Duval Design Thinking Workshop by HKS, Inc.

February 2022

Design Thinking Workshop Stakeholder Engagement Report in Support of Perkins V Grant

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) Stakeholder Engagement Findings Report

Contents 01 Overview

What is Design Thinking? Duval County Strategic Plan & CLNA Executive Summary 02 Design Thinking Workshops Rose/Thorn/Bud Abstraction Ladder Importance/Difficulty Ladder Round Robin Affinity Clustering 03 Framing Opportunities Key Takeaways Application to CLNA 04 Appendix Survey Insights

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

iii

Overview

“Everyone can — and does — design. We all design when we plan for something new to happen, whether that might be a new version of a recipe, a new arrangement of the living room furniture, or a new lay tour of a personal web page. […] So design thinking is something inherent within human cognition; it is a key part of what makes us human.” - Nigel Cross

What is Design Thinking?

Origins In recent years, leading brands such as Apple and Disney have propelled worldwide interest in Design Thinking as a framework for challenging initial assumptions and patterns of thinking to bring new innovations to market. While widespread adoption has been popularized by Google and GE, Design Thinking is not a new approach. Born from the writings and work of several leaders in the 1960s, Design Thinking became an amalgation of approaches, all of which sought ways to challenge current behaviors to alter existing situations into preferential scenarios. Design Thinking was the first step for practice areas such as industrial and product design to distance themselves from engineering and the sciences, moving away from singular ways of working and thinking, deviating from hyper-specialized teams to include a cross-section of thinkers and a break from lab-like environments and rigorous testing and evaluation. In the decades that have followed, Design Thinking has continued to evolve, pulling together a toolkit of best practices for discovery, research and rapid idea generation from an array of creative and critical thinking fields. Coupled with lessons learned from economic and business sectors, the toolkit includes approaches to monitor and measure against desired outcomes identified early on in the process. What is Design Thinking? Today there are many variations of Design Thinking in use across a multitude of industries. In any one of the variations, there are between three and seven steps, phases or modes depending on application and scale of effort. The steps, phases or modes are not to be understood as sequential but rather can often run in parallel with one another, or repeated as needed to facilitate iterative analysis informed by insight. Common amongst all variants is an exploratory and iterative process that applies human-centered methodologies to promote innovation by leveraging the power of people, diverse stakeholder collaboration and interdisciplinary design teams. By asking people at the center of the problem under investigation to challenge their initial assumptions, you’re more apt to create empathy to build consensus around the greatest need and collectively brainstorm a multitude of solutions which push past individual bias. Rather than simply identifying a problem and creating an immediate solution, Design Thinking allows ideas to be rapidly generated, prototyped and tested in an iterative manner. Solutions are then insight informed, implemented and tracked for evaluation. The result is an outcome-driven process that approaches design from a more diverse perspective, exploring and putting forth solutions which are co-authored by the users the solutions seek to serve.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Overview

Our Process

Our Process HKS believes diverse voices are the key to solving our complex, global, shared challenges. Our intradisciplinary design team employs the Design Thinking process in framing research questions and developing methodologies that will be instrumental to link insight to impact. Our process leverages both divergent and convergent thinking during the design process as a catalyst to support exploration and ideation of new technological, pedagogical, and environmental innovations with the end user in mind while facilitating consensus-based decision-making. Our Design Thinking process is comprised of three phases, each of which are divided into two steps.

DEFINE

DESIGN

GAIN UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITIES

DISCOVER

COLLECT DATA

Define

DISTILL

INTERPRET

DELIVER

ITERATIVELY EXPLORE SOLUTIONS

ACT, IMPLEMENT AND MEASURE

IDEATE PROTOTYPE

EXPLORE OUTCOMES

CREATE OPTIONS AND TEST

Design

IMPLEMENT

EVALUATE

TRANSLATE LEARNINGS

TRACK AND ADVISE

Deliver

Leverages ideation and prototyping Focuses on gaining a deep understanding of current challenges to iteratively develop, test, and refine strategies. and opportunities.

Proposes solutions to inspire others toward action.

Within each phase different research methods will be utilized to support a holistic design process that actively incorporates relevant evidence, user feedback, and best practices to develop an evidence-informed, culturally relevant, and forward-thinking approach that aligns with a district’s mission, strategic goals, and guiding principles.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Overview

District Strategic Plan

Duval County Public Schools Strategic Plan In July 2021, Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) released their 5-year Strategic Plan and of the four goals identified, Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs were a specific focus for meaningful and measurable performance improvements over the course of the following five years. Goal Four reads as, “Career Technical Education (CTE) programs will be recognized as high-performing with the percentage of programs becoming novice, or moving from 1 performance level to the next (advanced, master, or national model) increasing from the baseline in July 2021 to July 2026.” 1 The Strategic Plan seeks baseline improvement over the course of the next five years to include an increased: • Number of students who start and complete a program. • Percentage of high school students who pass industry certification and/or license assessments. • Percentage of high school students who successfully complete a first year CTE course with a grade of C or higher. With a goal structure aimed at increased sustainable performance for students, and a new Director of Career and Technical Education programs for the District, Jill Fierle, there is renewed energy to gain a deep understanding of current performance metrics, challenges the programs face and obstacles that may impact a student’s ability to access and complete programs. Ms. Fierle, with the support of her experienced team, is transferring these assessments into actionable plans for increased investments and renewed partnerships with local businesses and industries in support of District goals and her department’s mission to “prepare employable, productive citizens who can adapt to a rapidly changing and highly technological global community.” 2

Excerpt from Duval County Public Schools Strategic Plan July 2021-July 2026

1 Duval County Public Schools, https://dcps.duvalschools.org/cms/lib/FL01903657/Centricity/Domain/4440/2021-2026%20 Strategic%20Plan%20Remediated.pdf [website], (accessed March 28, 2022). 2 https://dcps.duvalschools.org/domain/10168 [website], (accessed March 28, 2022).

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Overview

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Process diagram, Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment Toolkit 2.1 to guide applicants.

Perkins V Grant Signed into law in July 2018, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) was a bipartisan measure that reauthorized the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, previously known as Perkins IV. With nearly $1.3 billion allocated annually to career and technical programs across the nation, the measure supports our nation’s youth and adults as they seek opportunities “to explore, choose, and follow career and technical education programs of study and career pathways to earn credentials of value.” 3 DCPS has successfully secured funding through the Perkins V grant program in years prior, and is set to renew their application for funding in May 2022. As a condition of the funding, applicants are required to conduct a Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) every two years. The CLNA provides guidance for planning on budgeting prompts when completing the Request for Application (RFA).4 The CLNA merges data collection from a variety of sources (Bureau of Labor Statistics, CareerSource, etc) and a needs consensus gathered from a diverse group of stakeholders that must include at a minimum, representatives from the following groups: • Career and technical education programs in a local educational agency or educational service agency, including teachers, career guidance and academic counselors, principals and other school leaders, administrators, and specialized instructional support personnel and paraprofessionals; • Career and technical education programs at post-secondary educational institutions, including faculty and administrators; • State board or local workforce development boards and a range of local or regional businesses or industries; • Parents and students; • Special populations; • Regional or local agencies serving out-of-school youth, homeless children and youth, and at-risk youth (as defined in section 1432 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965); • Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations in the State, where applicable; and • Any other stakeholders that the eligible agency may require the eligible recipient to consult. The intent is to engage with, and gather input from a wide network of stakeholders who are the most knowledgeable and have a deep understanding of the needs of students, and programs to support the District’s strategic goals. 3 Perkins Collaborative Resource Network. “Legislations and Regulations: Perkins V.” https://cte.ed.gov/legislation/perkins-v, [website], (accessed March 28, 2022). 4 Florida Department of Education. “Perkins V - Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment - Toolkit 2.1.” https://www.fldoe.org/ academics/career-adult-edu/perkins/clna.stml [web document], (accessed March 14, 2022).

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Overview

Executive Summary

Stakeholder Workshops As a means of engaging a wide network of stakeholders, DCPS opted to host a series of identical collaborative workshops to facilitate discussions and aid in rapid data collection. Invitations were sent out to over one hundred (100) potential participants who represented the diverse stakeholder groups and who could offer insight and understanding of the program needs to improve upon student success. The workshops were structured to accommodate the various scheduling needs of DCPS staff and faculty, business partners, community members and leadership teams. Forty (40) participants attended three (3) workshops held across two days, February 23rd and 24th. Utilizing the Design Thinking framework, a human-centered collaborative process, participants were engaged in a series of individual and small group activities to uncover the current strengths/weaknesses/potential of the existing programs and individually identify necessary outcomes to improve the student experience. They worked together to prioritize needs and evaluate the feasibility of outcomes as it related to impact on student success. Lastly, they explored potential solutions, offering peer feedback to one another regarding viability and whether these solutions could lead to measurable design solutions. Each of the participants offered a unique perspective and openly shared lessons learned while leaning into empathy and gaining an understanding for other viewpoints. Findings Report The Stakeholder Engagement Findings Report is a summation of the data gathered during the workshops, including insights gained during the activities as stakeholders shared their thoughts, and discussed their diverse experience. From the information gathered, key takeaways have been identified, as well as proposed actions that may potentially inform funding priorities and strategic focus areas over the next several years. In addition to the takeaways from the workshops, two (2) online surveys were developed and sent out to separate stakeholder groups to facilitate additional data points. The first survey, a follow-up meant to gather information and feedback from participants unable to attend one of the three workshops held in February. Following an analysis of the diversity of the attendees, it was desirable to gather more input from instructors and leadership team members from area schools who could provide insight into the individual programs themselves. The second survey, designed to illicit comment and feedback from students and/or their parents/guardians offers greater perspective on the student experience and how this can be a focus for future improvement. The results of this task can be found in the Appendix section of the report. Workshop Outcomes and Insights One of the primary purposes of the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) is that it requires each educational entity to assess whether they are developing and managing their respective programs in alignment with the local labor market needs. The process encourages applicants to take a deep dive into their current programs, curriculum structure, and policies that facilitate access and completion. In addition, stakeholders are asked whether the physical facilities, tools and equipment, and the quality of the instructors are adequate, and whether they are facilitating the skill development needed for students to pursue advanced training and/or gain employment upon graduation. What often becomes evident is that there are always areas of focus which are successful, and conversely, areas which need additional attention such as resource investment. For Duval County, the success are as follows: • For Duval County to make CTE a strategic focus as part of the 5-year commitment demonstrates tremendous promise for implementing processes that strive to increase awareness around the importance of these programs and continuous investment in their improvement in support of the County’s mission.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Overview

Executive Summary

• The Academy structure currently utilized creates excitement around the programs, consistency in delivery and facilitates a community of support for students, faculty and staff. • There is a great deal of support from local business partners and industry leaders to be more involved. • The talent pipeline is an area of concern that everyone is seeking to address. There is unyielding consensus that there is a synergistic relationship and mutual benefit if the local and regional community work together. The workshops and the data collected also demonstrate there are a number of areas that require additional resources and time spent to better develop strategies aimed at improvement. There are a number of areas that require more assessment and understanding in order to better understand the impact. Areas of focus include: • Leadership Support: While the District’s Strategic Plan includes CTE as a focus area over the next five years, the accountability for employing and implementing strategies aimed at achieving these goals has not been incorporated into the performance goals for School Leadership. This creates inconsistency in support and processes for students, mixed messaging for advisors and counselors, and ad hoc procedures for engaging with business partners. If the Principal of each school offered the same approach to integration, this would ensure there is a program champion and identified at each location. This point of contact would facilitate consistent messaging in alignment with the District’s mission. It would also benefit measures aiming to provide an equitable student experience across the District. • Recruitment and Retainment: This focus pertains to both instructors and students. Currently faculty is often siloed from other teams and/or colleagues, reportedly often pulled from their own classrooms to teach core subject areas when there are deficiencies in staffing (especially during COVID). In addition, there is no succession planning and when an instructor vacates their position for any reason, the program often suffers. While many believe this hardship is largely due to salary limitations in education versus competing industries, others stated that teaching is a passion, and a calling, and the issue is not insurmountable. Creative ways to address the issue included: seeking sponsorships from business partners to subsidize incomes, creating funding streams for more professional development or externships, and creating cross-disciplinary teams to help offset isolation and promote collaboration. Most called to action a need to celebrate CTE program participation and completion, as well as the instructors who facilitate student engagement. • Perception: Similar to the issues regarding recruitment and retainment, perception of CTE as a viable and valuable path equal to, if not greater than, college-bound pathways needs to be a focus of communication and outreach efforts. Conversations amongst stakeholders suggested a strong marketing strategy and communication plan was needed. Focus should include communicating opportunities and how to learn more regarding processes and next steps for students, audiences to include students, parents and/or guardians. Messaging should focus on demonstrating program value related to skill development and life-long learning continium. Similarly, stakeholders discussed the need to not only help students see CTE as a job opportunity, but as an entry to a career path that could inform future educational pathways. Students need more touchpoints with knowledgeable counselors and advisors who can support students gaining exposure to CTE programs earlier in their academic careers. This would facilitate early pipeline development and help students see potential in themselves beyond high school, which is especially important for vulnerable populations. As Duval County considers the priorities for Perkins V funding, it is advisable to consider investment in career coaching within individual schools to help support leadership teams and increased professional development programs to demonstrate commitment to faculty and staff. Investment in student outreach intiatives to include more exposure to programs in elementary and middle schools, additional support for counselors and advisors in lowincidence programs to showcase opportunities for advancement and celebrating success stories to build moral for both students and faculty shows promise in reinforcing the mission of CTE and the District. For more detailed takeways and considerations, refer to Section 03: Framing Opportunities.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Overview

Acknowledgments

We would like to express appreciation to the following participants for taking time out of their day to join the workshops. Your passion for student success and how that informed the discussions is invaluable. Your contributions provided tremendous insight and enabled the Career & Technical Education (CTE) leadership team to gain a better understanding of the priorities for growth and investment in support of the District’s strategic goals. Our sincerest thanks to the following stakeholders:

Stakeholder

Role

Organization

Sara Alford

CEO

Big Brothers Big Sisters Northeast Florida

Leon Braxton

CEO

Communities in Schools, Jacksonville

Kevin Brown

HS Branch Coordinator

VyStar Credit Union

Michelle Carrico

Program Manager for Future in IT

Citi (technology org)

Anoda Carter

CTE Teacher

Twin Lakes Academy Middle School

Brandi Christovich

Specialist

DCPS CTE Department

Tosha Degraffread-Baker

Account Technician

DCPS CTE Department

Wendy Dunlap

Director

DCPS School Counseling & Acceleration Program

Ann Edgecombe

Consultant

DCPS CTE Department

Mike Favo

Employer

JinKO Solar Manufacturing

Jill Fierle

Director

DCPS CTE Department

Michelle Goolsby

Parent Volunteer

Community Member

Tiffany Guthrie

Director of Development

Junior Achievement of North Florida

Tammy Haberman

Principal

Loretto Elementary School

Ellisa Hayes

Specialist

DCPS Drop-out Prevention Department

Tim Hinson

Trustee & Employer

Electrical Training Alliance of Jacksonville/ Miller Electric

Malaika Johnson

Case Manager

Daniel Kids

Elizabeth Johnston

CTE Teacher

Sandalwood High School

Anna Lebesch

Senior VP Strategy & Talent

JAXUSA Partnership

Chip Leonard

Specialist

DCPS CTE Department

Pat Maillis

Director Employee Services

JEA

John Mallinger

Area CIO

A.J. Gallagher

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Overview

Executive Summary

Stakeholder

Role

Organization

Jessica Mastromatto

Principal

Frank H. Peterson Academy High School

Patrick McCabe

Supervisor, Business Partnership

DCPS Accountability & Assessment

Rebecca Miller

Specialist

DCPS CTE Department

Sylvester Pinckney

Assistant Director, Provider Training & Equipment

Kids Hope Alliance

Tricia Pough

School Social Works, McKinney-Vento Program

DCPS Drop-out Prevention Department

Jason Riggio

Specialist

DCPS CTE Department

Robert Rosales

School Counselor

Southside Middle School

Barbara Schaefer

Program Manager Perkins

Florida State College of Jacksonville

A.J. Smith

Case Manager

Daniel Memorial

Jen Smith

Specialist

DCPS CTE Department

Yolanda Smith

Technican

DCPS CTE Department

Julie Stein

Program Coordinator

Florida State College at Jacksonville

Shanequa Taylor

School Counselor

Sandalwood High School

Cassandra Thomas

Director

DCPS School Choice Department

Geraldine Thompson

CTE Teacher

Frank H. Peterson Academy High School

Jade Young

Director of Sales

Comfort Inn & Suites - Jacksonville & Orange Park

Bryan Zelski

School Counselor

Kernan Middle School

For more information, please contact: Jill Fierle

Jessica Roddenberry, AIA

Director, Career & Technical Education

Education Studio Leader

Duval County Public Schools

HKS Architects, Inc. FL #AA F000119

fierlej@duvalschools.org

jroddenberry@hksinc.con

904.390.2662

321.474.1281

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Rose/Thorn/Bud

20m

Activity Overview

Rose (Positive)

What works well?

Thorn (Negative)

What does not work well?

Bud (Potential)

Rose / Thorn / Bud Purpose To invite individual input from participants in order to identify things as positives, negatives or having potential within a given organization and/or program. The insights build consensus around what is, or could be, successful and provide context for what may be needed to improve outcomes.

Intent Using the provided post-its and color key, each participant is to generate as many data points in each of the categories as possible. Only one idea or insight per post-it. These are not solutions but rather what works, what does not and what can be nurtured to work better in the future.

What needs to be nurtured?

Share Each participant is encouraged to review the ideas generated by peers.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Rose/Thorn/Bud

Intentionally Design Pathways - In consideration of... How the district ensures students can complete an entire CTE program during high school, what is working well, what is not working well and what has potential?

Variety/Structure

Awareness of Opportunity

Academy Structure

Resources

Access

Career Opportunities

Staffing/Internal Buy-in

Insights Many participants felt the academy structure was part of CTE’s critical success with comments indicating this gave students a clear understanding of the various pathways and the rigor to complete the programs. The academies provide the resources needed, have processes in place which help students with progress check-ins and appear to overcome other issues cited such as changes in staffing and lack of leadership buy-in as why programs suffer. Continuing to leverage this positive may address issues cited under “Resources” and “Staffing.” That withstanding, there is quite a bit of runway to improve communication and outreach to potential students to demonstrate the District’s available programs. Comments suggest that this could improve internally and externally. Participants would appreciate the opportunity to begin discussions in elementary and middle schools, as well as improve outreach to parents, businesses and the greater Duval community. Participants had mixed reviews regarding the variety offered and access to these programs as it relates to being able to successfully complete. In follow up discussions, many of these insights were further elaborated on with conversations revolved around CTE courses being electives which creates issues in how they are staffed, planned and integrated with core curriculum. It undermines a student’s ability to complete the program when there is not an advisement system set up to help students navigate.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Rose/Thorn/Bud

Business and Industry Engagement - In consideration of... How CTE programs engage business and industry to ensure the programs meet workforce demand, what is working well, what is not working well and what has potential?

Relationship Management

Connecting to Need

Relevancy

Quality of Engagement

District Oversight

Cross-District Engagement

Insights From the insights provided by participants there appears to be a great deal of interest in increasing the partnership opportunities between business/industry partners and the District. Many cited that involvement interest is high, partners understand the mutual benefit of participating more and there is an advisory board in place to help link need with student pipeline. However, insights indicate that there are several issues regarding leadership, oversight and management of the relationship. While there is a CTE Team at the District level, many believe these relationships would be better maximized if there was a consistent point person to “own” the relationships at the school administration level. CEOs and business owners are not being zippered into adequate leadership that has the authority to connect need and supply. Comments suggested that this needs focus, organization and centralized leadership to better guide the potential available. Given this feedback, others comments suggest improving student awareness of potential internships, resources and gaining a better understanding of employment opportunities beyond high school. Lastly, several comments suggested there was potential to create greater value if engagement were to cross district boundaries, creating synergies with other school districts and post-secondary institutions.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Rose/Thorn/Bud

Engaging Instruction - In consideration of... How CTE programs integrate academic, technical and employability skills, what is working well, what is not working well and what has potential?

Curriculum Development/ Delivery

Student Readiness

Future-Ready Skills

Exposure

Professional Development

Insights Participants expressed appreciation that the current instructor pool is extremely passionate and engaging in spite of comments provided on other categories that suggested they do not have the full support of leadership and suffer from not being apart of the core standards curriculum structure. They did feel that further integration of CTE into core standards would benefit these programs greatly and correlate with other comments that suggest this would improve collaboration, resource sharing, continuity in communication and overall support. There is some mention of ‘co-horting’ as a strategy but it is perhaps not as successful as intended and may be more limiting than advantageous. Responses imply there is some confusion and a lack of confidence in how to implement co-horting strategies while math and reading comprehensive levels may not be where they need to be for success in CTE classrooms. Additionally, respondents felt there could be more integration between individual CTE programs to facilitate more cross-disciplinary skill set development for career-readiness. They implied this would greatly benefit both students and instructors, creating more value by being greater than the sum of their parts. This extended beyond the classroom, wanting to see counselors engage with students more and offer more advisement on what types of programs may offer skill development for future employment. Focus also needs to be given to increasing certification attainment opportunities so students can enter a skilled labor force or have the foundation for advanced training.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Rose/Thorn/Bud

Appropriate Instruction Supports - In consideration of... How CTE programs provide instruction that incorporate relevant equipment, technology and materials to support learning, what is working well, what is not working well and what has potential?

Relevancy

Access and Equity

Partnership Opportunities

Professional Development

Funding

Procurement Process

Insights Recent investments in added and new technology were recognized by the stakeholders but comments suggest there is still room for improvement. Requests include: more equipment spread across all programs and a desire to see greater integration between curriculum delivery and technology. Others comments included a desire to see more technology that is indicative of what students would encounter in the workplace and aid in skill development specific to career-readiness. Other comments suggested there is potential to facilitate increased exposure to the programs, increasing opportunities to participate in CTE and address concerns related to access and equity with greater technology investments. In concert, professional development oriented comments suggested training needs to occur so the technology investment can be properly implemented in the desired ways. Other comments suggested that this may require more leadership support in order to facilitate these efforts, including making the funding available and developing budgets that incorporate these needs (hardware, software and training). Like many of the other categories, there were several comments suggesting this may again be an area that business and industry partners could supplement efforts. This included equipment donations, training instructors on how to both use the equipment and best practices for curriculum integration. With a number of partners in these workshops, the expressed eagerness to do so, often suggestion the enhanced partnership themselves.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Rose/Thorn/Bud

Prepared and Effective Faculty & Staff - In consideration of... How CTE programs provide CTE instructor support to maintain up to date skills and knowledge necessary to support learning, what is working well, what is not working well and what has potential?

Professional Development

Recruitment and Retention

Support and Resources

Curriculum and Delivery

Communication/Collaboration Access and Equity

Insights Overall, this is a weaker area for the District in terms of performance with most stakeholders concerned that there is simply not enough investment in professional development as it relates to up to date skills and knowledge to support learning. Many suggested that more reoccurring training in a variety of areas was necessary including sensitivity training to help instructors be more prepared to work with vulnerable students within low-incidence and drop-out bridge programs. They also suggested there was potential to leverage business leaders to be instructors or to assist in the classroom, provide externships or to sponsor paid training. This focus area correlates directly to concerns over recruitment and retainment, and the lack of support overall. Lack of competitive wages, program cuts and the acknowledgment that industry experts can earn more elsewhere makes attracting high caliber instructors a challenge. Participants wanted to see the programs have clear alignment with Core Standards, promoting more innovation, seeing the advantages of collaboration and more communication across a greater resource pool, easing concerns over silo-ed teachers/ programs. Other assessments included interest in collaborating across Districts, quarterly TDE collaborative planning and giving more thought to hybrid learning or phy-igital (blended) models to increase access.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Rose/Thorn/Bud

Access and Equity - In consideration of... How CTE programs implement measures to eliminate barriers and create opportunities for all students to succeed in CTE programs, what is working well, what is not working well and what has potential?

Perception

Integration

Accessibility

Partnerships/Career-Ready

Transportation

Insights Many participants felt that perception was a topic worth evaluating further as potential areas for improvement. Respondents wanted to see more exposure given to the programs, with many expressing concern that parents weren’t as aware of these opportunities and with more support from them, these programs could grow with their support and encouragement. Within this same clustering, some felt there were trust issues, wanted to see teachers have a positive mindset around student success, and more people view CTE as valuable so they would work toward making it more accessible. As it relates to integration, the other discussions, many felt that there were challenges regarding how the programs where integrated, that equity was suffering as a result of not being a core standard, limiting access and variety of programs. Other comments suggested they wanted to see all students offered these classes, or encouraged to explore these pathways to better understand their own interests or strengths. Some suggested there were vulnerable populations that should be better informed that CTE can lead to direct employment upon graduation providing opportunities that they may not currently be able to visualize without career counseling or leadership stepping in to open these doors for them. With that in mind, this District is performing better than most regarding transportation procedures to help offset challenges with location, housing instability or making school of choice a more realistic option.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Abstraction Ladder

25m

Activity Overview

Why?

Abstraction Ladder Purpose To allow participants to individually expand upon their idea/insight by broadening and narrowing their perspective to better understand impact and degree of ease, or difficulty, to achieve the outcome.

Intent Each individual should think of a single need or outcome they feel needs to Greatest Need

be addressed in order to better serve students with regard to CTE programs. Then ask “Why?”, again and again to broaden the understanding of the impact. Then begin asking “How?” again and again to narrow down how to achieve it.

Share Each participant will use this poster to articulate their ideas for the activity How?

that follows. The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Abstraction Ladder

Insights from All Workshops As a follow up to the previous exercise, stakeholders were tasked with identifying a Statement Starter that would define a measurable outcome to propel student success. Many of the common themes or statement starters spoke to a desire for a growth mindset. Across all the workshops, very few of the outcomes identified by individuals were repetitive, allowing a broad exploration of ideas, deep understanding of the impact of these outcomes via the “Why” exercise and a generative approach to “How” these outcomes could be realized. Workshop 01 - Potentially due to the make up of the stakeholder participants for this workshop, there certain commonalities related to leveraging, optimizing and expanding business and industry partnerships. Participants showed an interest in being career-focused and demonstrating the multiple ways in which students can translate a concentrated study into a fulfilling career, not just obtain a “job.” They explored notions of increasing internship opportunities, connecting students directly with businesses and more internal promotion of success stories by highlighing local leaders. Ladder from Workshop 01.

Workshop 02 - While there were similar thoughts as participants from Workshop 01, stakeholders in this session also narrowed in on how students might become more career-ready, equipped with the skills needed to be successful in the workforce immediately upon graduation. They held an understanding that success was predicated on more than robust program offerings, but that specific attention needed to be given to retaining quality instructors and further leveraging the partnerships in place with local businesses and industries to supplement staffing needs. They were interested in expanding programs, offering greater variety, and providing opportunities for students to gain more exposure to these programs earlier in their educational career. Specific attention was given to vulnerable students such as those experiencing housing insecurity as one way to further link individual need to greater industry demand. Workshop 03 - Stakeholders in this session took particular interest in understanding the timeline and trajectory of student success. They focused on when and how best to expose students, when to advise, when to mentor and when to coach. They explored the various ways that DCPS teams could be better prepared to advise students, particularly in low-incidence programs as an example of a current missed opportunity. Specifically these students need a positive

Ladder from Workshop 01.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Abstraction Ladder

outlet and CTE has the potential to create a sense of purpose which may not otherwise be prevalent. In turn, employers would have an additional resource to tap into and a population often characterized by their loyalty and dedicated to working hard, which in turn, translates to long-term career pathway growth. They considered the transformative shift of changing “What college are you attending after graduation?” to “What is next for you?”, and the profound impact of perception and bias. They wanted to celebrate career signing days and demonstrate measurable outcomes for students entering entrylevel positions, which ultimately resulted in career growth. Lastly, this group recognized that traditional educational environments are not for everyone. They feel it is the responsibility of leadership to support students and faculty who seek alternates which lead to the same, if not more, success as college-bound students. They advocated for there to be space for all, and room to hold these discussions with an inclusive, future-forward mindset.

Ladder from Workshop 01.

Across all workshops, when pressed to explain what participants felt was most worthwhile to focus on, discussions included greater organization, more forward-facing leadership, enhanced program offerings that could appeal to more students, the need to address instructor recruitment and retainment, and putting equal emphasis on career-ready and future-ready skills as core curriculum. Common themes that resonated with participants and which were prevalent across all their collective responses include: •

Centralizing Leadership and Strategy - There is currently no consistent accountability at the school leadership level. Business partners expressed concern that they often engage with a school administration person who is not in the position to make decisions regarding partnership opportunities. The more successful relationships are with principals who have a personal passion for CTE and make the commitment to invest. While the PACs are a good start, partners are often required to manage relationships on their own and they often do not know how to contribute.

•

Mutual Investment - Despite the lack of organization, there are a great number of business and industry partners who want to be more involved with promotion of opportunities and creating a shared investment in “human” resources to develop a secured talent pipeline for their own business growth. Many people

Ladder from Workshop 02.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Abstraction Ladder

believe this resource is underutilized and if maximized, synergistic outcomes could be achieved. •

Leverage Resources - These same partners have tremendous knowledge that can be shared to support teachers, help with staffing/succession transitions, provide professional development and training on new technologies and tools, as well as soft skill coaching. Many people felt this strategy could overcome and mitigate issues related to staffing instability and resource deprivation in the short-term.

•

Workforce Ready - CTE offers students hands-on training opportunities that can support employment efforts immediately following graduation, or lead to gainful employment while pursuing an advanced degree or training. Students often do not understand their pathway and there is currently not a designated Career Coach in place to access their skills and help guide them. This becomes increasingly more relevant when discussions surrounding ways in which the students experiencing housing insecurity may be able to chart a new course and create betterment for themselves, and their families. They are currently not a primary focus for communicating opportunity but are often the most receiving. They could be a huge source of success for both the programs and the industry partners looking to invest in their collective futures.

•

Promote and Communicate - Participants expressed a desire to invest more in communication strategies that would alter the stigma associated with CTE programs, demonstrate the wide variety of options within career pathways (i.e. you can work for an IT company but you do not need to be a coder - you can be in HR, a project manager, etc.). This concept ties back to the need for a Career Coach to help connect the dots to greater opportunity and what may not be inherently understood.

•

Start Early - Many participants felt that CTE promotion and potential integration should begin as early as elementary school but at a minimum, the middle schools should offer more introductory courses to help support students prior to high school. This would help a great number of students that need a nontraditional pathway to support their learning styles.

Ladder from Workshop 02.

Ladder from Workshop 03.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Abstraction Ladder

•

Core Value - Career & Technical programs are electives and not integrated with the core curriculum. Due to this structure, participants suggested that students are less likely to understand the options available to them, they therefore do not understand the pathway to success. This is made further burdensome by the staffing challenges that public education has been experiencing both pre- and post-COVID. As an elective, these courses are more susceptible to having the instructor pool tapped to support staffing shortages for core curriculum programs. Many of these programs culminate with certifications that are a result of getting a defined period of exposure and experience. Without instructors, this becomes difficult to sustain.

•

Incentive in Education? - The success of these programs is largely driven by the ability to provide quality instructors who have equal command of the industry in which they are teaching as the educational sensitivity needed to operate within a classroom. With a deficiency in skilled workers, private industries are pulling from the public sector with the promise of higher wages and better working conditions. It is then difficult to provide an incentive to become an educator, unless otherwise driven by personal passion for working with young minds. This passion has to be matched with leadership support and accountability to reward this unyielding dedication.

•

Leadership Buy-in - Paramount to all these investments is a public commitment to invest in real and meaningful strategic approaches to student success within CTE. While CTE is included as a strategic initiative, offered as an elective with no consistent professional development and support for instructors lessens its perception as a priority. Perceived as a “Plan B” for students who otherwise may not be able to get into College whether that be because of grades or financial wherewithal, students are dissuaded from exploring these programs. Duval needs to elevate these professions and pathways to being an equal to college, and then hold their leadership accountable for following through on the commitment.

Ladder from Workshop 03.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Importance/Difficulty Matrix

45m

Activity Overview

Importance/Difficulty Matrix Purpose To affinitize and prioritize what is most essential for student success in CTE programs. Participants are asked to use their previous abstraction ladder to discuss their identified need broadly, focusing on outcomes, not solutions, and to think about all the stakeholders would be impacted.

Intent Each participant shares their identified need, discussing their reasoning for ROI

the importance by the discussing the “whys”, they then rank their ideas from least to most impactful. Once done, they share their outlined “hows” and discuss their ideas in terms of difficulty, once again ranking least to most.

Share Each group is encouraged to review the ideas generated by peers.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Importance/Difficulty Matrix

•

Expand STEM programs in schools (K-12).

•

Get students and professionals more connected.

•

Leverage, engage and optimize local businesses in support of DCPS’ CTE programs.

High Priorities: •

Educate businesses on the CTE programs taught in DCPS.

•

Make CTE available to more students.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

Quick Wins:

Most

WORKSHOP O1 - Group A (Tables 2 & 5)

LUXURY

STRATEGIC QUICK WINS

HIGH PRIORITIES

•

Better prepare students for workforce development.

•

Make CTE courses core curriculum.

Least

Strategic:

Least

Luxury: •

Create naming opportunities for strategic long-term program development.

IMPORTANCE LEVEL

Most

Insights from exercise: This group of participants spoke at length about how businesses and industry partners should be integrated further into the strategy for growth but in terms of outreach, mentorship and mutual growth. As many from this group were partners themselves, they expressed that they are passionate, willing and able to do so. They wanted to see a ground-up and top-to-bottom approach to cover all bases, working to leverage these resources at all angles to ensure everyone understood the synergistic value that could be further enhanced. Other discussions covered one person’s perceptive on how tedious it is to be involved because it is self-driven and not centrally organized (they often have to reach out to 60+ schools individually). Her passion for engagement supersedes the effort but cited it could be more streamlined and this would further incite engagement if the PACs (Program Advisory Committees) had a district-level liaison who unified messaging, needs and outreach/engagement strategies.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Importance/Difficulty Matrix

Quick Wins: •

Assist faculty to get industry certified.

•

Increase internship opportunities for students.

Most

WORKSHOP O1 - Group 2 (Tables 1, 3 & 4)

Help students find a career as opposed to a job.

•

Promote college/ career trades equally to increase matriculation into post-secondary opportunities.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

High Priorities:

Increase public awareness of the CTE programs and options.

LUXURY

STRATEGIC QUICK WINS

HIGH PRIORITIES

•

Ensure program continuity when faculty retires or changes roles.

•

Emphasize and foster protection for CTE programs and faculty.

•

Provide more robust programs for CTE students.

Luxury: •

Provide greater variety in program offerings.

•

Have students find a career as opposed to a job.

Least

Strategic:

Least

IMPORTANCE LEVEL

Most

Insights from exercise: This group of participants spoke more to the challenges that were faced internally within the District and the schools themselves. CTE is not currently a core curriculum focus and as such is subject to issues with instructor staffing shortfalls, retainment/succession planning, lack of credentials and overall perception as lesser than. Programs are perceived to be PACrifical if a faculty member is needed elsewhere to support staffing shortages in core curriculum classes and often the programs are disrupted as a result, which in turn makes it more difficult for students to complete the programs. Participants wanted to develop strategies to ensure CTE was elevated in priority to ensure there was greater focus on continuity for faculty and students and more investment in professional development initiatives to help faculty with future-forward training that can be optimized within the classroom. This would in turn create more success stories to highlight to the greater community, building pride in the programs and leading to more robust growth.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Importance/Difficulty Matrix

•

Support students and make sure that students can complete the CTE programs.

•

Prepare this generation to be workforce ready and achieve better employment opportunities.

High Priorities: •

Include CTE courses at the middle school level.

•

Share information about the program opportunities that are available for students providing other career options.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

Quick Wins:

Most

WORKSHOP O2 (All tables)

LUXURY

STRATEGIC

QUICK WINS

HIGH PRIORITIES

•

Get school leadership to own CTE programs and results.

•

Develop/create a professional development program that helps CTE teachers transition from industry professionals to successful educators.

•

Pay teachers industry wages to attract new teachers and increase CTE retention.

Luxury: •

Run our CTE academies more like the business they are modelling.

•

Encourage our homeless students to become more involved with CTE courses to improve their knowledge of various career opportunities.

Least

Strategic:

Least

IMPORTANCE LEVEL

Most

Insights from exercise: The outcomes developed by this group of stakeholders had the most instances of common ideas while simultaneously having the most diverse range of themes across the whole of the group. Participants cited concerns that teachers didn’t have the basic resources needed to be successful, that it was difficult to recruit and retain without a competitive wage structure to even attract the caliber of instructor needed to propel these programs forward. An investment in instructors would then provide a greater degree of expertise within the classroom environments and accelerating student success beyond graduation. Other discussions included early exposure at middle school to more programs, sharing opportunities to more students and more communities such as students with housing insecurities so they can gain exposure to career-ready program offerings. Lastly, there was concern that without school leadership taking accountability for the success of programs, it was difficult to have consistent commitment across all of the schools.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Importance/Difficulty Matrix

•

Prepare and transition high school students and graduates directly to industry jobs locally.

•

Increase equipment to ensure all students have access to CTE.

•

Better serve students throughout their CTE experience.

•

Increase CTE enrollment/ completion by improving involvement with CTE programs within high schools.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

Quick Wins:

Most

WORKSHOP O3 (All tables)

Land graduates into entry level skilled jobs that have lifelong growth & career paths

LUXURY

STRATEGIC QUICK WINS

HIGH PRIORITIES

•

Bring CTE programs into low-incidence programs and drop-out prevention bridge programs.

Strategic: •

Improve perception of CTE programs as equal to college prep programs.

•

Improve CTE teacher moral.

•

Restructure our entire school system to align CTE with standard education.

•

Help schools and district leaders understand the importance of CTE.

Luxury: •

Land graduates into entry level skilled jobs that have lifelong growth & career paths.

Least

High Priorities:

Least

IMPORTANCE LEVEL

Most

Insights from exercise: This group of participants organized their outcomes around the trajectory of the student and thought through the steps needed to create improvement opportunities from leadership, the structure and student experience. Items within the strategic quadrant focus heavily on whether the system is correctly aligned, how that affects perception and how CTE is integrated within the greater curriculum delivery model. The high priority outcome was interestingly discussed as a focus that could be implemented without any other required investment other than procedural guidance to do so. These kids need an option in front of them that provides hope for their futures and have the tenacity to overcome other program challenges. Other outcomes included focusing on the student experience, specifically at the high school scale and improving how schools elevate and communicate opportunities and celebrate students who opt for this pathway. All participants agreed that students needed more guidance, this needed to be seen as more than job placement, but as a launch point for career growth, rich with opportunity. The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Round Robin

30m

Activity Overview

Round Robbin Purpose To allow individual participants to evolve their ideas as implementation is considered and to leverage the power of collaboration amongst peers to

problem seek and solve.

Define

Intent 4

Refine

Approach

Breaking the teams into smaller groups, each group is to use one of the outcomes from the previous activity and develop a S.M.A.R.T. statement

Review

starter to explore implementation and solution. Once done, they pass their poster to another group for peer review before refining their initial idea based upon the feedback given.

Share All groups will review each of the Round Robin posters.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Round Robin

Workshop 01 Challenge Statement

Provide more career readiness information to students while they are in school and expose them to more career options.

Proposed Solution

To bolster this approach, it is proposed to establish, build and nurture business relationships to demonstrate an authentic experience. These same relationships could simultaneously provide training and professional development for teachers.

Why might the solution fail?

Need to develop a business plan which aligns student and market needs. This would support funding strategy outline and a timeline for implementation.

Final Concept

Business plan to include a transition plan for non-relevant CTE programs to be decommissioned so focus can be on relevant programs to ensure employability and pipeline development.

Challenge Statement

Educate businesses on the CTE programs taught in DCPS to promote students being employed locally and within the communities in which they reside.

Proposed Solution

Develop a zippered-in strategy predicating on a regional approach. First collect business information and provide to schools based on zoning proximity. Businesses to be communicated with based on aligned need.

Why might the solution fail?

The accountability is on the businesses to follow-up, this will require a more personalized approach to create a relationship. Message should focus on mutual benefit and value of engaging.

Final Concept

Focus on existing connections such as parents who are also business owners to develop a model of mutual value. Tap into network such as Chamber of Commerce and JAXUSA to create focal outreach.

Need: Provide more exposure to programs.

Need: Further educate businesses on the programs within DCPS.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Round Robin

Workshop 01 Challenge Statement

Elevate and promote career trades as a primary pathway or in parallel with college as an income source.

Proposed Solution

Develop a Communication Plan around “real-world” exposure - what can students expect, how in demand they may be, salary projections for entry level jobs. This should include students and parents and can be executed with more guest speakers, field trips, teacher externships, dual enrollment and/or mandatory CTE course for exposure.

Why might the solution fail?

Need to identify the resources needed to execute this plan and track results related to the activities to generate data on enrollment impact. Is the investment paying off?

Final Concept

Use the Perkins funding to budget for fieldtrips, get businesses to sponsor events and leverage grant funding for externships, embed CTE into school culture to increase brand awareness to include career fairs and demonstrate revenue value with certifications.

Challenge Statement

Create more public awareness around CTE and the value it offers the community in terms of economic stimulus and growth that can benefit everyone.

Proposed Solution

Focus on a communication strategy which is funded through Perkins to highlight local success stories which demonstrate tangible results - salaries, job security data, retirement benefits. Illustrate how this has enabled more money to enter economy.

Why might the solution fail?

Need to develop strategy that is geared toward both middle schoolers and high school age students to create pipeline. Young minds are short-term thinkers so may need to show short and long-term gains. More thought needs to be given to how you identify success stories.

Final Concept

Have businesses provide equipment and more hands-on investment in middle school and support with storytelling at high school such as Cartoon Middle School example, use Skills USA and be repetitive.

Need: Promote college and career trades.

Need: Public awareness of CTE options.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Round Robin

Workshop 01 Challenge Statement

Make CTE programs more appealing to more students and provide more exposure to the options available to them.

Proposed Solution

Focus on a re-branding exercise that weaves in existing business partners to enrich both the programs and the perception. Provide career assessments for all students in middle school to assess interest and provide career coaching.

Why might the solution fail?

Current assessment should be updated to reflect more future-forward interests and options. Student interests may not always align with local industries and businesses and there is a chance of mixed connection.

Final Concept

The partners selected should provide “workplace mentoring” not just specific industry recruitment. Start with partners which are mutually beneficial.

Need: Make CTE more available to more students.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Round Robin

Workshop 02 Challenge Statement

Create additional course offerings for middle school students beyond IT to provide more exposure to potential CTE students prior to high school.

Proposed Solution

Feeder schools promote programs to middle schools by sharing digital tool certificates which will add additional funding to the school. Additionally, can work with after school programs to support.

Why might the solution fail?

FLDOE limits offerings for middle schools which is currently limited to IT. Suggest going back to CTE Wheel.

Final Concept

Expand digital certificates, allocate budget and staffing through CTE programs; students receive technology for schools to receive certificate.

Challenge Statement

Leverage resources to communicate and distribute information about the CTE programs to students with a focus on demonstrating the multitude of career options.

Proposed Solution

Develop Communication Plan with a focus on demonstrating the high value of CTE programs, ask Corporate partners to speak with students at middle schools, develop interest survey, focus on workforce, CTE booth.

Why might the solution fail?

Need to assign accountability to someone to develop and implement and then measure for success.

Final Concept

Leverage business and industry partners to develop the Communication Plan and to elevate perception within the community. They will invest their time and energy to get the return on workforce talent.

Need: Include CTE Courses at the MS level.

Need: Share information about the program opportunities which are available.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Round Robin

Workshop 02 Challenge Statement

School Leadership needs to have accountability for CTE program development and implementation by having it written into their performance plans and bonus structure.

Proposed Solution

Provide Admin with statistics and other data that shows how students in CTE programs feel more connected and have greater purpose in their education. This all leads to improved graduation rates, grades, etc.

Why might the solution fail?

Recommend phasing in performance structure with academies moving forward (1) designation a year than including stipend.

Final Concept

Not completed - discussion generated that currently Area Superintendent’s do not have CTE in their goal structure so accountability needs to run upstream.

Need: Get school leadership to own CTE programs and results.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Round Robin

Workshop 03 Challenge Statement

Create more synergies between CTE opportunities and students within lowincidence programs and drop-out prevention/bridge programs.

Proposed Solution

Begin by educating the community on the idea and develop a pilot program. Provide tax incentives for businesses that commit to hiring selected students and match students with employers. Track, revise and expand.

Why might the solution fail?

Will need to generate interest other than through survey-based process. Difficult to achieve the participation needed without the incentives attached to follow through.

Final Concept

As part of the outreach effort, focus and attention will be given to the regional implications of leaving this demographic behind. Demonstrate return on investment.

Challenge Statement

Improve CTE teacher moral and renew a commitment to achieving student success and elevating perception of the programs.

Proposed Solution

Crowd source information regarding current concerns and issues to develop a baseline status. Develop a professional development programs specific to their needs/issues. Look at subcontracting some tasks to assist academies with burdensome items.

Why might the solution fail?

Funding to support new positions will be limited so need to better understand what has impacted a teacher’s position on why they felt compelled to pursue a career in education. How can that be restored?

Final Concept

Work with business partners within CTE programs to develop a “finder’s fee” payable to the instructor if student is hired. Model after a recruiter framework.

Need: Connect programs to students in need of opportunities.

Need: Improve teacher moral.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Round Robin

Workshop 03 Challenge Statement

Improve perception of CTE pathway as equal to College bound pathway to ensure everyone can be a productive citizen and support all tiers of the workforce.

Proposed Solution

Educate families and the community through forward-facing events and exposing students at a young age. Use the “Mike Rowe: Dirty Jobs” model to bring awareness, create business advocates using CEO-level spotlights, gain support from communitybased organizations to supplement messaging and mentorships (Pastors, Coaches, DCF, etc.) Hold a Signing Day event and celebrate career path as equal to college.

Why might the solution fail?

Need to develop a way to measure the success of this approach to understand the return of investment.

Final Concept

Intend to track and measure success by trending enrollment numbers and identifying increases.

Need: Improve perception of CTE.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Affinity Clustering

15m

Activity Overview

Affinity Clustering Purpose To invite individual input from all the workshop participants in order to identify collective needs based on the entirety of the discussions.

Intent Using the provided post-its and color key, each participant is to individually generate as many ideas, needs, wants or desires based on what they think is critical to achieving the outcomes as discussed. Only one idea per post-it and the more, the better. Facilitators will collect and cluster.

Share Once clustered, each participant is encouraged to review the clusterings and asked to provide (5) more insights that build upon what they have seen.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Affinity Clustering

Funding This cluster acknowledges that many people understand that funding is fundamentally required to support the growth and advancement of CTE programs themselves, such as student field trips and marketing. But more interestingly, there is more interest in incentivefocused funding streams for teachers and administration to support buy-in initiatives. As it pertains to teachers, this is presumably in response to concerns expressed over the lack of competitive salaries in comparison to industry specific jobs they represent and where they could gain employment with greater benefits elsewhere. Some responses reference specific bonus programs for teachers earning industry-relevant certifications and training credentials to assist in elevating the caliber of program offering.

Professional Development This cluster represents much of the focus on increasing training opportunities for teachers through both a time and financial investment. Other ideas included developing and externships with teachers getting exposure to emerging industry trends with local employers/partners so their best practices can translate into the classroom and curriculum. The suggested professional development investment extends beyond CTE, seeking training for school counselors and other support staff who want to be a better resource for students looking at a wide range of pathway opportunities for their future careers.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Affinity Clustering

Support/Buy-in Throughout the workshops, many participants expressed concerns that some of the issues with CTE are in large part due to lack of support from various entities including the District’s leadership teams, the community and parents themselves. This is partially the result of misconception as people ascertained through their workshop discussions, and partially due to legacy thought processes that are largely generational. Thirty-, Forty-years there was a shift in mind-set and there was a push for students to attend 4-year colleges, prompted by promises of greater longterm success and higher paying jobs. The concept of vocational programs were downgraded in perception and viewed as an option only for students who had no other options. Many of the students at that time are now parents and grandparents, and evidence shows the stigma associated with vocationally focused programs remains. In truth, the pathways have evolved significantly and they offer fundamental skill development regardless of a student’s future beyond high school. Obtaining support to help guide students toward programs where they can thrive is important to stakeholders and doing so without bias is even more important.

Access/Exposure to Programs This cluster echoes many of the discussion across all of the workshops which consistently questioned whether CTE suffered as a result of being excluded from the core standards/curriculum. Many people expressed concern that this divide limits student’s exposure to these opportunities and that many more students “hear” that college and core curriculum focused attention equates to success. Other comments express the need to expose students earlier, with more elementary and middle school program offerings.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Affinity Clustering

Business Partnerships Many of the needs expressed in this cluster pertain to wanting to leverage increased partnerships with local businesses and industries. But many of the needs identify opportunities to optimize these relationships to offer mentoring, tutoring or increased advisement for students themselves. Acknowledging during the workshops that internships are often difficult, participants were seeking alternative ways for students to gain more exposure to future professional career paths, expertise and industry knowledge that may help inform their futures. Additionally, there are comments that encourage greater degrees of collaboration with partners to help guide and inform the programs themselves. This comes with a need for consistent, high-level organization so these engagements can provide strategic insight, and enable this resources to be utilized to their full potential.

Staffing Staffing needs extend beyond just teachers and instructors, and include school counselors, career specialists and pathway coaches. Other requests include having these specialists co-located with every high school, in addition to centralized leadership at the District offices.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Affinity Clustering

Perception/Stigma Needs within this cluster relate to increasing awareness of the offerings, celebrating program completers, developing marketing and communication plans that convey success stories and changing mindsets around CTE. Others expressed a desire to tap into Media resources with specific audiences in mind to include parents and students. Internal to the District, participants want to see CTE added to the curriculum guide, more Career Fair focus for this programs and creating a 2-way feedback stream to gather input including student voices to ensure they are heard. Much like Mike Rowe’s viral success re-branding skilled trades, stakeholders want to see the District create role models that students can look up to while celebrating and sponsoring programs that elevated these careers.

Technology/Resources The needs related to technology primarily relate to wanting each student to have an assigned laptop to facilitate 1:1 learning. Other needs include 3D printers, coding equipment and sufficient materials to distribute equitably across all the academies.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Affinity Clustering

Career Readiness This cluster relates to both perception and business partnerships but with specific focus on the talent pipeline. Participants are eager to see programs align with industry needs, increased internships, job shadowing opportunities and leveraging the data available to communicate to students how lucrative these careers can be to incite interest.

Strategy There was an expressed need for more strategic planning and thinking regarding CTE programs including partnerships, goal development and allocating specific time for strategy. This includes a suggested need to take a look at the school-based academy structure and how it supports strategic initiatives.

Student Interest Success is ultimately only possible with genuine interest and participation by students.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Design Thinking Workshops

Activity: Affinity Clustering

1.3% 3.4%

16.7%

4.3%

5.1% 7.8%

15.9%

8.6%

9.9% 15.0%

12.0%

Legend

Funding

Access/Exposure to Programs

Career Readiness

Support/Buy-in

Staffing

Strategy

Business Partnerships

Professional Development

Student Interest

Perception/Stigma

Technology/Resources

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Framing Opportunities

Key Takeaways from Workshops

General Needs Summary: The following summary of needs represents the key takeaways from all three of the workshops and have been ascertained from the discussions that took place, the feedback that was requested and the insights garnered from a holistic view of the data generated. •

There was little feedback on whether current programs had the equipment and resources needed to ensure engaging instruction was provided and promoted program completion. A targeted assessment may be required to evaluate individual programs, across the schools to develop planning and procurement of equipment as needed.

•

That said, many felt that there is a need to equip all students with laptops or like devices to implement 1:1 learning and facilitate equitable access to programs (for entry or beginner level coursework). There may be a future need to support this with proper training and professional development for instructors in order to support hybrid learning models.

•

Similarly, there was little feedback given on the facilities themselves and whether there was adequate space and proper adjacencies to ensure 21st century educational delivery within these environments. It is understood the District has engaged a Program Manager to oversee a larger 15year capital investment plan regarding the physical spaces and academies themselves. It is suggested that the efforts of the CLNA be continually coordinated to communicate needs.

•

There was a desire to better understand the limitations of providing more CTE-focused programs within the middle schools, and as early as in elementary schools. Some felt that this may be hindered by the FLDOE’s standards but it is recommended that a special group be formed to evaluate and develop opportunities for afterschool programs funded and managed by business partners or through sponsorship mechanisms.

•

There is a need to see more career coaching and/ or counseling done within the schools to help guide students who are seeking alternative options to a 4-year degree college program upon graduation. There is clear consensus this should occur as early as middle school with investments needed to provide both the staffing and the training to properly offer insight and guidance for those students. This needs to be comprehensive and consistent so changing staff can have the latest information on program evolutions to best advise students.

•

In parallel, there is a real and eminent need to start addressing students and parents in low-incidence and bridge programs. These students are specifically vulnerable to issues related to poverty such as housing insecurity that can become insurmountable during high school and after graduation. CTE programs offer opportunities to develop employability skills for entry-level positions. Once employed, these students can either earn an income to offset education expenses if they pursue a postsecondary path or build from these entry level positions to advanced careers. This has profound impact on their, and their families’ life. These students often do not have consistent at-home resources to guide them and are reliant on in-school advisement to educate them on opportunities. School counselors and career coaches need to be available to help them understand the options available and assist with aligning resources to help facilitate access.

•

In concert with in-school counselors and advisors, there may be a need to educate other community resources to assist as well. This may include, but not limited to local pastors and community program leaders such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. These resources are often engaged with these students through other means and if equipped with more information, they can be an extension of District resources and leverage the trust they have to guide students toward the proper school staff.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

•

Framing Opportunities

Key Takeaways from Workshops

A targeted marketing and communication plan is needed to address a variety of audiences including students, parents and the greater community on the importance of CTE programs. Specific points noted by participants include:

•

An assessment and subsequent emphasis of core education competencies to bridge the gap between CTE and core standards concerns. Ensure students have the reading and math literacy levels to be successful.

• The impact that robust CTE strategies and program development has on student success including, but not limited to graduation rates.

•

Evaluate current recruitment and retainment strategies for CTE instructors and whether there is an opportunity to better leverage the eagerness of business partners to assist subsidizing.

•

The qualitative and quantitative data gathered during these workshops and subsequent follow up survey needs to be paired with data from CareerSource to assess relevancy of current programs in alignment with current industry needs.

•

Develop a centralized leadership team to organize the business and industry partners. There is a need for strategic resource management and oversight across the Program Advisory Councils (PACs). Many feel there needs be top-down leadership and messaging so priorities can be better understood.

•

The data generated illustrates concerns regarding leadership buy-in and whether there is sufficient support for CTE programs. This includes whether school leadership has the time and resources to zipper in with business partners and District level CTE advisors to implement strategies within school.

• Importance of developing a talent pipeline to support local and regional economic growth for core and emerging industries around Jacksonville so all can benefit. • Data on salary expectations for entry-level positions across multiple industries. • Diversity of career options within any given field to demonstrate growth and advancement. • Information on what is required to gain employment in entry level positions (i.e. certifications) so students can understand the lack of barrier to entry. • Highlighting local success stories to elevate perception and placing emphasis on the humanity aspect (i.e. Dirty Jobs and Mike Rowe). • The impact that Social Capital Investment Plans have on economic development initiatives locally and regionally. •

Conduct an assessment of current instructors skill levels and certifications in alignment with industry needs and competing programs (i.e. charter school programs). Develop a professional development plan that positions existing and newly hired instructors to have access to training, externships and technology support to enhance curriculum development and delivery to ensure highly engaging programs exist.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Framing Opportunities

Application to the CLNA

Focus Area: Student Outreach Summary of Issue

Proposed Actions

Touchpoints with Students

•

Engage students as early as elementary school to create a positive mindset around multiple paths to success. Peak interest in hands-on learning in parallel with academic core standards.

•

Increase awareness through literature and tailored content for parents and guardians of special population students to demonstrate access and opportunities so they can become advocates for their students.

•

Develop mechanisms to gather student voices at regular intervals and allow their input to further inform the process.

Education

•

Equip counselors and advisors with the information needed to guide students toward CTE programs (i.e. locations, requirements, etc).

•

Leverage business partnerships to help educate the community on the benefits of these programs to the greater Jacksonville area to increase grass root investment.

•

Develop outreach collaborations with local community leaders to help educate students and parents/guardians on the opportunities inherent with CTE program completion. Leverage this as another resource to connect with students.

•

Provide additional training for instructors and staff specialists to be better prepared to address the needs of special population students and have a deeper understanding of the challenges they face completing these programs due to obstacles beyond their individual control. Continual engagement of District resources with this expertise is required.

Messaging/Communications

•

Continue to communicate clear and consistent messaging regarding Duval County’s Strategic Plan and implementation approach for increased investment in the District’s CTE programs. Encourage each school to appoint a CTE brand ambassador to champion success stories in alignment with the Plan so students can connect with peers.

•

Leverage appropriate platforms for students, faculty, parents/guardians and community leaders to gather the latest information in order to support conversations with students.

•

Develop a Marketing Plan that utilizes data from various reliable sources (Bureau of Labor, CareerSource, etc) to advertise the benefits and advantages of CTE completion. Continued, next page.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Framing Opportunities

Application to the CLNA

Focus Area: Student Outreach Continued Summary of Issue

Proposed Actions

Resources

•

Allow time for the new CTE Director and team to develop a strategic plan that assesses the quality and quantity of resources, prioritizes high return on investment needs and rolls out an implementation plan for success focused on increased student engagement.

•

Leverage the genuine interest of business partners to be more heavily involved to include tutoring, mentoring and job shadowing opportunities so students can have more access to resources and members of the community that can help guide and advise.

•

Evaluate opportunities to work with other regional institutions to develop mutual marketing materials so students and the greater community can understand the mutual and synergistic benefits.

Student Success

•

Ensure all entities are communicating the importance of career-ready programs as equal to college readiness - build marketing materials and platforms around this message.

•

Help students develop a career path plan that cultivates long-term thinking and a growth mindset. Employ career coaching and/or coaches across the District to champion this effort.

•

Create career-signing days so students seeking employment upon graduation are celebrated equal to those enrolling in college.

•

Invite past students to become part of future steering committees to speak on behalf of the student experience and create mentorship opportunities between alumni and potential/current students.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Framing Opportunities

Application to the CLNA

Focus Area: Professional Development Summary of Issue

Proposed Actions

Time and resources

•

Develop a steering committee that consists of lead instructors from each of the CTE programs, district leadership and key business partners to conduct a needs analysis, organized by individual program.

•

Prioritize training needs by commonality (i.e. sensitivity training) and develop a matrix for implementation. Business partners should advise on relevancy and be organized to support funding needs through sponsorships, cultivation of externships as needed and in-classroom engagement opportunities to leverage expertise.

Recruitment and retainment

•

Aligning salaries for educational instructors with their specific industries is not a realistic option but creatively evaluating options for bonus programs, exercising the use of para-professionals, and allowing business partners to supplement staff shortages could be quite beneficial.

•

Additionally, investments needs to be made to elevate careers in CTE for instructors and demonstrate support mechanisms to encourage more people with a passion for education to step forward. Suggestions include catering to individuals retiring from specific industries and supplementing their expertise with the training needed to translate this knowledge into the classroom environment.

•

Consider developing marketing campaigns that showcase instructor success stories and collaborations with industry partners may elevate perception and help to incite interest and/or greater appreciation.

Lack of collaboration

•

Create more intentional mentorship between academic entities and CTE programs so instructors feel more connected and engaged with the larger school community.

•

Instructors should be encouraged and be given the resource to lead steering committees so their voices can be heard and they can empower a growth mindset.

Support

•

More transparent communication is needed to better understand the complex system of priorities that school districts are faced with addressing simultaneously. This includes general training needs, such as safety and security, that often take precedent when allocating time and resources.

•

Local school leadership will need, in the short-term, to help support teachers through individual collaborations with PACs and in partnership with CTE District leadership until a longer term strategy can be put in place.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Framing Opportunities

Application to the CLNA

Focus Area: Business Partnerships Summary of Issue

Proposed Actions

Engagement

•

Create a District-level committee to organize critical and emerging business partners to implement global strategies for investment and partnerships. This should recognize the inefficiencies of individual PACs and create a collective approach to better support CTE programs and initiatives across the entirety of the county to ensure equity.

•

Develop clear objectives and concise expectations of partners to optimize eagerness of businesses to contribute to a mutually beneficial relationship with programs and students.

Leadership

•

Conduct an outreach effort to educate school leadership on the importance of supporting these initiatives and partnerships. Obtain a commitment from school principals to be accountable for the cultivation of the relationship to ensure those with the authority to make decisions are meeting with existing and potential partners.

Advisement and “Zippering” (integrated partnerships)

•

Define and document any perceived barriers to student internships. Create an open and collaborative forum for feedback on student performance to better inform student-preparedness and skills development.

•

In conjunction with professional development considerations, evaluate the feasibility and sustainability of externships for current instructors to gain future-ready insights and training to inform curriculum development.

•

Engage PAC members and leaders to consult on curriculum development and implementation, supplementing the funding resources needed from the District, ensuring career-ready skills are being taught on state-of-theart equipment within immersive environments.

Collaboration/Sponsorships

•

Invite partners and PAC members to host mock interviews and resume review sessions to encourage more engagement between potential employees and future hires.

•

Sponsor instructors to attend industry conferences and/or technical lectures to further their professional development initiatives and to incite collaboration amongst entities.

•

Consider the viability of a “recruiter’s fee” for instructors/programs which facilitate workforce pipeline initiatives.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Appendix

Survey Insights

Survey Results: Follow-up Survey In response to the insights gathered from the workshops and as a strategy to capture data from participants who were unable to attend one of the three workshops, a follow-up survey was developed to garner greater understanding of specific program successes and needs. The results and insights are as follows:

“Which best describes your role?”

4% District Leadership 20% School Leadership

Responses

60% CTE Faculty 2% Guidance/Counseling

16 Questions

23% Participation

7% Business or Industry Partner

0.40 0.35 0.30

6% Community Member

0.25 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05

“Do 0.00 you think CTE has the support of District leadership?”

Yes 64%

No 36%

6 Stakeholder Groups

13:30 Average Time to Complete (in minutes)

“What does support from the District leadership look like to you?” 24% of respondents stated that they needed a commitment from the District to provide the tools and resources needed. “Continuous investment in exisiting programs to ensure they are aligned to industry standards/needs for employment and strong communication between CTE and building lead teachers and leadership.”

As it relates to career readiness, how would you rate the average proficiency of soft skills amongst CTE graduates? (low=1, high=5)

As it relates to career readiness, how would you rate the average proficiency of technical skills amongst CTE graduates? (low=1, high=5)

3.34

3.55

Average Answer

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Appendix

Survey Insights

MOST Culinary

Computer Science

Digital Media

Digital Media Technology

Based on your selection, what do you believe is most influential to that success? Culinary

“From your perspective, which Career & Technical (CTE) program is the most successful in helping students achieve success, during and post graduation?”

Computer Science

Leadership commitment

Student access

Student readiness to begin

Quality of the instructor

Size of the program

Physical environment

Technology/tools/resources

Partnerships with industry

Employability skills taught

0.40

Culinary

Sports Marketing

Based on your selection, what do you believe needs more focus to improve this program? Aviation

0.35 (CTE) “From your perspective, which Career & Technical 0.30 program is the least successful in helping students 0.25 achieve success, during and post graduation?”0.20

Leadership commitment

Student access

Student readiness to begin

Quality of the instructor

Size of the program

Physical environment

Technology/tools/resources

Partnerships with industry

Employability skills taught

0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00 0.40 0.35 Aviation

Sports Marketing

0.30 0.25 0.20 0.15

LEAST

0.10 0.05 0.00

Culinary

Agriscience: Landscape

Building Trades: Welding

Criminal Justice/ Fire Science

Engineering

Agriscience: Veterinary

Business Mgmt (VyStar)

Culinary

Medical Science

Automotive

Computer Science

Cybersecurity

Robotics/Advanced Mfr.

Aviation

Gaming

Digital Media Technology

Sports Marketing

Building Trades: Construction

Cosmetology

Early Childhood Education

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Appendix

Survey Insights 0.40 0.35 0.30 0.25

Survey Results: Follow-up Survey0.20Continued 0.15

“What do you view as the greatest obstacle for students to overcome in order to complete current CTE programs?”

0.10

Florida State College at0.05 0.00 Jacksonville (FSCJ) I am aware of the CTE programs offered at Florida State College at Jacksonville? 0.40

Yes 68%

No 32%

0.35

Students don’t view completion as a viable path to employment

They aren’t educated on the options early

0.30 0.25 0.20 0.15

Challenge

0.10 0.05 0.00

Please select a response: I am not aware of pathways betweeen high schools and FSCJ

24%

37%

The CTE programs at FSCJ are appropriate for the career pathways offered

39%

The high school career pathways that connect to FSCJ require further discussion or improvement

0.40

0.35

Additional support to overcome barriers experienced prior to submission

Expanded career planning resources

None of the above

Other

Literacy

They aren’t educated on the options early

“Which of the following is the most strategic investment the School District could make to improve outcomes for CTE students?” Updates in curriculum delivery Career counseling and developing career plans with students

Communication plan & re-branding strategy for CTE

Opportunity

Career progression: clearer career pathways from shorter programs to advanced training

0.30

0.25

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00

Please indicate which of the following items are needed at FSCJ. Select all that apply.

Stigma/perception

Access

Recruitment & retainment campaign for instructors

More community-level outreach to build awareness of programs and resources State-of-the-art learning environments & technologies

The School District of Duval County

Centralized leadership structure for business engagement

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Appendix

Survey Insights

“Are there other needs that you feel should be considered for CTE Student Success? Area of investment

Survey responses

Recruitment & Retainment

1. •

District & School Support

•

• • • •

•

• Outreach & Communications

•

• • • •

• • •

Need to recruit more students in the program and show them that not all students have to go to college. Investment in teacher recruitment and retention Whole school support - if the principal, APs, bookkeeper, cohort teachers, etc are not fully on-board with the success of the program, how can the instructor and students be expected to flourish? A Para or Teachers Aide in the classroom to assist the CTE teacher. More support from CTE liaison. One on one time with liaison would benefit programs. Teachers more invested in the success of the program. A need for someone to setup a central advisory board for each CTE program, not individual boards. It’s hard enough to try to engage business partners for certain areas of the district, plus if one member is on multiple advisory boards it interferes with their time and efforts. Running a CTE program is a lot of work to make all the experiences for students that are expected to happen. A CTE Coach for every four programs at least and a paraprofessional/program would be helpful. This support would allow the teacher to plan more experiences for the students. Recognition and support by the district. The main issue with CTE is it is not discussed in the middle schools for the Gold Seal. Many students do not want to go to college but want to work after high school. If they are told early that there is way to get a certified career choice paid for through the Bright Futures program, they might want to graduate even more. Support and exposure to the community and schools about the programs. Evaluate the programs to find out individual needs, address those needs, and provide the support those needs to improve the programs overall . All incoming freshmen need to be made aware of CTE options, BEFORE they start school, and given a choice for electives. Make it a big deal to be part of the CTE programs in the schools and not focus on just college careers. More parent awareness about CTE career opportunities including wages presenting CTE as not only viable, but desirable. Re-branding CTE; student experiences Just more advertising and how CTE benefits every student - “beyond the school walls” Connection to the community, soft skills that help with employment, connection with post-secondary institutions.

Continued, next page.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Appendix

Survey Insights

Survey Results: Follow-up Survey Continued Area of investment

Survey responses

Program Completion & Student Success

• •

• • • • • • • • • •

• •

•

Improve student attendance in programs. Students need to be aware of the different career paths. I think the placement of students in these courses is critical. Right now CTE courses are used like a dumping ground and students that don’t want to be placed in the courses are, and sometimes students that want to be in the program don’t end up in the program. Training in basic Microsoft Office applications, regardless of CTE program. The guidance department needs to have a better understanding of scheduling students in CTE courses. We are a dumping ground. Incentives to complete the program. Look at class size, suggest that class size does not exceed 30. More field trips to industries that CTE students might end up in. Internship and job shadow opportunities, including interview role play for preparation. Consideration or reducing GPA requirements for dual enrollment CTE programs, more strategic collaboration with FSCJ. More than a few of the CTE programs need to be updated. The level of industry certifications the students are taking, I believe some of the certifications are on too high a level for most high school students. Internships or work studies built into the curriculum of every CTE program. Often graduate are asked about their work experience. This is unfair to student who just graduated. Collaboration between high school and college for hands-on projects to engage high school students with engineering college students. Some Schools need to offer some CTE courses that are not part of academies. Students need to have general CTE courses to take just because they want to learn more about a program. Strategies need to be Lean and Local - too many programs like CTE are structured based upon budgets, political necessity, the fed government, and trying to look like other “model” programs. Real success would be achieved by creating a curriculum based upon the employment demands of NE Florida. Local industry has specific needs or skills that can be learned through CTE, but it also has universal skills that could be taught through CTE and exposing all graduates to these skill sets and opportunities. Focus on employability skills only - focused by delivering graduates with the skills local employers are needing.

Continued, next page.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Appendix

Survey Insights

Area of investment

Survey responses

Technology & Resources

• •

• • •

• Partnerships

• • •

• Professional Development

• • • • • •

Updated resources. Programs should be given the CAPE money they earn, less 20% and maybe another small percentage to aid non-funded programs. We don’t even know how much we have for each academy. Up to date technology that keep pace with business changes. Updated facilities and equipment. The equipment and some of the classrooms need to be refreshed and made current. The greatest single factor in the success of any CTE program is the instructor, but they cannot function at the highest level without the facilities, tools, and supplies they need. Software that works and is ready to use. Viable business partnerships that have job program pipelines. More connection to local post secondary institutions. More businesses need to help support CTE programs. Support could be through hiring needs analysis, summer interns or financial help with the program. A close relationship between CTE and business help CTE students, businesses and the funding needed for the CTE programs. Allow local leaders in the industries to be involved and field trips to local industries. Additional resources to prepare students and teachers for industry certification would be helpful. Offer training over the summer to the teachers. Mentorship. Adequate training for teachers and access to resources in a timely manner. Teaching and curriculum support through engagement from local industry partners. Having a set curriculum is a major key. It is not ideal to allow teachers to create their own curriculum because that is a tall task.

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

Appendix

Survey Insights

Survey Results: Student and Parent/Guardian Survey As a secondary touchpoint, a survey was developed to gain more insights from current students and their parents/ guardians regarding program awareness, perception and ways to improve outreach efforts with more targeted strategies. The results and insights are as follows:

550

“How did you first hear about Career & Technical Education (CTE) Programs?”

Responses

In-school communication (Example: flyer, website, poster) School counselor or teacher

A previous student A career night or public event

Questions Community resource (Pastor, mentor, big brother/sister)

2% Participation

Other

“Which program are you or your student currently enrolled in?”

233

Computer Science

students PROGRAM*

317

Digital Media Technology

parents/guardians

*All programs were represented by respondents Agriscience: Landscape

Building Trades: Welding

Criminal Justice/ Fire Science

Engineering

Agriscience: Veterinary

Business Mgmt (VyStar)

Culinary

Medical Science

Automotive

Computer Science

Cybersecurity

Robotics/Advanced 0.4Mfr.

Aviation

Gaming

Digital Media Technology

Sports Marketing

Building Trades: Construction

Cosmetology

Early Childhood Education

The School District of Duval County

0.5

0.3 0.2

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

0.1 0.0

Appendix

Survey Insights

“What most influenced your decision to participate in this program?”

Given your personal experience...

256

0.5

... how would you rank your ability to complete the program? (low=1, high=5)

0.4

4.22

0.3 114

104

0.2

0.1

Average Answer

0.0 Ability to apply for a job following graduation

0.40

Salary and benefit opportunities

0.35

Encouraged by a family member, friend, or mentor

0.30 0.25 0.20

... how would you rank your instructor in terms of preparing you to get a job following graduation? (low=1, high=5)

3.96

General curiosity or interest in the program Other

0.15 “What would you most like to see the school district 0.10 invest resources in to improve the student experience?” 0.05 0.00

0.5

12%

0.4

11%

0.3

Average Answer

... how would you rank the quality of the classrooms and/or labs assigned to your program? (low=1, high=5)

3.80

0.2

16%

0.1

20%

0.0

Average Answer

0.40 0.35

37%

0.30 0.25 0.20 0.15

Improved and more relevant curriculum

0.10

State-of-the-art technology and/or equipment

0.00

0.05

... how would you rank the technology and equipment used in your program? (low=1, high=5)

Field trips and hands-on learning activities Job-ready skills development Renovated or new facilities

Average Answer

Additional staff and instructors

3.71

The School District of Duval County

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

0.4 0.3

Appendix

Survey Insights

0.2 0.1 0.0

Survey Results: Student and 0.40 Parent/Guardian Survey Continued 0.35 0.30

Florida State College 0.25 at 0.20 Jacksonville (FSCJ) 0.15

“Based on program completion - do you or your student plan to apply for a job following graduation?”

0.5

0.10 0.05 I am aware of the CTE programs offered 0.00 at Florida State College at Jacksonville?

0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1

Yes 44%

0.0

No 56%

0.40

Undecided 42%

0.35 0.30 0.25

Yes 41%

0.20 0.15

No 17%

0.10

Please select a response:

13%

0.05 0.00

The CTE programs at FSCJ are appropriate for the career pathways offered

29%

I am not aware of pathways betweeen high schools and FSCJ

58%

“What do you think is the biggest challenge you, or your student, face in completing the 0.5 program?”

The high school career pathways that connect to FSCJ require further discussion or improvement

0.2

Expanded career planning resources

“No technical skills.”

0.1

Career progression: clearer career pathways from shorter programs to advanced training More community-level outreach to build awareness of programs and resources Other

0.4

“The teacher being on site. The teacher isn’t 0.3 a lot of the days.” there

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

0.40

Additional support to overcome barriers experienced prior to submission

148 85

0.35

0.30

0.25

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00

Please indicate which of the following items are needed at FSCJ. Select all that apply.

0.0

“Getting help.”

0.40 0.35

“Paying for a uniform.”

0.30 0.25 0.20

The School District of Duval County

0.15 0.10 0.05

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA)

This report represents a collaboration between Duval County Public Schools and HKS Architects, Inc. For more information, please contact: Jill Fierle Director, Career & Technical Education Duval County Public Schools fierlej@duvalschools.org 904.390.2662 Jessica Roddenberry, AIA Education Studio Leader HKS Architects, Inc. FL #AA F000119 jroddenberry@hksinc.con 321.474.1281