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CTE: A Springboard for Success
6/27/2011 By:
When it comes to competing
for jobs or gaining admittance
to two- or four-year colleges,
graduation from high school is a bareminimum
requirement. These days, students
can boost their chances of success
in landing jobs and launching careers by
earning technical certifications that are
highly valued by employers and colleges.
Lee County Public Schools, the ninthlargest
district in Florida and one of the 50
largest school districts in the United States,
has become a model for other schools in
equipping students with industry certifications,
including Adobe Certified Associate
(ACA) and Adobe Certified Expert (ACE)
programs that build professional-level
skills in Adobe® Creative Suite® Master
Collection software.
“Adobe is an integral part of our technical
certification programs,” says Jana
Hambruch, project director, Office of Zone
and Attractor Programs and Technical,
Career, and Adult Education for Lee
County Public Schools. “Adobe understands
education and shares our vision for
what we’re trying to accomplish with our
technical certification programs.”
The growing need for career and
technical education
Lee County Public Schools is heavily
focused on preparing students to excel
in an information-based society. In 2005,
the district launched the Academy for
Technology Excellence (ATE) at Dunbar
High School. Funded through a federal
magnet education grant, Dunbar’s ATE
serves an ethnically diverse student population.
A large percentage of Dunbar
students come from low-income backgrounds,
and some have limited English
language skills. Designed to accommodate
360 students in grades 9 through 12, the
ATE offers hands-on courses taught by
IT-certified instructors. A testament to the
program’s success in engaging students is
that well over 95% of ATE students—those
who started as freshman and remained in
the program for all four years—graduated.
Rigorous technology curriculum boosts
overall student performance
The ATE offers a wide range of information
technology classes to tap the enthusiasm
that many high school students have for
computers. As students finish courses
and achieve certifications, their grades go
up in other classes. Statistics also show
that ATE students score higher on average on state standardized tests score than
their non-Academy peers on the FCATs.
Hambruch attributes this success to the
test-taking strategies that ATE students
learn and to the demanding coursework
in the curriculum, which strengthens students’
ability to read, interpret, and process
higher-level information. They also
learn how to work in a collaborative environment
and how to think like mature
professionals.
“With technical certification programs,
we are building more than just technology
acumen,” says Hambruch. “We’ve shown
that the rigorous technology education
programs motivate students to excel in
other core academic areas like reading,
math, and science. It’s something the students
desire; you can see their excitement
the minute they start participating in the
industry certification programs.”
Students who may have not even envisioned
graduating from high school are
graduating with diplomas and real-world
job skills, with certifications to back up
the skills and a sense of confidence in
their abilities—and in the future. Some
Dunbar students have graduated with 19
different certifications over the four-year
program. Others have landed IT jobs with
titles such as application specialist, network
administrator, systems engineer,
and computer support technician.
Dunbar students who choose to go on to
college after graduating are also benefiting
from the program. A dual-enrollment option
enables students to earn high school and
college credits simultaneously. One student
was able to get a two-year jumpstart on pursuing
a degree in IT security.
An easily replicated model
Lee County has developed a cost-effective,
easily replicated model for training and
testing both instructors and students that
is spreading rapidly across the district.
Already, all 13 high schools and two technical
centers have a site license for Adobe
Creative Suite software. Eight high schools
have testing centers and new centers are
opening rapidly.
Two levels of Adobe certification are
available for Lee County’s educators and
students. The ACA certification, developed
and deployed by Adobe partner Certiport,
is a credential that validates entry-level
skills needed to plan, design, build, and
maintain effective communications by
using different forms of digital media.
“When I saw that Adobe offered the ACA
Exam Classroom License through Certiport,
I thought it was really visionary,” says
Hambruch. “It means we have lower costs
and simplified budgeting, which makes it
easier to expand our implementation.”
Hambruch believes the addition of the
ACA and ACE programs will be particularly
compelling for instructors and students.
Whether students are learning skills in the
context of illustration, graphic design, Web
design and development, or film design and
production, Adobe software provides the
same integrated workflow capabilities that
today’s working professionals rely on. A
common user interface and smooth integration
across all Adobe Creative Suite tools
enable students and educators to quickly
learn the software, explore creative options,
and work faster and more fluidly.
While in school, students can use the
software to produce impressive portfolios
that will get them noticed later, as well as
learn skills that will help them succeed
after entering the workforce.
“Students love using Adobe software,”
says Denise Spence, Magnet Grant
Technology lead teacher at Lee County
Public Schools. “It’s a central part of our
efforts to keep students engaged and prepare
them for the future.”
Learn More
To learn more about CTE, download
the free whitepaper here: http://www.adobe.com/go/k12ctewhitepaper
To watch a video about Lee County/
Brevard County CTE program, visit http://www.adobe.com/go/k12cteflorida