Charting the future of Career & Technical Education in the Capital Region

What should career and technical education in the Capital Region look like in the year 2010 and beyond? That is the question before the division as it embarks upon a new strategic planning process. In preparation for that planning, the division authorized a series of presentations and interviews with selected members of the component school staffs. This was followed up by a survey of a larger audience of people who are familiar with our programs and have a pulse on student needs. The purpose was to gather input on where the division should be heading.

This page has been developed to provide a complete resource of information on the presentations, interviews, survey and all other materials related to the strategic planning process.

• "Charting the Future" Executive Summary - Here is a summary of the findings and recommendations from the final report.

• "Charting the Future" final report  - Here is the full report, which combines and analyzes the results of both the interviews and survey.

• Complete report in PDF form - Here is the complete document with cover, executive summary, full report and survey charts.

• Survey results - These charts provide an overall look at the results of the survey administered to component school staff members in December 2005. (The same charts are included in the complete report listed above.)

• Survey comments - Here are the written comments from the survey listed by question.

• "Charting the Future" presentation - In this PowerPoint presentation given to component school staff members during the months of October and November, Director Hank Stopinski outlined the changes that the division has undergone in recent years and the challenges that still remain. He also gave an overview of four innovative programs in other parts of the state and country, and he shared a vision of what career and technical education might look like in the Capital Region in the year 2010 and beyond.

• Four model programs - Here are profiles on the four innovative career and technical programs highlighted in Director Hank Stopinski's presentation. They include the Huron Valley Schools in Highland, Michigan, the Ulster County Career & Tech program in Port Ewen, NY; the River Valley Technical Center in Springfield, Vermont; and Polytech High School in Woodside, Delaware.

• One vision of the future - This is one vision presented by Director Hank Stopinski of what career and technical education might look like in the Capital Region in the year 2010 and beyond. This vision will most likely change and expand as the strategic planning process proceeds.

• "It's a flat world, after all" - This article by New York Times Columnist Tom Friedman provides a good analysis of what is happening in the global economy and how that impacts today's students.