Regional Vocational-Technical School System (December 2000)

Regional Vocational-Technical School System (December 2000)

The Connecticut Regional Vocational-Technical School System (RVTSS) is a state-run network of schools providing academic instruction and trade experience. Secondary students receive a comprehensive high school education in conjunction with training in one of nearly two dozen specific trades. Adults receive full- or part-time instruction in about one dozen trades.

During portions of 1999 and 2000, the program review committee conducted its third study of the state vocational-technical (v-t) school system. The scope of this latest study was: (1) the ability of the system to identify and respond to changing job skill needs of the marketplace, particularly as the 21^st century approached; and (2) the job readiness of those completing v-t school programs.

The primary focus of the program review committee's recommendations was on steps the vocational-technical school system could take to increase its visibility and make the schools more desirable. While the system had made some changes, the committee believed more should be done to take advantage of the expanded resources the legislature was providing to improve the facilities and programs of the vocational-technical schools.

During the 2001 legislative session, the program review committee raised SB 1005, which included the language needed to implement the key recommendations in the report. Although that bill was not adopted, its major provisions were incorporated into sSB 1122, "An Act Concerning Revisions to the Education Statutes," which became Public Act 01-173. The table below summarizes the committee's recommendations and compliance to date.


Summary of Compliance with Committee Recommendations
*Recommendation*	*Status*	*Comments*
The state Department of Education (SDE) shall conduct a study of the relationship between admissions scores and performance within the v-t school system, and report at specific intervals on the progress and results of the study	Partial -- to date, deadlines have been met, but future tasks are required	P.A. 01-173 requires recommended study with slight changes in reporting deadlines. In January 1, 2002, report, SDE provided required enrollment data and indicated the measures it will use to assess individual components as predictors of success are grade point average, class rank, withdrawal rates, Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) results, National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) job readiness assessments, and the post graduation survey.
RVTSS should investigate opportunities to use faculty and graduate students from higher education institutions in Connecticut to conduct research projects that analyze existing v-t school system data and collect new data where appropriate	Full -- but ongoing activities required	RVTSS contacted state universities seeking interns -- one individual is currently providing 21 hours per week of database development; discussions are underway to obtain at least two more interns. A new staff position in the RVTSS central office is assigned to the admissions study and other student data studies.
RVTSS, the State Board of Education, and SDE should work together to define specific achievement goals for each secondary v-t school grade, which will be the basis for allocating additional resources if needed	Partial	P.A. 01-173 requires the State Board of Education to establish achievement goals at each grade level and identify a set of quantifiable measures for evaluating the performance of each v-t school. RVTSS staff have developed draft grade level expectations, which will be reviewed later in 2002 in conjunction with new basic skills requirements being identified for high school graduation and revised as needed.
RVTSS, the State Board of Education, and SDE shall identify a set of quantifiable measures to be used to create a performance index for each v-t school		See above.
RVTSS should make outreach to the business community a top priority and establish a position in its central office specifically to carry out this task	Full -- but ongoing activities required	P.A. 01-173 requires school directors to meet with members of the business community, but no new position created. RVTSS has taken a number of steps to increase awareness of the v-t schools, including weekly programming on 23 cable channels, development of web pages linked to the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) and the Department of Labor, meetings with citizens and trade organizations, and joint newsletters with CBIA. In addition, each v-t school director is to submit a written plan for assessing workforce needs, and half of a central office position has been earmarked for business and industry development efforts.
V-t system administrators and members of the Vocational-Technical School Committee should periodically invite local legislators to tour the v-t schools in their districts and become more familiar with v-t school programs	Partial	Legislative breakfast meetings have been held at several schools, and legislators serve as members of some Citizen Advisory Committees.
The central administration of the v-t school system should monitor the composition and meeting schedules of each v-t school's Citizens Consulting Committees	Full -- but ongoing activities required	RVTSS assistant superintendents are attending at least one Citizen Advisory Committee meeting for each of their assigned v-t schools.
Each regional vocational-technical school director should meet annually with representatives of all of the towns that send students to the v-t school	Partial	RVTSS directors sit as members of area superintendent organizations where items of concern are addressed monthly, and area superintendents are members of v-t school Citizen Consulting Committees.
Each regional v-t school director should meet quarterly with representatives of the towns that send students comprising more than 5 percent of the total secondary enrollment at the v-t school to work on developing programs that can be jointly sponsored		See above.

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