The Power of Career Connected Learning with Hans Meeder Hans Meeder

In this podcast, we will be learning about an innovative connection between a state flagship research university and charter schools that include an underserved population, with a special emphasis on increasing access to STEM careers.

Host Hans Meeder is speaking with Dr. Gary R. Bertoline and Scott Bess.
Dr. Bertoline is Dean of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and a Distinguished Professor of Computer Graphics Technology and Computer & Information Technology at Purdue University. 
To reach Dr. Bertoline by email: bertolig@purdue.edu
Mr. Bess is the Head of School for Purdue University’s Polytechnic High School in Indianapolis, which was launched in the fall of 2017.
To reach Mr. Bess by email: sbess@purdue.edu
More information about the Purdue Polytechnic High Schools
https://pphs.purdue.edu/

In this episode, we explore the new vision statement and report for Career Technical Education, called CTE Without Limits.
Hans talks with Kimberly Green and Kate Blosveren Kreamer, the Executive Director and  Deputy Executive Director of Advance CTE, respectively .
Advance CTE: State Leaders Connecting Learning to Work, was first established in 1920, and is the longest-standing national non-profit that represents State CTE Directors and state leaders who are responsible for secondary, postsecondary, and adult Career Technical Education (CTE) across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.
Advance CTE supports visionary state leadership, cultivates best practices, and gives a collective voice to advance high-quality CTE policies, programs and pathways that ensure career success for each learner. 
You can get links to the organization at CareerTech.org.
To download a copy of CTE Without Limits, visit https://careertech.org/without-limits

As we move from a rudimentary credentialing system that recognizes high school diplomas and college degrees, the number of “credentials” of all sorts has exploded.   How can the consumer seeking to upskill make sense of this?
On this episode, Hans interviews Scott Cheney, President of Credential Engine, an organization working to address the credential boom.  Credential Engine is a non-profit whose mission is to map the credential landscape with clear and consistent information, fueling the creation of resources that empower people to find the pathways that are best for them.
Credential Engine offers a wide range of freely available resources, as well as fee-based services that meet the needs of organizations managing credential and competency data. The fee-based services are tailored to your goals, whether you’re a government agency, credentialing organization, military body, employer, technology provider, or other stakeholder working toward credential and competency transparency. 
The mission of Credential Engine is “Making ALL Credentials Transparent & Revealing the Marketplace of Credentials.”
Credential Engine Website:  https://credentialengine.org/
Scott Cheney, Chief Executive Officer
scheney@credentialengine.org
202.257.0279
Scott Cheney is Credential Engine’s first Chief Executive Officer where he leads the organization’s efforts to bring transparency to credentials and reveal the marketplace of credentials. Scott has over 25 years of experience and brings a multi-faceted perspective to developing the skills of the U.S. workforce to meet the needs of the economy.
Prior to Credential Engine, he served as the Policy Director for Workforce, Economic Development, and Pensions for Senator Patty Murray and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. He led the reauthorization of the country’s central workforce development legislation, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Scott also led the Senator’s work to reauthorize Perkins, expand registered apprenticeships, provide training for ex-offenders to support successful re-entry, formalize research and evaluation standards at the Department of Labor, enhance services and resources for dislocated workers, modernize unemployment insurance, and better align workforce and economic development in distressed regions around the country. Previous positions with the Senator’s office include serving as a Senior Advisor on the Senate Budget Committee, and as her Staff Director for the HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.
Before going to Capitol Hill, Scott formed his own consulting firm, working with a number of states, companies, foundations, and think tanks on a host of education, training and employment issues. He also held positions with the National Alliance of Business the American Society for Training and Development, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and worked with foster-care, homeless youth, and adult literacy programs. His first paycheck in this career path came from Dr. Seuss.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Carleton College and a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University.
This episode is sponsored by:
Seamless WBL, the web-based platform to easily manage all your work-based learning and advisory board activities.  Go to: www.seamlessWBL.com
 

In this episode, Hans talks with Cate Swinburn, President of YouthForce NOLA. 
YouthForce NOLA is an education, business, and civic collaborative that prepares New Orleans public school students for successful pursuit of high-wage, high-demand career pathways and facilitates systems change to ensure equitable outcomes.
Find out more: https://www.youthforcenola.org/
Cate Swinburn is President of YouthForce NOLA.    See Cate’s biography at: https://www.youthforcenola.org/ourstaff
In the news:
This article in Education Next provides a helpful overview to the work in New Orleans.
https://www.educationnext.org/whats-next-new-orleans-most-unusual-school-system-in-america/
This episode is sponsored by Seamless WBL, the platform to easily manage all your work-based learning activities, both on-campus and off-campus!  Check it out:  www.SeamlessWBL.com

In this episode, we learn about the Academies of Grand Island School District in Western Nebraska.  I’m speaking with Jeff Gilbertson, Executive Principal of Grand Island Senior High and Daniel Phillips, Director of Career Education for the Grand Island Public Schools District.
Grand Island is a thriving small city in western Nebraska.  The city itself has an official population count of about 50,000 residents, and with the surrounding counties, the metropolitan area has about 85,000 residents.
Jeff and Dan have been integrally involved in leading a transformation effort for Grand Island’s Nebraska’s large and growing single high school (2500 students) into a series of Career Academies that include 20 college and career pathway programs.   Every student in the school is enrolled in an academy.  There is a Freshman Academy for 9th grade students, and five upper-level academies as follows:  The Academy of Law and Public Safety, The Academy of Engineering and Technology, The Academy of Business and Communications, The Academy of Technical Services, and the Academy of Medical Services.   Given the school’s size and close connections to the community, it has expanded to three total campuses, including a technically focused Career Pathways Institute, and other programs offered at the Wyandotte Learning Center.  And. while the academies function as small learning communities for the students, the school still operates as one organization under the leadership of Executive Principal Gilbertson.
MORE INFORMATION (PRINT AND VIDEOS)
Grand Island, Nebraska (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Island,_Nebraska
Grand Island Public Schools Academies
https://www.gips.org/Academies
 Overview of the Academies (Video)
https://youtu.be/O1W_I2kN7Cc
Exploring the Academies (Video)
https://youtu.be/pvp7jroer40
The Academy of Law and Public Safety (Video)
https://youtu.be/5YwumVoSnps
The Academy of Engineering and Technology (Video)
https://youtu.be/80lLpCbxv-A
The Academy of Business and Communications (Video)
https://youtu.be/90YNJ9_yqu0
The Academy of Technical Services (Video)
https://youtu.be/Ew24pS6ALsA
The Academy of Medical Services (Video)
https://youtu.be/FAAiqn6rvhY

In this episode, Hans interviews Dr. Rich Feller, expert practitioner and researcher on how children, youth and adults navigate career options and life transitions. 

Rich tells his story and his latest work in pushing through new frontiers in career development education.

Learn more about Rich and his work at https://www.richfeller.com/.

About Rich

Helping individuals and organizations maximize talent by reimagining work, learning and well-being choices. Inspired by education's promise, I try to honor learning styles, promote access and provide clarity about navigating a lifetime of transitions.  Former National Career Development Association President, consultant in all 50 states and six continents.

Awarded the University Distinguished Teaching Scholar status at Colorado State University, I consult on national projects, create career development tools, keynote, train, and research trends. Within www.lifereimagined.org (face-to-face and digital program for 40M+), www.youscience.com (aptitude assessment), www.cdminternet.com (and print version used by 14M+), www.valerproductions.com (CINE award winning), OneLifeTools, Inc. (face-to-face and virtual board game, online storyteller, and ConversationsMatter.life), and Senior Research Scholar within the Dept. of Elect and Computer Engineering. I collaborate to scale innovation and ideas.

Clients include Emerson, NFL, Jackson Financial, NASA, NSF, the UN, Asian Development Bank, Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs, Korea's Seoul Tech, China's Renmin University, and Peru’s First Lady.

Involvements: Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), Nationally Certified Career Counselor (NCCC) Licensed Professional Counselor, NCDA Fellow and recipient of the NCDA Eminent Career Award. I work to connect counseling, coaching and consulting concepts within large scale projects.

Vocational school and college admissions counselor, and parent educator -  early adopter of ACT’s Decide Program, basketball coach, various part-time jobs. Training by Albert Ellis, Carl Rogers, and Richard Bolles I learned to appreciate rational thinking, reflection's power, and skill identification. Within NIU's counselor ed faculty I was mentored by David Tiedeman, career information systems and designing careers visionary. Mark Savickas, Richard Leider, Joe Vasos, Mark Franklin, and Richard Rohr influence me greatly.

Family: Barbara, my best friend (wife) and physical therapist, and Chris, my hero (son), shape my decisions.
http://www.richfeller.com/