CTE: creatively supporting rural communities.

Imperatore, Catherine

Career and technical education (CTE) programs and institutions excel at meeting the needs of their students, whether in the heart of the city or in a far-flung rural area. CTE has been and continues to address the needs of the rural ecosystem through flexible delivery models (e.g., online learning), as well as through creative career exploration, partnerships, and programs that support local and regional workforce development. For these reasons, rural school districts have embraced CTE. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), rural high school students take more credits of CTE than urban, suburban or town-based students.

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Rural schools have many strengths, including small learning cohorts that allow for personalized instruction and involved communities that care deeply about local schools and students. However, flexibility and creativity are needed to address the transportation, technological and pedagogical challenges faced when small student populations are geographically dispersed. In rural environments, it can be difficult to find instructors qualified to teach a particular course or course sequence, to administer a variety of programs that meet the career interests of students and help them complete a career pathway, and to give students a range of career exploration and work-based learning experiences. While virtual learning can help fill these gaps, many rural areas are still building a technology infrastructure to connect students and teachers across distances. Furthermore, funding challenges underlie all these concerns.

Flexible Delivery Models

CTE has a long history of delivering education flexibly via a variety of models that support student learning and engagement, while at the same time tackling financial, geographic and access challenges.

The area CTE center is one of the most common models of CTE delivery, wherein courses are held in a centralized location for secondary students from multiple schools or school districts. Students are transported to a CTE center from their home schools for a certain number of hours per week. This type of delivery model is known by many names, including an area or regional technology center, joint technical education district, joint vocational school district, or board of cooperative educational services, depending on the state. In many cases, adult learners can also benefit from area CTE center course offerings.

By concentrating CTE expertise in one place, the area CTE center eases the burdens on rural schools and districts. Oklahoma is an example of a state that has effectively deployed the CTE center model. The Oklahoma CareerTech system delivers CTE through comprehensive high schools, which offer academic and technical courses, as well as through 29 technology centers with 59 campus sites. A number of these programs are located in rural areas, such as Western Technology Center, which is responding to the local need for health care and dentistry employees by educating youth and adults in these and other fields.

In addition, career academies are a more recent model of CTE delivery that helps students build skills key to the local economy. These academies, which are usually small learning communities within a larger high school, combine academic and technical education around a career theme, which is often carefully selected to ensure it meets the needs of the rural community. For instance, Wyoming's Campbell County High School Career Academies serve the needs of key economic sectors in the state, including energy and engineering, health science and human services, hospitality and tourism, and transportation.

Online Learning

Beyond brick-and-mortar delivery systems, virtual learning provides another way for CTE programs to impart skills to students. As rural technology infrastructure improves, computer-based simulations and virtual offerings benefit students who may not otherwise have access to specialized courses that enhance their career readiness. Examples include the South Dakota Virtual School and the Frontier Learning Network--which offers videoconference and online health services education to remote schools in north central Oregon.

Rural community colleges also benefit from improved broadband access: A 2010 National Research Center for CTE study demonstrated that approximately half of community colleges provide for-credit occupational programs with at least 50 percent online content. These online opportunities support a range of student populations, including adults transitioning into new careers.

Enabled by a U.S. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant in 2013, the Rural Information Technology Alliance (RITA) is a consortium of community colleges helping people into the IT workforce pipeline. Certificate and degree programs in areas such as cybersecurity, networking, database and mobile applications are being developed and expanded by North Central Texas College, as well as Pine Technical and Community College in Minnesota and its partners--Central Lakes College and Ridgewater College. Programming decisions are made with an eye to the specific workforce needs in each local area.

RITA is designed with the adult student in mind, providing support services and online, in-person and hybrid options. According to RITA Consortium Director Michael Olesen, the wraparound supports that help students enter the program, complete it and attain employment "cannot be overemphasized." Outreach to industry occurs formally and informally through advisory boards and faculty-employer connections. Industry partners are committed to assisting RITA programs with identifying and validating competencies and facilitating work-based learning.

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Online learning can also help secondary students make the transition to college through options for dual or concurrent credit. This is particularly important in rural communities, as individuals aged 18 to 24 living in rural areas were less likely to enroll in college than the national average, according to 2004 data from NCES. For instance, through the North Carolina Investing in Rural Innovative Schools program, high school students can earn as many as 21 college credits at no cost through local community colleges and online courses.

Career Exploration Experiences

CTE programs also get inventive when it comes to providing varied work-based learning experiences to students in rural communities with a limited number of employers or industries. West Virginia has devised a unique way to address this challenge, transforming classrooms into student-led businesses--or simulated workplaces--with the help of industry advisers. (Learn more about this initiative in the article "Work-based Learning in Policy and Practice" that appeared in the January 2015 issue of Techniques).

Vermont has also taken a novel approach to work-based learning. In the Green Mountain State, small businesses are key to the economy, but when firms have few employees or are operated by a sole proprietor, work-based learning opportunities can be few and far between for students.

The state has found a creative way to work with the challenges and strengths of an economy dominated by small businesses: student entrepreneurship. Student entrepreneurship can take many forms, including school-based businesses managed by students, mentoring from local entrepreneurs, and class projects to design business plans. Through teamwork and collaboration, students learn about product development, production and assembly, quality control, marketing and sales, and financial management-forming cross-disciplinary connections and building their skills. These activities are supported by a curriculum designed by the Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning (REAL) program. The state also promotes entrepreneurship through a business plan competition, as well as a boot camp held by the Governor's Institute of Vermont on Entrepreneurship, during which students develop business ideas and present their pitches before a panel of judges.

Career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) are another way for students to learn and practice technical skills and gain exposure to careers. These intra-curricular programs feature activities like community projects and career-based competitions. Students hone their skills under the guidance of CTE teachers (who serve as advisers) and industry representatives (who serve as competition judges). These organizations give much-needed mentorship to students in rural communities, as is the case with the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter of Richlands High School in southwestern Virginia. These students, supported by award-winning adviser Beth Goforth, have excelled in competitions and have held state and national FCCLA leadership positions.

Opportunities to travel and interact with education and business leaders equip students with a diverse set of skills.

Partnerships and Local Workforce Development

Rural CTE programs support regional and local economic development efforts by determining employer needs and offering programming to meet those needs. Educating and building up the workforce in a rural area often requires multi-faceted partnerships that leverage stakeholders' strengths and resources.

One such partnership can be seen in Alaska. To expand health-care education for students in the 49th state, several partners, including the Interior Alaska Area Health Education Center, the University of Alaska Anchorage and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, have combined their talents to implement a health care CTE program of study.

The program of study is offered at a number of high schools in Alaska's interior and across the state, and articulates to programs at the University of Alaska. An implementation guide facilitates rural school districts in establishing the program of study, addressing professional development, curriculum and necessary equipment.

On the postsecondary level, at Lake Area Technical Institute (LATI) in South Dakota, administrators review workforce projections and can devise new programs within a year, providing much-needed training options for local businesses. Employers are deeply integrated into LATI programs, supplying equipment, scholar-ships and work-based learning experiences, as well as supporting faculty salaries, according to a profile of the college by the Aspen Institute.

Rural colleges and school districts can also work with chambers of commerce and workforce investment boards to coordinate education and training programs with local or regional industry demand.

Conclusion

As these examples demonstrate, CTE educators and programs are skilled at addressing the challenges of the rural ecosystem. Through initiatives like Vermont's student entrepreneurship program and the Rural Information Technology Alliance, as well as CTSOs and models such as area CTE centers and career academies, CTE educators work with the challenges and strengths of rural communities to offer rigorous and relevant career pathways that engage students in planning for their futures; develop their academic, technical and employability skills; and provide opportunities for work-based learning and mentorship.

By delivering skills for further education and the workplace through flexible and creative methods, CTE holds the key to ensuring rural students achieve their full potential and to developing a prepared workforce that can respond to regional and local economic needs. Tech

By Catherine Imperatore

Catherine Imperatore is ACTE's research manager. E-mail her at cimperatore@acteonline.org.