Pattern Seeking in Education Leadership

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I have had the rewarding experience of visiting many schools throughout my career. I calculated that I’ve been in over 2,000 schools, seeing some of the best and some of the weakest. There is no doubt that education leadership is the most critical factor in creating high-quality schools. However, I observed significant variation in outstanding leaders’ backgrounds, voices, personalities, demeanor, and approaches. But, what makes a successful leader?

I am a pattern seeker, always trying to connect the dots of vast amounts of information into a logical pattern or organized list. This has served me well in a variety of work situations. I often thought about the patterns that could be applied consistently to define outstanding school leaders. Schools are not like manufacturing factories or digital processes. Schools are more like living organisms. For several years, I’ve described these patterns in terms of the characteristics of the natural world, which are the principles of nature which makes it sustainable. Great school leaders understand this consciously or unconsciously and are good stewards of school ecosystems. I am writing again about connecting the Principles of Nature to leading and learning in schools.

I have created a list of 12 principles of nature that apply to the dynamics of school systems and how each applies to good leadership characteristics.

The Principle of Nourishment
The Principle of Self-Preservation
The Principle of Self-Regulation
The Principle of Self Organization
The Principle of Unintended Consequences
The Principle of Socialization
The Principle of Exploration
The Principle of Procreation
The Principle of Adaptation
The Principle of Entropy
The Principle of Diversity
The Principle of Natural Selection

Leadership Practices from Nature

The Principle of Nourishment in Leadership requires supporting team members with essential resources to be productive and reach their fullest potential. It is also vital to avoid wasting resources and retain additional resources for emergencies and new opportunities.
The Principle of Self-Preservation in Leadership acknowledges that team members’ first instincts are for personal well-being; however, when established relationships and trust exist, there is a commitment to a common goal of survival.
The Principle of Self-Regulation refers to a leader’s ability to manage their emotions, impulses, and behaviors in a disciplined and constructive manner. It involves staying calm under pressure, thinking before reacting to model the behavior they expect from others.
The Principle of Self-Organization in Leadership reveals that leaders do not always need to initiate every change or action. When there are clear goals, teams often self-organize to operate, effectively complete tasks, make changes, and improve.
The Principle of Unintended Consequences in Leadership requires anticipating that many actions or decisions can have unintended consequences, and it is essential to consider the bigger picture, think ahead, and take steps to mitigate negative impacts.
The Principle of Socialization in Leadership emphasizes facilitating positive social interactions and promoting a sense of community among the team.
The Principle of Entropy in Leadership requires leaders to maintain order and structure within their team and organization to prevent decay and chaos. Also, leaders pursue continued growth and improvement to prevent the organization’s decline.
The Principle of Exploration in Leadership encourages leaders and their teams to explore new ideas and take calculated risks to foster growth and innovation. This is most often done by identifying and supporting risk-takers.
The Principle of Procreation in Leadership stresses identification, training, and mentoring to develop future leaders within the team and organization to ensure continuity and growth.
The Principle of Adaptation in Leadership describes the need to be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances and to guide teams through changing conditions and new challenges.
The Principle of Diversity in Leadership demands that groups acquire a diverse talent pool of team members to address ever-changing needs and aspirations. Leaders promote and value diversity within the team to foster creativity, innovation, and adaptability.
The Principle of Natural Selection in Leadership encourages leaders to recognize and reward team members who demonstrate initiative, potential, and skills, and encourage their growth and development.

I plan to write about these characteristics, illustrating examples of school leaders I’ve observed. I invite feedback on my characteristics of the principles of nature as they apply to school leaders. Richard Jones

Small Steps Moving Toward Big Collaboration

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High school leaders visiting a school with career academies or team teaching cannot help but be impressed with student engagement and enthusiasm for their projects. While this level of collaboration is impressive, the reaction is often that the level of collaboration might work in that school but certainly not with their school. Visiting principals reflects on how most high school teachers are comfortable with their subject and see little need to reach out to work with others. High levels of integration among academic and CTE teachers take time and must be a gradual process rather than a large-scale change. It is more effective to work gradually to elevate high levels of integration. The various models in the recently published Synergizing for Success: Academic and Career Integration for CTE give school leaders options to consider that might be easier and more effective to implement in their schools.

There are also small steps leaders can take to build a greater understanding of the instructional strengths of other teachers and the importance of academic and technical courses in preparing students for career readiness. This blog offers some small steps as suggestions for working toward integration.

Cross-Subject Observations – Ask teachers to spend one or two planning periods on another subject. Asks CTE teachers to observe academic teachers and vice versa. Give teachers 2 or 3 simple things to observe and then collectively summarize teacher observations. Examples of questions are: What are observed strategies to increase student engagement? How does the teacher make the instruction relevant to students? What are effective teaching strategies you could adopt
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) – Form PLCs that include subject and CTE teachers focused on common goals like improving literacy across the curriculum or integrating technology. The PLCs provide a structure for ongoing collaboration.
Joint Professional Development – Identify relevant professional development opportunities that bring subject and CTE teachers together to learn new strategies for integrating academic and technical content.
Employer Visitation Day – Identify several local employers to host short visits by small groups of teachers. Mix the groups with CTE and Academic areas. Ask employers to describe their business and the most essential skills for their employees. After visits, have teachers come together to share what they have learned and the lessons for the school’s programs.
Part-time Academic Coaches -Hire an instructional coach or retired Math or English teacher to observe CTE instruction and offer suggestions on how the CTE teachers might reinforce literacy and math in everyday instruction.

These can be small steps to open deeper conversations about more formal integration models and practices to benefit students and their preparation. If you have additional suggestions that worked in your school, add those in the comments.

WBL- Career Learning Option Gets a Fresh Look and Needs Different Data Practices

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Work-based learning (WBL) is getting increased attention and gaining a fresh look in schools. WBL has always been a learning strategy in career education. The opportunity to learn from professionals in a real workplace with authentic materials and customers is the oldest form of career learning. However, over the last several decades, WBL has been an afterthought as Career and Technical Education focuses on building laboratories, preparing and certifying teachers, and requiring accountability with technical assessments and credentials. All of these efforts have greatly improved the quality of CTE as a more popular and successful learning pathway in K-12 schools.

Greater interest in WBL is occurring for several reasons. First, there is greater interest in CTE in general because students seek more contextual learning, and simply continuing to college without a career goal can be an expensive waste of money. WBL provides a less expensive option for expanding CTE, which has little need for facilities and difficulty recruiting CTE teachers. Further, the diversity of careers and sophistication of technology make operating dozens of programs cost-prohibitive. The environment for expanded WBL is very positive.

In a survey conducted by American Student Assistance, 79 percent of high school students expressed interest in participating in work-based learning experiences, but only 34 percent were aware of any opportunities within their age group. A report, K-12 Work-Based Learning Opportunities: A 50-State Scan of 2023 Legislative Action, by American Progress, highlighted the array of WBL state initiatives such as promoting increased access to and equity for learning opportunities, amending youth labor laws, providing dedicated funding for WBL, establishing private-public partnerships, and strengthening program requirements and data reporting. Thirty-four states now use work-based learning in their size, scope, and quality definitions for CTE-required accountability.

Education data has many purposes and audiences and WBL data needs a fresh look. WBL is an instructional unique form, and the data measured in CTE are not necessarily effective with WBL. Three important data uses to consider with WBL are improvement, advocacy, and accountability.

WBL data improvement differs from other CTE instruction because employers provide the instruction, and teachers/administrators have little direct observation of student work. More data must be collected to decide the scope of student learning and where and when improvements should be made. This demands greater use of technical and work habit descriptions and student portfolios describing work.

WBL advocacy data is also different because administrators cannot observe student engagement and learning in school labs. Student learning is a partial answer to convince school leaders of the value of WBL, but also testimony and perceptions of employers are important external advocates for WBL. In addition, WBL hours can be converted to dollar value as an economic impact of how important WBL is to the community.

WBL accountability is often superficially measured in hours completed. This is a convenient measure, but additional data needs to be collected on the type of WBL. For example, job shadowing hours are a very different learning achievement than operating a CNC manufacturing lathe.

I am thinking about WBL and data since I will be presenting on the topic next week at the ACTE Region 1 conference in Manhattan. I prepared a paper on WBL Data Practices, which is available online for download. As CTE grows in schools and work-based learning expands, we need to simultaneously enhance data collection and use.

Teaching in a World of Generative AI

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As someone who has worked in education for over 50 years, I believe this is one more technological advance that teachers, administrators, and parents will ultimately adjust to. Still, there will be bumps and bruises along the way. It is up to us to teach students how to use these apps for positive learning.
I am preparing my contribution to ethically and effectively use this technology in schools. I teach a graduate course in Education Leadership for prospective school administrators in Integrating Technology in schools. I have been teaching this course for eight years, and its content has changed significantly as rapid technologies have invaded schools. Last year, I introduced the topic of Generative AI, which triggered questions and conversations among educators who needed more awareness of this new technology. This year, we will dive deeper into ways to use AI as a teacher tool and how to help students use the tools effectively and ethically. Simply ignoring or banning the Generative AI is not a solution. Neither is trying to punish suspected AI use since the current tools to detect AI writing still lack accuracy.

My preliminary thoughts on how administrators, teachers, and students can use AI productively in teaching and learning are below.

Craft Clear Policies: Establishing clear policies on the allowed and prohibited uses of generative AI in assignments is crucial. Not all generative AI is a form of plagiarism. Apps can be used to brainstorm, organize, and revise. This clarity ensures that both teachers and students understand responsible AI use.
Communicate Expectations: Some schools have set policies defining levels of AI use, and teachers communicate to students which AI uses are appropriate for each assignment. Clearly communicate to students the appropriate and inappropriate use of generative AI tools in technical skill assignments. Guiding on when and how AI can be used and the consequences of misuse helps set expectations.
Do Your Homework: A teacher must explore many new apps and understand their features. There must be more time to be an expert on these, but be curious, listen, and keep yourself informed. The Common Sense organization website shares excellent suggestions and links to the most used education apps. There continue to be dozens of articles on this new technology. Stay active in your professional organizations and literature.
Modify Assignments: Teachers can modify written assignments to minimize the effectiveness of generative AI. Following are some ways to modify assignments. Teachers can even use AI to alter this. The app MagicSchool.ai has many teachers’ tools for writing and will also rewrite your student assignments to make this more AI-proof.
- Make Assignments Personal: Design questions that are personal, reflective, specific, and local examples, making it more challenging for students to use AI to write a whole assignment simply and with little thought.
- Encourage Higher Order Thinking: Designing assessments that promote higher-order thinking skills, such as analyzing, evaluating, and creating, can deter students from relying solely on generative AI tools.
- Scaffold Assignments: If the learning goal is to improve writing, break down assignments into chunks, requiring students to provide outlines, first drafts, and final papers explaining their decisions and learning process. This approach focuses on the process rather than just the final product.
- Incorporate Video Presentations: Include oral or video presentations where students explain their work and learning, adding a layer of accountability beyond written submissions. In some cases, replace a written assignment with a video and PowerPoint to reveal what students have learned.
- Relevant Assignments: Focus on student tasks that require hands-on application, problem-solving, or practical demonstrations that are challenging for AI to replicate accurately.
Analyze AI Power and Limitations: With older students demonstrate AI tools, analyze AI-generated content from different perspectives related to academic integrity, authority, validity, and trust within the course context. Have students analyze AI-generated work in groups, focusing on evidence, sources, bias, and other critical aspects of the course content. AI can be a powerful learning tool.

These ideas will get you thinking and talking as I work on my plans for updating my course graduate students this summer.

Deeper Student Learning Using CTE Advisory Committees

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Every CTE teacher understands the importance of having an active advisory committee of local employers and community members. Developing relationships with these individuals and working regularly with them is critical to the success of CTE programs. Advisory committees can support programs with recommendations for off-site learning experiences, serve as judges for assessments, suggest state-of-the-art equipment, locate professional development opportunities for teachers to remain current, and also offer student work-based learning sites. To learn more about best practices working with Advisory Committees use the ACTE CTELearn course Leveraging Community Resources to Energize CTE.

However, it is the advice of advisory groups regarding curriculum planning that is essential. Employer expertise identifies the technical competencies and which ones are a priority to enable teachers to establish a curriculum. Any curriculum conversation also swings from technical skills to discussions of work habits, which employers call soft skills. Employers stress how important these behaviors are; teachers need to weave these into instruction on student projects and give feedback consistently. However, CTE instruction also needs to include the integration of academic knowledge and thinking. This is how to deepen student learning, not just to be able to perform a work task but to engage in problem-solving while doing the work. It may not seem obvious to CTE teachers and advisory committee members, but their input is valuable in helping CTE teachers integrate academic thinking.

The challenge to working with an advisory committee is asking the right questions to create productive conversations and yield information teachers can use in instruction. In many cases, CTE teachers may avoid conversations on academic integration, or if they do, the questions are too general or too detailed. Questions need to be specific and relatable to the employers’ experiences.

For example, asking, “Should CTE students have mathematics?” is a broad statement. Probably every committee member will respond yes, but that doesn’t give the teacher many directions on what to do instructionally. Do they need to give up technical time for students to take more math courses? Do they create math problems and tests? Definitely not! At the other extreme, giving employers a list of the dozens of required high school math standards is overwhelming and uncomfortable to employers. This is too much detail and too much education jargon and is very distant from the work employers are doing.

A better source of questions for this mathematics example is to use some of the Mathematical Practices from the Common Core Standards that define the broad concepts of Mathematics. For example, starting with the practice of “Attend to precision in measurement,” ask employers to explain situations where determining the correct precision is essential in their field. Consider starting with these broad mathematical concepts and ask employers to identify the importance in their work. Another set of conceptual statements is the Science and Engineering Practices. Consider how employers could provide instructional suggestions when you ask about work tasks that require What examples of the need to “Ask questions and define problems” or What ways workers “Analyze and Interpret data are. Questions like these will more likely lead to ideas to help CTE teachers apply mathematics and science in CTE instruction. These thinking processes will help make students more successful and are part of the process of connecting traditional academic content and CTE programs.

The following are several conceptual-level standards that can be excellent prompts for questions for CTE Advisory Committees when thinking about academic integration strategies. Start each phrase with, Share examples in your business where effective workers must……..?

Ask questions and define problems
Plan and carry out investigations
Analyze and interpret data
Attend to precision in measurement.
Use mathematics and computational thinking
Utilize critical thinking to make sense of problems
Solve problems mathematically
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Construct explanations and design solutions
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
Observe and describe patterns
Communicate clearly and effectively and with reason.
Demonstrate creativity and innovation.
Use technology and digital media strategically and capably.

GroupThink–The Opposite of Thinking About Groups

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The term groupthink comes to mind when listening and thinking about public issues. Groupthink is the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility. Groupthink can be a powerful constructive or destructive force. The groupthink that arises around preserving the comfort of the status quo harms organizations. College leaders are losing respect as they are caught up in groupthink. Politicians of every party echo common beliefs and ignore other opinions–groupthink. It is comfortable to stay within the boundaries of shared beliefs and uncomfortable to consider different points of view. But listening to the opinions of others (and being uncomfortable at times) is precisely what leaders need to do in making the best decisions for all groups.

When I was a manager in the NYS Education Department working on new curriculum and standards, we embraced many innovative ideas. We had one member of the team who we all referred to as the curmudgeon. He always seemed to be opposed to the group’s ideas. But listening to his opposing views helped us take more thoughtful actions rather than too radical a move. The opposite view helped us avoid staying in our comfort zone of groupthink and stop and reflect on all groups and how our choices might affect everyone rather than satisfy our ambitions.

Leaders need to avoid the comfort of groupthink and continually think about groups and their needs. I hope political leaders will cast aside groupthink, but that is beyond my expertise or influence. Education leadership is my experience and an area I can speak to. Influential school leaders thoughtfully consider student, staff, or community groups. There is always a shiny and loud groupthink opinion that drives school decisions and overwhelms diverse opinions. Consider recent issues such as school closures during the pandemic, child gender issues, or parent involvement. Leaders must avoid getting sucked into the vortex of following the crowd. When everyone around you thinks the same, you might be in a groupthink bubble.

I recall a paper I wrote on Overwhelming Cultural Inertia https://nyctecenter.org/images/files/Publications/Overwhelm-Cultural-Inertia.pdf and trying to reshape College and Career Readiness in schools. The overriding groupthink was that college readiness was the ideal pathway, and career readiness was a path for some. Actually, it is the opposite: career readiness is the perfect pathway, and college is a path for some.

Many groups fail to speak up against the majority group’s voice to correct their co-members’ mistakes. Mindlessly following group thoughts often amplifies those mistakes. The loudest voices of a few may establish the impression that the school is doing well and that public criticism is unjustified. Groupthink simply echoes this impression. Leaders, however, must avoid joining in the groupthink and seek to redirect by asking questions, such as, “How can this school do a better job with ALL students?” or “What can we learn from models where ALL students do better?”

Our politicians have harmed their political parties with groupthink and ignoring the needs of all party members. At the school level, administrators can show better leadership by supporting students in avoiding groupthink and thinking about groups by asking questions and making better decisions.

Big Picture Thinking in CTE

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What makes a great employee? Ask any employer, and the list includes showing up, following directions, and having the technical skills to do a task safely and accurately. These skills will make a worker a good employee, but what makes an employee great? Then, the list grows with behaviors such as taking initiative, identifying work to be done without being told, not wasting materials, and calling attention to minor problems before they become serious problems. These behaviors make great employees and can be labeled Big Picture Thinking. Within CTE instruction, teachers need to develop technical skills, work habits, and elements of Big Picture Thinking.

Big-picture thinking is a thinking strategy that focuses on the entirety of a concept or idea instead of on each individual detail. This thinking helps prepare for the future and envision the opportunities ahead. Big-picture thinking is the ability to envision broader, high-level concepts and patterns to see beyond the immediate and create a broader plan for the long term. Big-picture thinking also allows you to see improvement opportunities and reinforces the real reason for the activities you do daily.

Trade workers need big-picture thinking. They must see the overall project and understand how their work fits the larger picture. They must be able to anticipate potential issues and plan accordingly. Big-picture thinking is essential for trade workers to ensure their work is done correctly and safely and meets the project’s needs.

Here are some real-world examples of trade workers who have demonstrated big-picture thinking in their projects:

A construction worker noticed that the building design did not consider the local climate and suggested changes to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs in the long term.
A plumber identified a potential issue with the water supply system and suggested changes to prevent future problems.
An electrician suggested changes to the electrical system to improve safety and reduce the risk of power outages.
A carpenter suggested changes to the building design to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
An HVAC technician suggested changes to the heating and cooling system to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs in the long term.

These examples demonstrate how trade workers can use their expertise and knowledge to think beyond the immediate task and contribute to the project’s success as a whole, and ensure that it meets the needs of the client and the community.

Here are some strategies to encourage big-picture thinking in the CTE program:

Encourage brainstorming sessions where students can share their ideas and perspectives on the project as a whole.
Provide training on the overall project and how each student’s role fits into the larger picture.
Encourage students to ask questions and seek clarification on the project’s goals and objectives.
Foster a culture of collaboration and communication among students to ensure everyone achieves the same goal.
Provide opportunities for students to take on leadership roles and make decisions that impact the project as a whole.
Ask students to think beyond the immediate task at hand and consider how their work will impact the project in the long term. This can be done by asking them to reflect on the purpose of the task and how it fits into the larger picture.
Encourage students to think creatively and outside the box. This can help them develop innovative solutions to problems and think beyond the immediate task.

By implementing these strategies, students can develop their big-picture thinking skills and contribute to the project’s success as a whole. It is important to remember that big-picture thinking is a skill that can be honed and developed over time. Everyone can benefit from thinking beyond the immediate and considering the long-term impact of their work

I have drafted a few sample Big Picture Rubrics to use with students.

Embracing AI in Writing: Overcoming Apprehension Towards Technology

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I have always explored new technology, trying to understand it and think about ways it might make my work more productive and efficient. Recently, like many people, I have thought a lot about AI Large Language tools that have burst onto the scene. I write to convey to others my perspective on learning, and I teach a course for educators on writing a Literature Review as part of an Ed.D dissertation.

Writing is hard, and it takes focus to transfer thoughts to clear writing. I appreciate tools that make the job less time-consuming. Re-writing has always seemed a boring task, I admire professional editors, but that is a job I do not aspire to. Spell and grammar checkers do make the editing process almost fun to keep score to reduce my errors. Even more important than fixing my writing, I appreciate the prompt feedback I get.

Search tools help me recall a book reference or famous quote that is a foggy memory in my brain. Now, comes along Large Language Generative AI that can produce written scripts about any topic. This could be a bigger breakthrough to make my writing more efficient. My writing personal blogs are one thing, but I worry about my graduate students and the ethical questions of what constitutes original writing in a dissertation. I remind these doctoral candidates that their dissertations will become their first major scholarly work published and available online for anyone to search for perpetuity. It is critical that they ethically write their publication and cite any reference that is not their thoughts. But, why not use the best technology to support your thinking and writing? The goal is to create a quality dissertation, not necessarily a rating of their writing skills.

I have been using the app Grammarly for about two years now, and it is a regular part of my writing process. I don’t always agree with its rewrite suggestions, but it does a great job of finding errors and helping improve my work. I also have experimented with a couple of AI tools, ChatGPT and Perplexity. It is fun to experiment with what the tools can write based on prompts. Brainstorming with one of these tools is almost like chatting among a team of peers searching for ideas.

Grammarly Go is a new AI-based subscription service offered by Grammarly. It helps writers begin the writing process, brainstorm ideas, develop a research plan, and create a potential outline, Users can improve their writing with various advanced features, such as a check for plagiarism checker, vocabulary enhancement suggestions, and a tone detector that can analyze the tone of their writing and provide feedback and suggestions to improve it. Grammarly Go is an impressive tool for anyone looking to improve their writing skills and take their writing to the next level.

Information on Grammrly Go can be reviewed in this recent. Blog on Grammarly Go Also, this recent webinar Making the Generative AI Leap demonstrates using Grammarly Go and includes a thoughtful higher education discussion by Univ. of Florida professor Sidney Dobrin author of AI and Writing.

I plan to continue to use and learn about Grammarly Go to improve my writing and produce more ideas in written form. I will share this with my graduate students as well. Discussing this openly is the best way to avoid them thinking this is a shortcut to creating a Literature Review or making it easier to obscure plagiarism. Discussing this with students helps to avoid those unethical behaviors. Their goal is still to develop their thinking to create a comprehensive research document. There is always some reluctance to embrace new technology, and somehow, in the back of our minds, that technology will diminish real learning from the “good ole days.” I plan to embrace AI tools just like I enjoy Internet searches over thumbing through a library card catalog.

The Trouble with Lazy Criticism in Education

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In today’s polarized political climate, it’s all too easy to dismiss those we disagree with by slapping on a convenient label like “extremist” or “radical” rather than thoughtfully considering their positions. This lazy criticism circumvents meaningful debate and divides us further. This lazy criticism shuts down meaningful discourse and divides us further. Lazy criticism is a problem in education as well.

We fail to understand nuances when we dismiss an education idea as simply “extreme” without examining it deeply. We don’t ask questions, review evidence, or reflect on our biases. No progress is made towards compromises that serve students best.

For instance, expressing an opinion on issues such as gender affirmation charter schools. or excessive suspension as “extreme” stops thoughtful analysis of potential benefits and drawbacks. Instead, sincere dialogue is needed to understand the reasoning and facts behind such ideas.

True discourse requires empathy, critical thinking, and open exchange of views. If we instantly reject education proposals as extreme, we lose opportunities to find common ground.

Next time you feel tempted to dismiss an education opinion as extreme, pause. Make an effort to grasp the rationale and evidence behind it. Ask sincere questions, avoid condescension, and be open to changing your mind. More complexity may emerge than expected.

With open and respectful discussion of education issues, we can gain perspective, find solutions, and reconnect across divides. But it begins by dropping lazy criticism and engaging in substantive arguments based on facts rather than labels. The future of our students depends on thoughtful, civil discourse.

Overcoming System Obstacles to Academic Integration

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In an earlier blog, I discussed some significant obstacles in schools that make it difficult to increase teacher collaboration among academic and CTE teachers to bring more relevance and rigor to instruction. These obstacles include diploma requirements, teacher certification, teacher security, and teacher evaluation.

This blog provides suggestions to school leaders on strategies to help to overcome these institutional system barriers. The first of these are several state initiatives that will likely require lobbying for State Education Department policies to allow greater flexibility.

States should allow more opportunities for integration through crossover credit. Often there are academics immersed within Career and Technical education courses. When this occurs, students can earn a single course credit but can be used to meet two credits in graduation requirements by checking off both a Career and Technical course and an academic course. States can establish the conditions under which these credits can be awarded, which provides great flexibility for students.
Another Initiative states can provide is to designate individual courses that can be assigned to multiple teacher certification areas and/or diploma requirements. As more and more technology is introduced in education, there becomes a greater overlap of courses. An example is computer graphic design, which can be used to satisfy art requirements or a CTE program.
The state should provide more alternative routes for certification. instead of the traditional model of students going on to for your college and earning an education or teaching certificate, individuals changing careers should have opportunities to earn teaching credentials based on their work experience. This is an opportunity to bring more diverse teachers with real-world experience and increase the pool of potential teachers. Teachers with industry experience often see more opportunities in instruction to bring relevance to their teaching and, depending on experience, could hold certificates in Academic areas and CTE.
More and more states are considering moving away from the traditional Carnegie unit diploma requirement, where courses are based upon a time requirement and perhaps end-of-course assessments. This competency-based approach awards achievement based on actual skills developed, often including student performances. A competency-based approach provides greater opportunity for students to achieve the diploma requirements through more integrated project-based learning.

Following are local initiatives school leaders can embrace within existing requirements and the structure of the school.

Schools have great latitude to name the courses that they are using creatively. Oftentimes a creative name can be used to designate a course to fit within an academic credential or a Career and Technical education credential and avoid violating certification and teaching requirements.
Many high schools have early college options in which students take college-level courses while in high school, particularly in P-Tech program, which is an early college technical program between high schools and college. It is often convenient to have college professors teaching a high school course where there is greater flexibility in teaching the course and not requiring a traditional High School teacher certification
Often a struggle in a school schedule is matching the available teaching staff with the courses individuals need to complete a particular program. School leaders should not be limited by existing staff and their certification limits. There are opportunities to hire part-time teachers that may come in for a course or two that can provide a particular course that a student needs or includes an integration element.
An important model for integration is to provide consulting teachers who work part-time with Career and Technical Education teachers to strengthen the academics within that curriculum. Schools are familiar with using special education consultant teachers to assist other teachers. The same can be done with academic teachers on a part-time basis or a teacher working across many CTE teachers.
Another option that often gets in the way is the teacher evaluation structure. Often these teacher evaluations are based on more of performance and student test scores. This makes teachers reluctant to work outside of their discipline. It’s important to examine your evaluation criteria to ensure it is not inhibiting teachers from working together to benefit student achievement.
When school leaders confront the situation of not having a certified teacher for a particular instructional situation, it may be necessary to help an existing teacher who wishes to assume that responsibility to earn that additional certification, and schools can provide some additional support for that teacher and pay tuition to earn the necessary credits.
Technology is rapidly changing the workforce, which is an opportunity for schools to consider Innovative or alternative CTE programs. School staff may have an academic teacher with a hobby interest in an area of technology, such as drones or geospace, which could become new CTE programs. if states allow the creation of innovative and alternative CTE programs, this may be an opportunity to build a new CTE program around an academic program that is fully integrated.
Schools should also examine their master schedule to determine whether the existing structure makes it difficult for teachers to collaborate. For example, creating more teacher planning time may allow more collaboration. Also, an option is to adjust the length of instructional classes to provide more opportunities for teachers to work together, or you may provide teachers the opportunity to make adjustments of students to devote time in different classes based upon the nature of the work and the student projects
States provide minimum diploma requirements, but many schools offer diploma requirements beyond those minimum requirements. This may be an opportunity to bring in more career programs or use programs differently that integrate academics and CTE to meet these new diploma requirements.
Even if the state has not moved to a competency-based system, there may be opportunities within the state requirements for Innovation. Within the school district, the school could create its own competency programs or performance option to use those projects to satisfy diploma requirements which could be credited in both academic areas and CTE.

Don’t let the system obstacles discourage increasing collaboration and connection to make instruction more rigorous and relevant. Administrators and teachers should work creatively to benefit students.