State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Award of Career Pathways Trust Grants

Details: Written by IVN; Category: California News; Published: 27 May 2015

Sacramento, California - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson awarded $244 million in grants today to 40 programs that blend academic and career technical education, connect employers with schools, and train students for jobs in high-demand fields, such as health care, advanced manufacturing, information technology, and software development.

The grants are provided through the California Career Pathways Trust (CCPT) program, which is the largest program of its kind in the nation. The program is providing nearly $500 million in career tech grants over a two-year period.

"My top priority is to better prepare California students for college and careers in the 21st century," Torlakson said. "Career Pathways provides vital support for innovative, practical, and effective career tech programs that keep students engaged in school and prepared for real-world jobs."

The state Legislature created CCPT in 2013 and allocated $250 million for the program in the state's 2013-14 budget. Last year, Torlakson awarded grants to 39 recipients. After seeing the program's popularity—the state received 123 applications requesting $709 million in CCPT grants last year—lawmakers approved an additional $250 million for this year. The program builds on Torlakson's Career Readiness Initiative.

CCPT grant recipients are tasked with creating sustained career pathways programs that link businesses, K–12 schools, and community colleges to prepare students for the 21st century workplace. Under Torlakson's leadership, the California Department of Education (CDE) administers the program. The department worked with the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office and the California Workforce Investment Board to identify the strongest applications based on a rigorous evaluation process.

"Career Pathways not only provides students with specific skills and training needed in modern industries, but it also helps employers fill high-demand jobs created by the new economy," Torlakson said. "These college- and career-ready students are what employers need to grow the regional economies of California."

CCPT-funded programs involve many dynamic sectors of California's economy, such as health care, engineering, transportation, agriculture, and public service. Companies participating include Kaiser Permanente, the giant health maintenance organization; Qualcomm, a global firm that designs and markets wireless telecommunications products and services; the Port of Los Angeles, which is part of the busiest port complex in the nation; and Intel Corp., a large multinational company that develops and manufactures semiconductor chips.

Career Pathways programs connect education to business through work-based learning that allows students to explore and experience real jobs under the mentorship of professionals in these industries. Work-based learning provides students with valuable opportunities to learn what is involved in various jobs, what kinds of skills are needed to be successful, and whether they want to pursue a similar job for a career.

"With the Career Pathways program we are strengthening partnerships among industry, K-12 public schools, and community colleges, and we are providing students with the type of career technical training that employers will reward with good paying jobs," said California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris.

Today's awards are in addition to the $4.2 million announced in April. Four examples of grants awarded today are:

The Metropolitan Education District — The MetroEd Consortium, which includes the Silicon Valley Career Technical Education Center (SVCTE Center), will use funds from this grant to add courses in its information technology sector in Cyber Security (new); Mobile App Design and Computer Coding (new); Cisco Academy; and Robotic and Drone Programming. It will also expand a variety of programs, including sports medicine, pharmacy tech, X-ray technician, radiology, fire fighting, law enforcement, and legal careers. It received a grant of $6 million.
The San Jose Evergreen Community College District on behalf of the Silicon Valley Engineering Tech Pathways, which promotes an integrated and accelerated system of K–14 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) career pathways targeted to high-demand careers in computer science, engineering technology, and advanced manufacturing. This project aims to create a seamless transition from career technical education to high-demand, high-wage careers in three industry sectors: engineering, advanced manufacturing, and information and computer technology. It received a grant of $13.2 million.
The San Diego County Office of Education on behalf of the San Diego County College and Career Readiness Consortium. This project aims to support career pathway programming county-wide through professional development for teachers and counselors, curriculum development and industry engagement with facilitation from the United Way of San Diego County. The project features career pathways in the following industries: advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and information and communications technology. It received a grant of $13.1 million.
The Sutter County Superintendent of Schools on behalf of the Northern California STREAM (Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Arts and Math) Pathways Consortium, which operates STEM-focused career technical education programs in the counties of Colusa, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba. Partners include the Yolo County Office of Education, all school districts in the counties listed above, the Yuba Community College District, 65 business partners, and 50 other sponsoring agencies. Pathways include agricultural mechanics, animal science, ornamental horticulture, plant and soil science, patient care, food services and hospitality, software and systems development, machining and forming technologies, welding and materials joining, legal practices, public safety, system diagnostics and service, structural repair and refinishing, and advanced transportation operations. It received a grant of $7.7 million.

Listed below are the fiscal agents for each of the 40 grant recipients, all of which have multiple partners. More information on each of these grant awards is available upon request.

Up to $6 million per award regional grant category:

Fortuna Union High School District.
Metropolitan Education District.
Templeton Unified School District.
Visalia Unified School District.

Up to $600,000 per award local grant category:

Delhi Unified School District.
Irvine Unified School District.
Merced County Office of Education.
Patterson Joint Unified School District.
River Oaks Academy Charter.
Sacramento Academic and Vocational Academy.