four-year college, followed perhaps by
graduate school. For others it means
attending a community college, doing
apprenticeships, or joining the military.
Some may delay postsecondary education
by starting full-time employment after high
school graduation.
The philosophy of AchieveTexas is that
no option is intrinsically better than the
other. Whether the choice is right or not
simply depends on the personal objectives
of the student. The goal is to prepare
students for all options, including college,
and to allow them to choose the ones that
are best for them.
Millions of Pathways to Success
In fact, there are as many individual
pathways to success as there are individual
students. No two students are likely to
follow the exact same route to success.
Under the guidance of parents/guardians
and educators, each student should explore
career options and make wise decisions
about how best to move forward.
Education should treat every student as
an individual learner and help each student
find his or her calling in life. The purpose
of school should be to ignite passion in
young people—energizing and motivating
them to learn and achieve. If society does
not truly believe that there is a way to reach
every student—even the most disinterested
and disruptive—then the system is a
failure. Texas schools and educators know
better than that. They are not in the
business of giving up on kids, but of
finding creative ways to support each and
every one.
Introducing AchieveTexas
This is the spirit behind AchieveTexas. It is
an effort to create multiple ways for
students to plan their success.
In today’s world, all but the most basic
and low-paying careers call for workers
who can read, write, communicate, and
solve problems. Today, 85 percent of jobs
require some postsecondary education or
training, and two-thirds require
somewhere between a high school diploma
and a four-year degree (see chart on next
page). Both professional and skilled sectors
are filled with rapidly growing occupations
that require a blend of academic,
employability, and technical skills. To take
advantage of these opportunities, every
student needs strong academic skills
complemented with employability skills.
Redesigning Schools
AchieveTexas is designed to focus
education so that it seamlessly integrates
learning, giving all students the academic
and technical skills they need to succeed.
Organizing learning encompassing
career clusters and pathways (see page 4)
provides a way to blend academics and
career preparation to produce more wellrounded graduates ready for the
opportunities of the world. Education must
provide many different paths for students
to follow based on their individual needs
and career choices.
AchieveTexas is your opportunity to
rethink education in your community,
form close working partnerships among
different stakeholders, and strengthen the
Texas workforce and economy. It’s a chance
Where the Jobs Are
Unskilled jobs
require a high school
diploma or lower.
to improve curricula, instruction, and
assessment so that they better reflect the
realities students will encounter as adults.
It is a way to grow your local economy and
expand opportunities for students by
attracting new businesses in search of a
highly skilled workforce pipeline.
Adopting AchieveTexas
Why embrace AchieveTexas locally? The
primary reason is simple and powerful. It is
the idea that connecting what a student
learns in school today with what he or she
wants to do for a living tomorrow increases
motivation to learn. If you can help each
student find his or her individual calling
and ignite a passion to learn, then you have
a better opportunity to achieve college and
career readiness.
Connecting School and Career
Although motivating students to learn has
been talked about for decades, AchieveTexas
is the first systemic initiative promoting that
principle in all our schools. Great teachers
have been doing that with some students
forever, but AchieveTexas creates a complete
system oriented toward engaging all students
to learn throughout their P–16 years.
The impact on students and on Texas
will be profound: thousands of graduates
thoroughly prepared for personal and
professional success. AchieveTexas is a sound
strategy for addressing complaints that
graduates still do not have the knowledge
and skills they need to enter postsecondary
education or training and the workplace. It
simply makes common sense to bring
AchieveTexas to your community.
Skilled jobs
require postsecondary
education, but not
necessarily a
four-year degree.
Professional jobs
require a four-year
degree or better.
SKILLED
65%
PROFESSIONAL
20%
UNSKILLED
15%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 2004
Learn More
Read on for information about eight
essential steps for implementing
AchieveTexas locally, including definitions
and explanations of career clusters, career
pathways, Texas Achievement Plans, and
enhanced career guidance.
Together, you, your colleagues, and
other members of your community can
make a big difference in the lives of all
students. You can build a
system that addresses
Texas’ Industry Clusters
(including Sub-clusters)
individual student needs and
■ Advanced Technologies and
sparks a personal passion to
Manufacturing
succeed. Surely, such a goal is
• Nanotechnology and Materials
worth pursuing. AchieveTexas
• Micro-electromechanical Systems
is your opportunity to establish
• Semiconductor Manufacturing
• Automotive Manufacturing
an ambitious vision for
■ Aerospace and Defense
improving schools and taking
■ Biotechnology and Life Sciences
practical action to turn the
■ Information and Computer Technology
vision into reality.
• Communications Equipment
• Computing Equipment and Semiconductors
• Information Technology
■ Petroleum Refining and Chemical Products
■ Energy
• Oil and Gas Production
• Power Generation and Transmission
• Manufactured Energy Systems
Source: Texas Industry Cluster Initiative, page 20
Page 3
Step One
Implement AchieveTexas
Commit to building a strong pathways system for your students and schools
The first step in implementing
AchieveTexas is to make a
commitment to embrace the
pathways system as an essential
education strategy in your
community.
Initially, the pathways system will redesign
high school education, but it can be a
broader strategy to reorganize every
aspect of education to increase
achievement and student success. It’s up to
your community as to how ambitious the
local implementation of AchieveTexas
becomes.
Pathways Basics
The idea of a clusters system has been
developed over a number of years at the
federal and state levels.
The concept is to organize learning
around clusters of study such as Business,
Management & Administration or Health
Science. Each cluster has multiple career
pathway opportunities.
Texas Career Clusters
At the state level, Texas has adopted the 16
federal career clusters (see back cover) plus
the Governor’s six targeted industry
clusters, which are the economic engines of
the state. These encompass all the careers
students might choose and connect directly
to the Texas job market and economy.
The idea is that students are introduced
to the clusters early (see page 6), choose a
cluster in the eighth grade (see page 8),
annually reevaluate their education and
career goals, continue in a cluster during
postsecondary education or training, and
enter employment when they are ready to
start careers. The system offers a seamless
pathway to success in school, career, and life.
Local districts in Texas are free to choose
which clusters to implement based on the
needs of the students, community, and local
economy. Not all schools will be able to offer
all clusters, but the goal should be to use
advanced technology to give students a sample
of each career and targeted industry cluster
and enhance their opportunities for high
demand, high-growth, and high-wage jobs.
Examples of Industry Clusters, Career Clusters, and Pathways
TARGETED INDUSTRY CLUSTER
Advanced Technologies
and Manufacturing
Aerospace and Defense
Biotechnology and Life Sciences
CAREER CLUSTER
Science, Technology,
Engineering, & Mathematics
Law, Public Safety,
Corrections & Security
Health Science
Information and Computer
Information Technology
Technology
Petroleum Refining and Chemical Transportation, Distribution,
Products
& Logistics
Energy
Agriculture, Food &
Natural Resources
Page 4
PATHWAY
Engineering and
Technology
Security and
Protective Services
Biotechnology Research
and Development
Network Systems
Facility and Mobile
Equipment Maintenance
Power, Structural
and Technical Systems
AchieveTexas in Action
A2E2
Region VIII Education Service Center
www.reg8.net
Build Buy-In
Generally, pathways systems are built by
working groups or partnerships
representing education, employers, and
other community stakeholders (see page
16). It is critical during the early stages of
system redesign to establish buy-in from all
stakeholders. This is best achieved by
making them part of the process of system
design. If all stakeholders feel their concerns
are heard and addressed, the chances of
gaining support are greater.
One of the most important elements of
early system building is strong leadership.
For your partnership or working group,
recruit leaders who are passionate about
improving education and who understand
the benefits of the pathways system. In the
beginning, choose co-chairs from education
and business. Leaders should be responsible
for guiding the group toward a clear vision
for the system and developing detailed plans
for implementation.
Seek Approvals from
Policymakers
In your community, implementing a
pathways system may require formal
approval by the school board,
superintendent, or site-based decisionmaking committee. It will be helpful to
determine what rules and regulations need
to be followed. A strong pathways system
can generally be established within current
rules.
The power of AchieveTexas is that it
makes sense. Develop a clear vision in
partnership with community stakeholders
and it is likely that others will rally around
the concept of helping all students find their
individual pathways to personal and
professional success.
The Education Service Center (ESC) in Region VIII in Mt. Pleasant
noticed a problem a few years ago. A large percentage of 8th
graders in its region, which covers the northeastern corner of
Texas, were failing the math section of the TAKS (Texas
Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) exam.
To give the incoming 9th graders a boost, the ESC developed
Agricultural/Algebraic Extensive Exploration—or A2E2—an
innovative course that explores agricultural issues in algebraic
terms, allowing students to apply classroom lessons in a realworld context. The class is an example of how a pathways
system can integrate academic and technical knowledge and
skills.
“Our students use algebra in a number of agricultural areas
from animal science to horticulture,” says Sharon Derricks,
Career and Technology Education Specialist at the Region VIII
Service Center. “Overall, we cover 17 agricultural projects, but
we also introduce the students to algebra applications in a few
other areas, such as automotive repair and welding.”
Projects are the cornerstone of the course and lecture time
is limited to provide as many hands-on activities as possible.
One class project brings students to an area horse farm where
they measure and compare Shetland ponies and regular-sized
horses.
A2E2 is designed for students concurrently enrolled in
Algebra I, and it requires two teachers: a secondary teacher
certified in mathematics or science and a certified agricultural
science teacher. The expertise of each teacher strengthens the
students’ understanding of both the mathematics and its
—Sharon Derricks, CTE
application in the agricultural world. The ESC hopes the
Specialist, Region VIII
introduction of agricultural topics will motivate students to later
Education Service Center
enroll in related classes such as Forestry and Wood Technology.
A2E2 takes the place of the state’s mandated tutorials for 9th graders struggling in math,
and, according to the ESC, is an improvement strategy that works.
“A2E2 is doing a good job because the students get it,” Derricks says. ”Kids will need
algebra in everything they do, and we give them specific examples to illustrate that.”
With a nearly 100 percent success rate of students passing 9th grade algebra, A2E2 is
rapidly expanding. Beginning in 2003 with just three pilot schools, the program is presently
offered in 32 of the region’s 48 districts, and is being considered in some areas in the western
part of the state.
Derricks says that teacher professional development is the largest factor in the program’s
success. Interested agricultural, math, and science teachers have four opportunities throughout
the school year to attend a three-day training course, during which they complete an entire
year’s worth of projects. “It really is fun to watch teachers get excited during the training, and
then see the students get excited during class,” says Derricks. “They all put in a lot of work, and
you can see that they recognize students’ progress.”
“We care about
our kids’ selfesteem. Most of
these students
hadn’t passed a
math test before,
and now they’re
participating and
answering
questions and
getting excited
about learning. ”
Page 5
Step Two
Span All Grades
Follow the AchieveTexas career development pathway
The AchieveTexas vision
includes all grades, from prekindergarten through lifelong
learning.
The following progression of college and
career education (see “AchieveTexas Career
Development” at bottom) is supported by
the career pathways system:
Career Awareness
In elementary school, students will have
opportunities to participate in a full range
of age-appropriate Career Awareness
activities designed to help students begin to
question what they want to do when they
grow up. The intent is not to train young
children to be doctors and lawyers, but to
simply expose them to the fact that adults
work for a living and the idea that there is a
wide world of future careers open to them.
A school might, for example, conduct an
activity in the Health Science cluster in
which the school nurse discusses her job
and how he or she prepared for it. A Law,
Public Safety, Corrections & Security cluster
activity might be a trip to a local firehouse
or police station. Elementary school
educators could talk about their personal
experiences in the Education & Training
cluster and how they decided to become
AchieveTexas Career Development
Lifelong Learning
• Career Advancement
Postsecondary Education or Training
• Career Preparation
High School
• Career Concentration
Middle School
• Career Exploration
Elementary School
• Career Awareness
Page 6
teachers. The difference between the
AchieveTexas approach and current career
activities is that, in the pathways system, the
activities are focused by cluster and
integrated throughout the curriculum.
Career Exploration
Middle school is an age-appropriate time to
ask students to think about their career
ambitions. This does not mean forcing 6th
graders to make career choices, but creating
activities that allow students to research and
gather information on specific careers.
Building on Career Awareness activities
in elementary school, these learning
experiences might include doing research
on a career in the Science, Technology,
Engineering & Mathematics cluster. It could
mean job shadowing an Adult Day Care
Coordinator while exploring the Human
Services cluster. Or it may be learning about
computers as part of the Information
Technology cluster. As with Career
Awareness activities, the plan is to continue
many of the things schools are already
doing, but to include them within the
middle school curriculum. These
experiences prepare students to create Texas
Achievement Plans (TAPs) during the 8th
grade (see page 8).
Career Concentration
By implementing AchieveTexas,
stakeholders can create a very different high
school experience for students, one that is
far more engaging and motivating. Students
will graduate with a much clearer plan for
their career goals and be better prepared for
postsecondary education and employment.
The vision is achieved by having students
select and annually evaluate their career
AchieveTexas in Action
Ready, Set, Teach!
Fort Bend Independent School District
www.fortbend.k12.tx.us
pathways for secondary and postsecondary
studies.
Career Preparation
Some career preparation may take place in
high schools, but under the AchieveTexas
concept, postsecondary education or
training is the primary time for students to
get serious about readying for employment.
This may mean attending a four-year
university, a two-year college, doing an
apprenticeship, joining the military, or
participating in on-the-job training.
Career Advancement
Education does not end with high school or
college graduation, completing an
apprenticeship, or leaving the military. In
today’s world, individuals need to keep
learning throughout their lifetime to remain
competitive in their careers, to benefit from
increased longevity, and to enhance their
civic involvement. Texas postsecondary
institutions are filled with adults seeking to
build their portfolio of skills, improve their
ability to conceptualize, and gain knowledge
so they may earn more money, a promotion,
or a better job.
AchieveTexas sees continuing education
and career advancement as an integral part
of the pathways system. Every Texas citizen
must become a lifelong learner able to
achieve his or her greatest personal and
professional potential.
“There’s a difference between loving to learn, and loving
to teach,” says Linda Aiello, who leads the Ready, Set,
Teach! program at Clements High School in Sugar Land.
“Many students enjoy school and just assume they’ll
equally enjoy teaching. Some students start in our
education courses and realize they’re not meant to teach.
They’re usually grateful to have discovered that before
making it halfway through college.”
Ready, Set, Teach! is a two-pronged initiative in the
Fort Bend Independent School District. The program
consists of a lab course and a career preparation
course. It is designed to give juniors and seniors both
the classroom instruction and real-world experience to
decide if a career in education is right for them.
During the Educational Assistant course, students
explore the field of teaching through observation,
analyzing current issues, and using technology for
research and presentations. Students shadow teachers,
principals, and counselors, and assist with instruction,
preparation of materials, and group activities. Students
join the Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE), a
semi-professional organization, and complete a career
development package for college admission, which
includes taking the SAT and/or ACT.
The second part of the program is the Educational
—Linda Aiello, Ready, Set, Teach!
Assistant Work-Based Learning. Each school day,
Coordinator, Clements High
students attend their regular high school classes,
School
followed by off-site field experience that sends them into
district classrooms to teach their favorite subjects—while earning a salary. Primarily at area
elementary schools, students assist with instruction and are given the opportunity to develop plans
and teach lessons. The work-based learning course requires 270 hours per semester (or 540
accumulated hours for the year) and is considered the honors portion of the program.
Student participants get more than experience. Fort Bend has an agreement with Texas A&M
University that grants students one semester of paid tuition for each year spent in Ready, Set,
Teach! instruction.
“When our students go to college,” says Aiello, “they know what they’re doing. At most
schools, students don’t enter the college of education until their junior year, but these students
enter as freshmen having already taught in a classroom.”
The “free” semesters are paying off already, as many of Aiello’s former students have returned to
Fort Bend ISD to teach and to mentor a new class of students. Another part of the program
guarantees district teaching positions to Ready, Set, Teach! graduates once they are certified to teach.
“The best advantage of Ready, Set, Teach!” says Aiello, “is that it gives students the chance to
learn in areas of personal interest. They get to do their own discoveries and find out a lot about
themselves. They gain a real sense of self.”
“Kids are going to
college knowing
what they’re doing.
They’ve made a
connection between
their educations and
how they’ll use
them, and they’re
confident in their
abilities.”
Page 7
Step Three
Implement TAPs
Every student will create a Texas Achievement Plan (TAP)
Every high school student needs
a plan for college and career. It
does not matter how many
times the plan is revised as the
student changes his or her mind.
Having a plan is far better than having no plan
at all and wandering without direction through
secondary and postsecondary education.
Students who hope to“find themselves”during
four-years of college are doing it in the most
expensive way possible. It makes far more sense
for a student to choose a pathway and adjust it
as he or she changes direction.
Sample Texas Achievement Plan (TAP)
Name: Taylor Jones
School: West High School
Career Goal: Power Generating
Cluster: Manufacturing
and Reactor Plant Operator
Pathway: Manufacturing Production Process Development
Postsecondary Goal: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, industrial technology, or technology
management
9th Grade
10th Grade
11th Grade
12th Grade
Algebra I
Geometry
Algebra II
Precalculus
English I
English II
English III
English IV
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Environmental
Systems
World Geography
World History
US History
Government/
Economics
Languages Other
Than English I
Languages Other
Than English II
Computer
Applications
Fine
Arts
Health/PE
or Equivalent
Technology
Applications
Physical Education or
Equivalent
Electronics II
Physics of
Instrumentation
Energy Power and
Transportation
Systems
Electronics I
Curricular Learning Activities: SkillsUSA; Technology Students Association (TSA); work-based
learning experiences.
Extracurricular Experiences: School Club Officer, Student Government
Page 8
This is a pillar of AchieveTexas. It’s the
idea that smart, yet flexible, planning for
secondary and postsecondary education
makes sense for all students, regardless of
their interests or abilities. Too many
students stumble through high school and
college without any idea of why they are
there. The vision for AchieveTexas is to have
each and every student take responsibility
for their own path and assemble a plan of
action for success.
Texas Achievement Plans (TAPs)
Using the learning acquired during Career
Awareness activities in elementary school
and Career Exploration activities in middle
school (see page 6), each 8th grade student
will map out a high school program of
study, a postsecondary education or
training goal, and a career choice (see
sample TAP at left). This should be done
under the guidance of parents/guardians,
counselors, and teachers (see page 10). The
TAP would then be reviewed at least once
each year and changes would be made
based on the student’s career goals.
No plan will be set in stone and the
student will be completely free to change
the path. In fact, learning that a career is
wrong for a student is as valuable as
discovering one that is right. It is better, for
example, that a student who wants to be a
nurse learns he or she cannot stand the
sight of blood in high school rather than
waiting until the junior year of college.
As a local system builder, you should
consider utilizing the state format for the
Texas Achievement Plan. Many Texas
schools already require graduation plans for
students. Your version of the Texas
Achievement Plan could be an improved
version of existing documents.
AchieveTexas in Action
Graham Education and Workforce Center
Affiliated with the Graham Independent
School District
www.grahamewc.org
Career Pathway Models
The state has developed Career Pathway
Models to help students, parents, and
educators in the planning process. These
show students recommended courses for a
particular pathway, what program of study
is appropriate during postsecondary
education, and recommended extended
learning and extracurricular opportunities.
These career pathway models are available at
www.achievetexas.org.
Career Portfolios
Another key concept of AchieveTexas is the
Career Portfolio. At its simplest, this is a
folder of student work in high school that
shows a prospective postsecondary
institution or employer what he or she has
accomplished. It can consist of writing
samples, artwork, or anything that
showcases the student’s abilities. In today’s
world, portfolios may be entirely electronic
and students can carry them on CD-ROM
or flash memory drive.
The value of student planning is obvious
when compared to the alternative that exists
in so many high schools and colleges—
students who are in danger of dropping out
because they do not see a connection
between their educational experiences and
what they want to do with their lives. A good
plan is the glue that links today and
tomorrow, showing students how their
current studies are preparing them to be
successful in their chosen fields. Providing a
planning tool for students is an important
element of ensuring that all students start
on their pathway to success.
“Our daily challenge is to meet the needs of our community
and the surrounding areas,” says Cheryl Groves. “We realize
the need for our citizens to receive extended learning
opportunities in a location convenient to their homes. And we
always welcome input and ideas that will continue our vision.”
Groves is describing the Graham Education and
Workforce Center, which she directs. The center was created
to fulfill the vision of the Graham Higher Education Board and
to meet the needs of the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board’s Closing the Gaps initiative.
According to Closing the Gaps, only 5 percent of the
Texas population has ever enrolled in higher education. The
national average in 2000 was about 5.4 percent. The 0.4
percent difference represents 76,000 students in Texas.
Closing the Gaps has a goal for an overall postsecondary
participation increase to 5.5 percent by 2010 and 5.7
percent by 2015.
The Education and Workforce Center supports that
effort by providing a way for members of the Graham
community to take advantage of lifelong learning
opportunities from colleges and universities without having
to travel to a larger city, such as Dallas, which is more than
100 miles away.
“We host college classes, continuing education classes,
and training seminars for the Graham Independent School
—Cheryl Groves, Director,
District and local businesses,” says Groves. “We have
Graham Education and
several partners including the regional Texas Workforce
Workforce Center
Commission, Graham Independent School District, Texas
State Technical College, Vernon College, Midwestern State University, and Weatherford College. Our
desire is to acquire more partners to better serve our community.”
The need for local learning opportunities was recognized by members of the Graham Higher
Education Board, which is appointed by the city government. The membership includes all elements
of the community, including the President of the Graham Industrial Association, the Superintendent
of Graham schools, the Graham High School Principal, the administrator of the Graham Regional
Medical Center, and Graham citizens. The Board is just one example of how the Center strives to
bring together education, local business, and community members.
The Center is located at what used to be the Shawnee Elementary School. It houses Workforce
Resource, the local office of the Texas Workforce Commission, which provides resources for job
seekers and employers. Also on campus are distance learning classrooms, computer labs, and
administrative offices. The Center recently acquired an old library on adjacent property and plans to
use the building as an Allied Health Facility for Allied Health programs including an Associate’s
Degree of Nursing.
Anyone may use the Center to seek an associate’s degree, take courses within a career
pathway, take classes leading to an industry certification, or earn credits toward a college degree.
Partnering colleges and universities also provide dual credit and concurrent enrollment courses to
qualified area high school students via distance learning or traditional in-person delivery if students
wish to travel.
“The Center really reaches out to the people in our community,” Groves says. “There are so
many opportunities to take advantage of, it doesn’t make a lot of sense not to.”
Page 9
“We are simply
trying to fulfill the
promise we made
when we opened
that we will always
be here to provide
lifelong education
to the people of the
City of Graham.”
Step Four
Enhance Guidance
Expand the quantity and quality of college and career guidance throughout schools
Another pillar of AchieveTexas
is enhanced career and college
guidance for all students.
As students go through Career Awareness,
Exploration, and Concentration activities in
K–12 education (see page 6), they need upto-date information and advice from caring
and committed adults. With AchieveTexas,
guidance professionals such as school
counselors are expected to play a key role in
dramatically expanding the quantity and
quality of decision-making data available to
students, and what new opportunities are
evolving in the world of work.
Empower Students
Using Internet career information
resources like Kuder and America’s
Career InfoNet (see page 20),
students can take greater
responsibility for their own career
research and planning. They can
come to the Texas Achievement Plan
(see page 8) process with
information and ideas about what
cluster they want to study, which
careers they want to pursue, and
what new opportunities are emerging
in the evolving world of work.
Career Awareness and Exploration
activities are designed so students
feel empowered to take charge of
their futures, rather than feel as
though their teachers, counselors, or
parents are setting the course for
them. Recognize students’ unique
abilities and help them find their best
pathway to success.
Page 10
Let Counselors Counsel
The first priority is to simply allow
guidance counselors to counsel.
Unfortunately, too many counselors are
burdened with duties at school other than
advising students. A big part of their time is
spent with scheduling, but they are often
asked to do other jobs that fall outside the
typical guidance job description.
As a local system builder, you should
look at how counselors are used in your
community and develop ways to enable
them to spend more time helping students
with such tasks as creating Texas
Achievement Plans (see page 8). Ideally, a
counselor would know every student for
whom he or she is responsible. The
counselor would help individualize
education based on each student’s unique
interests and needs. This means rethinking
their duties and giving them the time to
counsel students.
Lower Student-to-Counselor
Ratios
As part of AchieveTexas, look at student-tocounselor ratios in your local schools. Some
schools have ratios as high as a 1,000
students to every counselor, making it
impossible for counselors to spend more
than a few minutes per school year advising
each student. An ideal ratio is 300 to one,
which allows counselors to take far more
time with each child. Cutting the ratio by
10, 20, or 30 percent, however, can make a
huge difference in a student’s guidance
experience. It is up to local AchieveTexas
partnerships to develop strategies for
reducing counselor workloads.
AchieveTexas in Action
Counselors Can Be
Career Experts
Another typical problem with guidance is
that it often gives less attention to career
information. Counselors usually concentrate
on either the highest achieving students,
who are focused on four-year college, or
students with social or discipline problems.
But the idea of AchieveTexas is to focus
counselors on both college and career
counseling that reaches all students. This
means making it a core competency of
counselors to be experts on occupational
options, local employment trends, and local
labor needs.
Fortunately, there are an increasing
number of tools available to supplement
counselors’ knowledge of college and
careers. AchieveTexas foresees all schools
taking advantage of technology to tap into
resources such as the Internet version of the
Occupational Outlook Handbook
(www.bls.gov/oco), America’s Career InfoNet
(www.acinet.org/acinet), Texas Industry
Cluster Initiative (www.twc.state.tx.us/news/
ticluster.html) and the Kuder Career
Planning System (www.kuder.com). (For a
list of career information resources see page
20 or www.achievetexas.org.)
Teachers as Career Advisers
Under AchieveTexas, it is hoped that
teachers will take a more active role in
advising students about career choices. After
parents, teachers have the most influence on
the career directions students choose.
Teachers are often in the best position to
identify a student’s abilities and passions,
and to encourage students to follow them.
The idea is that guidance is a school-wide
responsibility, carried out by a team that
includes counselors, teachers, parents, and
the students themselves.
You have the opportunity to design and
build a much more effective guidance
system for your local schools. Like all
elements of AchieveTexas, this system
should focus on treating each student as an
individual and helping him or her find the
best pathway to success.
Project Lead The Way
McNeil High School, Round Rock
Independent School District
www.roundrockisd.org
Under the guidance of experienced professionals,
future engineers are starting on the path to becoming
high-tech professionals at McNeil High School in the
Round Rock Independent School District.
McNeil is home to the only engineering academy in
the district. The academy features curriculum from
Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a nationwide program
aimed at solving the United States’ engineer shortage.
The not-for-profit organization provides engineering
curriculum to more than 1,750 schools in 46 states and
the District of Columbia. The curriculum is free, but
schools must provide software, hardware, and other
supplies for the program.
“When McNeil began implementing Project Lead
The Way in 2001,” says Lisa Windolf, the Academy
Coordinator, “the school wanted experienced engineers
to teach. And, so far, the entire faculty consists of
former engineers.”
Windolf, who was a chemical engineer for more
than 14 years, adds that the engineers’ professional
contacts and experience pay off for students.
“There are local firms who come recruiting our
—Lisa Windolf, Engineering
students,” she says. These calls often translate into
Academy Coordinator/Lead
summer jobs and work-based learning opportunities.
Instructor, McNeil High School
“Nothing is more valuable to them than seeing the things
they’re learning come to life.”
Such experiences have led to significant student achievement, as almost 25 percent of the
2005–2006 engineering academy seniors have been offered early acceptance to postsecondary
engineering or computer science programs. More than 40 percent of the previous year’s academy
seniors went on to study engineering and related fields after high school.
Windolf says one reason for the engineering academy’s success is that it is not selective. Any student
in the Round Rock ISD who is interested in engineering is encouraged to transfer to the academy at
McNeil. “We’ll take everyone,” she says. “Part of my job is to get students excited about engineering;
another part is to help some students find out that engineering is not for them. But by giving every student
a chance to participate, we draw a variety of skills and talents for different aspects of engineering. ”
McNeil’s engineering academy offers four out of the eight possible PLTW secondary courses.
The classes—Introduction to Engineering Design, Principles of Engineering, Digital Electronics, and
Engineering Design and Development—are integrated with math, computer science, and
engineering graphics courses to offer students a comprehensive four-year pre-engineering
education series. Only the first two PLTW courses are required for all students in the academy.
The academy is enjoying a boom in popularity. From about 160 academy students in the
2005–2006 school year, next year’s enrollment is project to be more than 200 students.
“The Project Lead The
Way courses are a
great way for students
to experience
engineering while in
high school. They
allow students to
apply lessons in
real working
environments.”
Page 11
Step Five
Build Seamless Connections
Link programs and institutions so that students have smooth pathways through school
Often, secondary and
postsecondary schools are
islands unto themselves.
This means that students transitioning
among institutions often hit bumps as they
try to transfer credits and avoid repeating
classes they have already taken. It leads to
inefficient delivery of education because of
the lack of coordination and alignment
among different institutions.
Getting a Head Start
on College
Seamlessness includes creating
opportunities for students to get an
early start on postsecondary
education. This includes traditional
Advanced Placement classes as well
as Advanced Technical Credit and
“dual credit” programs in which
students earn both secondary and
postsecondary credit for college-level
courses taught in high schools.
There is also a growing trend toward
“middle college,” which are high
schools on college campuses.
Students there work toward high
school graduation while also earning
college-credits tuition free. According
to the Early College High School
Initiative, there are now more than 70
such schools across the country.
Page 12
Establishing Seamlessness
AchieveTexas seeks to remedy this situation.
The vision is to create a seamless education
system in which curricula, instruction, and
assessment are connected and coordinated.
This would mean that no student would
repeat learning and that credits would
transfer easily from institution to
institution. The idea is to build a system
that provides smooth educational pathways
for students to follow from elementary
school, into middle school, on to high
school, through postsecondary education or
training, and into the workplace.
Seamlessness includes creating
opportunities for students to get an early
start on postsecondary education (see
“Getting a Head Start on College” at left).
Under such a system, curricula for grades
K–12 would be progressive and cumulative.
Knowledge and skills acquired in early grades
would be built upon and expanded in later
grades. All classes would integrate academic
subjects such as English and mathematics
with career education. This would mean
redesigning instruction to hands-on,
interdisciplinary, problem- and project-based
education. We know that this kind of active
instruction is the way students learn best, but
few schools have truly committed to it,
particularly at the high school level.
Linking Secondary and
Postsecondary Education
AchieveTexas also calls for closer ties among
secondary and postsecondary institutions.
In its simplest form, this would mean
creating articulation agreements that align
high school pathways with those of colleges
and universities.
A Health Science cluster at your local high
school, for example, might flow seamlessly
into a Health Science program at the local
community college, with students making an
easy transition between the two institutions.
In a more advanced form, articulation
among secondary and postsecondary
institutions means co-developing curricula
so that they are not just aligned, but are a
single coherent program of study that spans
grades 11–14 or 9–16. One example of
seamlessness in action is College Tech-Prep
2+2 programs, in which students take
classes in 11th and 12th grades that lead
directly into associate’s degree programs at
two-year colleges. AchieveTexas imagines
unprecedented levels of cooperation among
secondary and postsecondary educators, all
in the name of providing students with
clear and coherent pathways of study.
Roll Up Your Sleeves
There’s no denying that creating a truly
seamless system that integrates academic
and technical education will be hard work.
That’s why it is critical for you and your
partners in system building to
communicate with all stakeholders and
convince them that such a system is the
right thing to do for students.
AchieveTexas in Action
Governor’s Industry Cluster
Initiative
In 2004, Governor Rick Perry announced
his vision of building the future economy of
Texas and expanding opportunities for
lifelong success. That vision focuses on
building competitive advantage through six
target industry clusters and bringing highpaying jobs to Texas.
The objective of the Governor’s Industry
Cluster Initiative is to stimulate long-term
sustained growth and focus state resources
on key targeted industry clusters that will be
the engines of job creation and economic
development in the 21st century.
This objective will be realized by ensuring
that the educational pipeline is robust,
aligned, and responsive to the future
employers of students by carefully analyzing
current and future workforce needs. It is
essential that education closes the gaps where
they exist and helps create a climate that is
conducive to the recruitment and retention
of high-paying growth industries that will
ensure lifelong success for all students.
National Biomedical and Health Sciences
Secondary Program
Ben Barber Career and Technology
Academy, Mansfield Independent School
District
www.mansfieldisd.org
Ben Barber Career and Technology Academy in Mansfield is
stepping up to solve the shortage of healthcare workers in Texas.
Ed Foster, Career and Technology Director for the Mansfield
School District, cites an aging population of healthcare workers and
growing health-related problems such as obesity and diabetes for
the substantial staffing shortfalls in many healthcare facilities. The
innovative National Biomedical and Health Sciences (NBHS)
secondary program is intended to help alleviate the current and
projected deficit.
“The array of classes we offer serves students with interests
varying from a career as a lab technician to aspirations for medical
school,” says Foster. “This program attracts the best and the
brightest.”
The National Biomedical and Health Sciences program is the
result of a partnership between two national organizations that
focus on curriculum design, professional development, program
evaluation, and healthcare workforce demands. MPR Associates
and the National Consortium on Health Science and Technology
Education (NCHSTE) have partnered to create a course framework
that integrates a health sciences core with traditional academic
classes and provides project-based instruction related to health
care.
—Ed Foster, Career and
Most students in the NBHS program spend only half of each
Technology Director,
school day at their home high school campuses. Following a
Mansfield Independent
nine-week introduction to health science, students participate in
School District
clinical rotations at area hospitals, doctor’s offices, and clinics,
observing and gaining hands-on experience in a variety of healthcare fields. Foster says the clinical
experiences have been a big hit with students interested in pursuing a pre-medical college
program, and that giving the courses weighted credit allows students to improve their grade point
averages as they head into the competitive process of applying for postsecondary education.
Barber was one of eight high schools in the country selected to implement the NBHS
curriculum in the fall of 2005. Success has come even in the program’s first year, as students are
enrolling in the courses for next year with plans to seek certification. The certification option is the
crown jewel of Barber’s NBHS program. It allows students to graduate as pharmacy technicians or
certified nurse’s assistants. Because of Barber’s accelerated block schedule of four classes each
semester, students are able to take more health science electives each year. “A student may take
pharmacology and pharmacy tech during their junior year, and then take pharmacy tech again their
senior year and sit for the certification exam,” Foster says.
The Ben Barber Career and Technology Academy is fed by the four high schools in the
Mansfield area and serves 2,500 students every year. Foster says the school is preparing for an
influx of students interested in enrolling in health science courses. An Emergency Medical
Technician (EMT) certification program is being added for the 2006–2007 school year, and the
school has built a state-of-the-art biomedical lab.
“Our students
have a huge
advantage after
high school
because they are
graduating with
marketable skills
and real-world
experience.”
Page 13
Step Six
Establish Extended Learning
Expand participation in curricular experiences such as CTSOs and work-based learning
In today’s world, student
learning happens around the
clock—at school, on the
computer, at home with parents
or guardians, in the workplace,
at the mall—everywhere and all
the time.
Texas CTSOs
Business Professionals
of America (BPA)
www.texasbpa.com
DECA, Texas Association
www.texasdeca.org
Family, Career and Community
Leaders of America (FCCLA)
www.texasfccla.org
Future Business Leaders
of America (FBLA)
www.txfbla.org
Health Occupations Students
of America (HOSA)
www.texashste.com
SkillsUSA
www.txskillsusa.org
Texas FFA Association
www.texasffa.org
Texas Technology
Student Association (TSA)
www.texastsa.org
Page 14
Students, in fact, never stop learning. The
question is: What are they learning and how
does it support—or detract—from their
education and career goals?
The task for schools is to take advantage
of all kinds of learning opportunities in a
student’s life to achieve the goal of
graduating a well-educated, highly
motivated adult. Extended learning is a key
strategy for achieving that goal. It refers to
learning that is curricular or
extracurricular. It can take place inside or
outside of school and at all times of the day.
It is a focused effort to create special
opportunities for students to gain
experience that prepares them for success,
including developing the “soft skills” such as
leadership and teamwork that employers
demand.
The Role of CTSOs
One of the primary forms of curricular
learning is Career and Technology Student
Organizations (CTSOs). (For a list of Texas
CTSOs, see left.) Any student participating
in career education is eligible to join the
corresponding CTSO for his or her class.
Overall 133,000 Texas students are CTSO
members. CTSOs seek to build students’
skills through local, regional, state, and
national competitions that evaluate what
students learn in the classroom. This
includes skills such as public speaking and
specific occupational skills.
With AchieveTexas, CTSOs will be
aligned around clusters and pathways. The
vision for AchieveTexas is to provide
opportunities for membership, so that
every student has the opportunity to
develop leadership and employability skills.
Work-based Learning
Extended learning also takes place outside
of schools. These instructional
arrangements include:
★ Apprenticeship—An education and
training program registered with the
Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training
AchieveTexas in Action
Entrepreneur 101
Texas Restaurant Association
www.restaurantville.com
that is conducted or sponsored by an
employer, a group of employers, or a
joint apprenticeship committee
representing both employers and labor,
and that contains all terms and
conditions of the qualifications,
recruitment, selection, employment,
and training of apprentices.
★ Career Preparation—Work-based
instruction and training, either paid or
unpaid, provided cooperatively through
written agreements between the school,
the student, and an employer in an
occupational training, site-based
environment.
★ Internships—A method of work-based
instruction that requires a written
cooperative arrangement with business
or industry where a student enrolled in a
career and technology education course
works without pay in a technical
occupation to acquire occupational
knowledge and experience in all aspects
of the business or industry.
★ Job shadowing—A work-based learning
experience without pay involving the
student physically following a mentor to
observe all the processes and practices
involved in a job assignment; such
learning experience may also include
some hands-on training for the student.
The vision for AchieveTexas is that all
students will participate in one or more
extended learning experiences during high
school.
Create Local Opportunities
Develop a full roster of extended learning
experiences available to students in your
community. Start by creating an inventory
of those that are already available, then
collaborate with business partners (see page
16) to create new ones. In an ideal system,
students see how academic and technical
skills are applied in the world of work.
An innovative program in Texas has students saying
“bon appetit!” while they learn to run small businesses.
The Texas Restaurant Association is in its fifth year of
implementing Entrepreneur 101, which links academics
and career preparation for students interested in owning
and operating a business.
The high school curriculum uses a school-based
restaurant to teach students entrepreneurial skills. As part
of the program, students undertake responsibilities as the
owners and operators of the restaurant, with the
assistance of experienced business professionals and
educators. The program is currently operating an
Outback Steakhouse located in Westside High School in
Houston and a Carmelo’s Ristorante at Del Valle High
School in Austin. A second Outback Steakhouse will open
at Emmett Conrad High School in Dallas in the spring of
2007.
“The program teaches students how to run and
own a successful business,” says Yvonne Loya,
Director of Programs & Events for the Texas
Restaurant Association. “The example we use just
happens to be a restaurant.”
Loya says that through Entrepreneur 101
extended learning, students develop technical and
entrepreneurial skills necessary to manage an
enterprise. Additional curriculum segments have also
been created to integrate other courses into the
experience, such as accounting, math, chemistry, art,
English, languages other than English, government,
—Yvonne Loya, Director of
layout and design, merchandising, and marketing.
Programs & Events, Texas
This ensures that students are exposed to all aspects
Restaurant Association
of an industry, from keeping the books and designing
the menu to legal and sanitation requirements.
Students are also offered the chance to obtain ServSafe® certification. ServSafe® is a
comprehensive food service sanitation program that is accepted as the national standard by
more than 95 percent of state and local jurisdictions. After passing the 80-question exam,
students qualify for a food handler card from the United States Department of Health.
Entrepreneur 101 requires support from local communities to get restaurants running. Loya
estimates that the total cost of the program is near $1 million per location. To offer the program,
schools must have an unbranded restaurant or dining area on campus, or they must hold a bond
election for Entrepreneur 101 that provides for building and branding the restaurant as they go.
“We’re learning with experience, and as we continue to do so, we can begin to evaluate and
improve our progress and success,” Loya says.
“These students are
getting a really
good picture of
how every class
they take in high
school can and will
affect their future
careers. And they
aren’t just hearing
that they’ll use this
stuff, they already
are using it.”
Page 15
Step Seven
Build Strong Partnerships
Establish a local Business-Education Success Team (B.E.S.T.)
Creating Your Vision
One of the first activities your local
partnership can tackle is establishing your
vision for your local system. Ask the group to
imagine what will be changed in your
schools by the year 2012, the year the state
has set as a goal for full implementation of
AchieveTexas. Ask such questions as:
★ What clusters will have been
implemented?
★ How will students’ learning experiences
have changed?
★ What extended learning opportunities
will be available to students?
You may want to have the group undergo a
formal visioning process as you create your
local system. This can involve everything
from a meeting of stakeholders led by a
professional facilitator to smaller community
meetings or surveys and questionnaires. A
clear vision gives you and your colleagues a
common goal for which to strive.
Establishing a clear vision in the beginning
will save time later.
Once your vision is clear, document the
vision and identify the steps necessary to
make it a reality. Use the information in this
booklet to frame your work and establish
responsibilities for developing career
clusters, career pathways, and Texas
Achievement Plans. Be sure to set
achievable timelines and celebrate
milestones as they are reached.
Page 16
If you’ve read this far in this
booklet, you’re probably
thinking, wow, this is going to
take a lot of work. You’re right!
AchieveTexas is an ambitious effort to
redesign education and fully integrate
college and career education in Texas P–16
education. That’ s no small task.
Fortunately, you are not expected to do it
alone. That’s because one of the primary
goals of AchieveTexas is to vastly increase
the quantity and quality of partnerships
supporting education throughout the state.
Partnership is one of the basic principles of
AchieveTexas, particularly between
education and business. The idea is to
spread the tasks of system building over
large groups of educators and employers.
It’s the entire community’s job to help
construct a strong pathways system for your
schools and students.
Texas B.E.S.T.
The plan is to build a partnership called the
Texas Business-Education Success Team, or
B.E.S.T. This team would bring together
leaders from education, business and
industry, government agencies, professional
and trade organizations, and other groups to
implement AchieveTexas. This may include
discussing policy issues, including how best
to promote AchieveTexas. The biggest
responsibility of this group, however, will be
to build buy-in to the redesign of Texas
education among leadership, so that all
share a common vision for education in
Texas. The Governor's Industry Cluster
Initiative has brought business and industry
to the table with recommendations and
willingness to do what is necessary to build
the buy-in to the redesign of Texas
education among leadership, so that all
share a common vision for education
in Texas.
AchieveTexas in Action
PrimeWay
Houston Independent School District
www.houstonisd.org
Create a Local B.E.S.T.
You should create a B.E.S.T. to oversee
implementation of your local pathways
system. Generally, these partnerships are cochaired by a representative of education,
such as the district superintendent, and
business, such as the CEO or president of a
local company. Membership is drawn from
the education, employer, government, and
civic community, including Chamber of
Commerce representatives. There is no
standard size for such a group, but they
commonly have 10 to 20 members to
represent all stakeholders.
Start recruiting your B.E.S.T. by thinking
about strong leaders in your community.
Ask:
★ Who are the leaders who care most about
students and their success?
★ Who has contributed positively to
education initiatives in the past?
★ Who is respected enough so that others
in the community will listen when he or
she endorses a pathways system?
★ Who has knowledge of emerging career
opportunities in your region?
Plan for your B.E.S.T. to become a
permanent part of the education system in
your community. Seek input on what clusters
and pathways to offer students. With
businesses’ help, rewrite curricula, redesign
instruction, and revise assessments to reflect
real-world standards of student performance.
Form Other Partnerships
Besides formal partnerships implementing the
pathways system, there can be countless other
less-formal partnerships created to support
your system. This could be a partnership
among a secondary school, a postsecondary
institution, and local banks to offer internships
to Finance students. All kinds of partnerships
are possible at all levels, all built around the
goal of helping all students succeed.
Students at Wheatley High School in Houston are
taking their education to the bank as part of a local
partnership with PrimeWay Federal Credit Union that
will soon bring a financial institution to campus.
“We’re moving into our new school building this
summer, and our plan is to develop a fully operational
credit union within the school,” says Wiley Johnson,
principal of Wheatley.
Johnson started at Wheatley in the fall of 2005. It
didn’t take him long to learn that the school’s
previous administration had been in contact with
PrimeWay about a finance course. Johnson was
aggressive about expanding the idea to a full
finance curriculum. He says that Wheatley already
has several career cluster programs that provide
hands-on real-world experience, and that adding
finance was a natural progression.
The finance curriculum is in its pilot stage.
Students use PrimeWay’s mobile banking unit as a
classroom where they study concepts ranging from
managing their own bank accounts to standard
banking regulations and business management.
—Wiley Johnson, Principal,
Students also have the opportunity to become
Wheatley High School
certified bank tellers, which gives them a
marketable skill upon graduation. In addition,
PrimeWay, which has seven branches across Houston, provides guest instructors for
classes and participates in curriculum development and assessment. “Some of my
students are sitting in class saying, ‘Yeah, I can use this when I enter the job market,’”
Johnson says. “But I’m telling them that they already are in the job market. PrimeWay is
really assisting us in making that link with the career path, and helping students to
understand the reality of it.” Wheatley’s long-term vision for the program is that students
will be able to service customers at its branch office at the school and learn about
banking practices.
The program is also looking towards an articulation agreement that will award
college business credit to PrimeWay students at some Texas colleges and universities.
One of Johnson’s goals as Wheatley’s principal is to foster a college culture on his
campus that gives students a range of options to make connections from the classroom
to the outside world. He hopes to include many more partnerships with local businesses.
“I would like to see defined career paths that assist students on their way, and enable
them to tweak their educations as they see fit,” Johnson says. “The big picture is that no
matter what students’ plans are after high school, I want to see them graduating with
skills and abilities that make them desirable to employers.”
“Our PrimeWay
partnership provides
a unique opportunity
for our students that
encourages them to
begin building on
their futures today.”
Page 17
Step Eight
Offer Professional Development
Create professional development programs that help educators constantly expand their skills
Texas educators are among the
best in the nation. They are
caring, capable, and committed
professionals who believe that
all students can learn.
Teaching
Active Learning
Much of AchieveTexas professional
development will be focused on
encouraging educators to abandon
lectures and rote memorization in favor
of teaching the way we know works
best. It’s no secret that active, hands-on,
contextual, problem- and project-based
learning is far more effective at engaging
students and motivating them to
achieve. Using real-world situations and
problems while teaching shows students
that what they are learning is relevant to
life outside school.
Recent research suggests that students
don’t drop out of school because
learning is too hard, but simply because
it is boring. Teaching teachers to utilize
active, hands-on learning is a sound
strategy to prevent Texas students from
not completing their education and
reaching their career goals.
Active teaching pays off as more
students better grasp higher-level
knowledge and master sophisticated
skills. It is simply the right way to do
education.
Page 18
Still, everyone agrees that the education
system in Texas can improve. There’s still
much work to be done to ensure that all
students graduate fully ready for the rigor of
postsecondary education or training, and a
career. AchieveTexas challenges educators to
rethink their assumptions about how
students learn and how educators teach,
and it encourages them to develop better
curricula and design better assessment.
Educators will be asked to implement
new strategies as part of AchieveTexas. This
includes playing a role in career guidance
(see page 10); partnering with colleagues to
develop integrated, hands-on, active
curricula; and aligning programs that span
secondary and postsecondary education.
Professional Development
All this will require significant professional
development for teachers and counselors.
This should start in teacher preparation
programs throughout the state. Institutions
need to redesign programs to support the
pathways system, including expanding a
new teachers’ sense that they have a
significant role in preparing students for
college and career success.
AchieveTexas seeks to dramatically
increase the quantity and quality of
professional development for educators, so
that they are fully comfortable with
implementing local pathways systems. This
AchieveTexas in Action
ACE Mentor Program
Dallas Independent School District
www.dallasisd.org
includes familiarizing teachers and
counselors with the major components of
AchieveTexas such as career clusters, career
pathways, and Texas Achievement Plans. It
means instilling a spirit of collaboration
among all educators.
As a local system builder, you and your
colleagues should provide professional
development programs that help teachers
and counselors adopt AchieveTexas practices.
Design an ongoing series of learning
experiences that puts the principles of
AchieveTexas into practice. Create a
professional development program that is
active, hands-on, and engaging.
Use Education Service Centers
Professional development experiences to
support AchieveTexas will also be provided
by Education Service Center (ESC) staff. The
ESCs will be responsible for providing
technical assistance to schools that support
the pathways system, including professional
development programs. They will give
smaller districts a way to collaborate to share
resources and offer pathways that the districts
might not be able to provide individually.
Business and Industry
The Governor’s Industry Cluster Initiative
supports valuable opportunities for
professional development through
internships, externships, and even team
teaching with industry experts. Company
executives report their willingness to share
expertise and resources to ensure that
teachers and students learn about emerging
technologies and career opportunities.
These collaborative relationships expand
teachers’ knowledge and skills while better
preparing students to make career choices
and enter the workforce.
Seniors at Skyline High are building brighter futures thanks
to mentors from the ACE Mentor Program of Dallas-Fort
Worth.
They are introduced to architectural, construction, and
engineering (ACE) career fields through a unique program
that brings together professionals from these industries and
offers students access to networking and scholarship
opportunities.
ACE Mentors from 16 organizations adopt students from
Skyline’s architecture magnet program to create mentoring
teams. Industry leaders included in the program are HKS
Architects; Thornton-Tomasetti Group; Lopez Garcia Group; the
University of Texas at Arlington; and Hospital Corporation of
America; among others. The firms focus on introducing
students to the real-world challenges and rewards of design
and building careers.
The partnerships take shape at a time of growth in the
construction industry. The number of construction workers
nationally increased from 5 million in 1994 to 6.7 million
in 2003, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Job growth projections indicate construction employment
will increase more than 15 percent in the next few years.
Tom Cox, ACE Mentor board member and Architecture &
Construction Cluster Coordinator for Skyline, says the 16
firms work together to develop a program that includes
hands-on activities, tours, video presentations, and site visits.
As part of the curriculum, students are given a design
challenge in which they are guided through each stage of the
—Tom Cox, Skyline Architectural
assignment by ACE Mentors teaching the principles and
Cluster Coordinator and ACE
skills of architectural design.
Mentor board member
“It’s great to give the students exposure to the entire
design and construction process,” says Cox. “The seniors are going to be making some big decisions
about their future careers, so this experience will prove invaluable for them.”
Along with experience planning, designing, and executing a construction project, Cox notes that
students are also given the chance to network with future employers. Another benefit for the Skyline seniors
is the opportunity to earn the $2,000 Humphries Scholarship to the University of Texas School of
Architecture from the Dallas Architecture Foundation and HKS Architects.
The one-year program culminates each spring in an end-of-year presentation of team projects to
family members, friends, and educators. Students present their projects through models, drawings,
electronic graphics, and other materials as well as explain their approach, challenges, and solutions.
Steve Milner, president of the ACE Mentor Board of Directors, credits the program’s success to the
commitment of the Dallas Independent School District, Skyline students, and the volunteer mentors.
“The focus of all involved has remained on positively introducing students to the fields of architecture,
construction, and engineering in a way that facilitates true career opportunity and potential,” he says. “I look
forward to the great things that this organization will accomplish as it supports the growth of students
discovering ACE-related career paths.”
Page 19
“Not only does the
Skyline Architecture
Cluster introduce
students to the
professional
environment and the
various occupations,
it allows them the
opportunity to
network with future
employers.”
Pathways Resources
Resources for building your AchieveTexas system
AchieveTexas
www.achievetexas.org
This new website will provide information
and resources to help schools redesign their
programs for the 21st century. Tools and tips
for implementing AchieveTexas will be
available. Look for Career Pathway Models,
model program descriptions,
implementation tools, and frequently asked
questions.
American School Counselor
Association
www.schoolcounselor.org
This professional organization works to
support school counselors as they guide
students in academic and social
development.
America’s Career InfoNet
www.acinet.org/acinet
This is the place to search for occupational
information, industry information, and
state-specific labor market information.
Career Voyages
www.careervoyages.gov
This is a career planning resource for
students, parents, career changers, and career
advisors.
Governor’s Industry Cluster
Initiative
www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/
initiatives/Industry_Cluster/Industry_Cluster_
SP/view or www.twc.state.tx.us/news/
ticluster.html
The State of Texas has identified six
industry clusters that will better position it
to compete nationally and internationally
for jobs of the 21st century. The Office of
the Governor, Economic Development and
Tourism division and the Texas Workforce
Commission have formed state and regional
partnerships to foster growth and
development of the six target clusters. This
site addresses the strategic plan, defines the
Page 20
clusters, and gives the rationale for
selection.
High Schools That Work
www.sreb.org/programs/hstw/hstwindex.asp
An education reform model developed by
the Southern Regional Education Board,
High Schools That Work (HSTW)
emphasizes 10 key practices for improving
high school education, including
opportunities for out-of-classroom
education and higher standards for all
students.
KUDER
www.kuder.com
The Kuder system gives students resources to
help them make better informed decisions in
planning their futures. Students have lifetime
access to an education planner, resume
builder, and educational and occupational
exploration options.
Labor Market Career
Information (LMCI)
www.cdr.state.tx.us
This site provides students, teachers, parents,
and counselors with links to products and
services offered by LMCI. Teachers and
counselors will discover materials, tools, and
information that will help them to provide
effective career counseling.
National Centers for Career and
Technical Education
www.nccte.org
A consortium of five universities noted for
research in career and technical education,
the National Centers use their website to
make available a wealth of information on
career-oriented education.
O*NET
(Occupational Information Network)
online.onetcenter.org
O*NET provides full information on
occupations, including compensation,
employment prospects, and skill matching
for students. Information on compensation
is available on a state-by-state basis.
Reality Check
www.cdr.state.tx.us/RealityCheck/
This site allows students to search for careers
starting with the expenses they need to cover,
the salaries they want to make, or their career
choices.
States’ Career Cluster Initiative
www.careerclusters.org
This organization disseminates information
on the 16 federally defined career clusters. It
has published brochures as well as
knowledge and skills structures (catalogs of
knowledge and skills required for different
occupations) for each of the 16 clusters of
jobs. Both sets of publications are available
online at the organization’s website.
Texas Education Agency
www.tea.state.tx.us
The state’s education website is the place to
keep up with the latest developments in
Texas schools.
Texas High School Project
www.tea.state.tx.us/ed_init/thsp/index.html
The Texas High School Project is a $261
million public-private initiative committed
to increasing graduation and college
enrollment rates in every Texas community.
The project is dedicated to ensuring that all
Texas students leave high school prepared for
college and career success in the 21st-century
economy.
U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Outlook Handbook
www.bls.gov/oco
This nationally recognized resource offers
information on job responsibilities, earnings,
working conditions, and job prospects for
the future.
What Does That Mean?
This glossary defines key terms related to the AchieveTexas system
AchieveTexas: the name for Texas’ college
and career pathways system.
Articulation agreements: formal agreements
between or among educational organizations
(high schools, technical colleges, four-year
colleges, and universities) that align courses
and majors from one educational institution to
another in a way that allows a systematic and
seamless student transition without loss of
course credit or time for the student.
Career advancement: continuing education
that allows adults to expand their skills and
advance in their careers.
Career awareness: age-appropriate career
guidance activities for kindergarten through
grade 5 to help students develop an
understanding of the world of work and the
relationship between education and careers.
Career clusters: a way of organizing curricula,
instruction, and assessment around specific
occupational groups (for example, Information
Technology or Health Science) that offers
students core academics, coursework related to
specific occupations, and extended learning
experiences.
Career concentration: academic and technical
activities provided in high school enabling
students to follow Texas Achievement Plans and
complete college and career preparation.
Career exploration: career guidance activities
provided in middle school enabling students to
identify their career interests and abilities and
explore careers to facilitate their college and
career decision-making process.
Career guidance: structured developmental
experiences presented systematically from
kindergarten through grade 12 that help
students analyze and evaluate abilities, skills,
and interests.
of activities, courses, etc., that meet the
requirements of two or more educational
organizations.
Career Pathways System: a way of
redesigning education around career clusters
and career pathways and connecting what
students learn in school to their career goals.
Targeted Industry Clusters: Six industry
clusters that have been identified as highdemand, high-growth, with high wage jobs and
are the economic engines of Texas.
Career pathway: a way of organizing the
curricula and educational activities within a
career cluster related to a student’s specific
academic or career goal.
Texas Achievement Plan (TAP): an
educational plan suggesting the high school
courses a student should take to prepare
successfully for graduation and transition into a
profession or postsecondary educational
experience. The vision for AchieveTexas is that
all 8th graders, in consultation with their
parents/guardians, counselors, and teachers
will select a career pathway and create a TAP.
TAPs are to be reviewed and revised at least
once each school year.
Career portfolio: a collection of student work
indicating progress made in subjects, activities,
or programs. In a career cluster systems,
portfolios are often used to assess student
performance in extended learning experiences.
Dual credit: credit given at both the high
school and college for college-level courses
taken while in high school.
Extended learning experiences: Career
learning and outside-the-classroom learning
experiences such as job shadowing,
internships, and service learning.
Education Service Centers: 20 centers that
provide technical assistance and professional
development support to educators.
Professional development: training for
educators and educational support staff that
help them stay informed about current trends,
issues, and best practices in education and
their respective fields.
Seamless system: a system established for
the delivery of a curriculum, program, initiative,
etc., that promotes efficiency by reducing
duplication and providing a logical progression
Page 21
Texas Career Clusters
Texas’ 16 career clusters are based on those developed by the U.S. Department of Education.
Schools and districts may adopt these or develop their own clusters based on the local economy.
Processing, production,
distribution, financing, and
development of agricultural
commodities and natural
resources.
Designing, managing, building,
and maintaining the built
environment.
Executing governmental functions
at the local, state, and federal levels.
Processing materials into
intermediate or final products.
Providing diagnostic and
therapeutic services, health
information, support services, and
biotechnology research and
development.
Performing marketing activities to
reach organizational objectives.
Performing scientific research and
professional technical services.
Creating, exhibiting, performing,
and publishing multimedia
content.
Managing restaurants and
other food services, lodging,
attractions, recreation events,
and travel-related services.
Managing movement of people,
materials, and goods by road,
pipeline, air, rail, and water.
Providing for families and
serving human needs.
Organizing, directing, and
evaluating functions essential to
productive business operations.
Providing education, training, and
related learning support services.
Lifelong Success for All Students
Designing, supporting, and
managing hardware, software,
multimedia, and systems
integration.
1701 North Congress Ave.
Austin, TX 78701-1494
512-463-9581 (phone)
512-463-8057 (fax)
www.AchieveTexas.org
Planning finances and investments;
managing banking, insurance, and
business finances.
Providing legal, public safety,
protective, and homeland
security services.
It is the policy of the Texas
Education Agency not to
discriminate on the basis of race,
color, national origin, sex, or
handicap in its career and
technical education programs,
services, or activities.
Copyright © Texas Education
Agency, 2006. All rights reserved.