Wisconsin CTE Leadership Conference

Concurrent #1

Panel Discussion- Indigenous Educator Stakeholder Panel Discussion

This panel discussion will explore topics related to Native American education such as perceptions, postsecondary barriers, opportunities, cultural and family influencers, stigmas and stereotypes, and teacher preparation. The panel will include members from the Red Cliff, Bad River, Lac Courte Oreilles communities.

Facilitated by Dan Kovach, Assistant Professor, Career and Technical Education, UW-Stout

Biography: Dan was born and raised in Ashland WI, other than shop classes, school never engaged him, so he enlisted in the Army at 17 and spent years living and traveling abroad. After serving in Iraq, he settled down to raise a family and earned degrees in computer electronics, networking technology, and business, and he holds a masters and doctorate in CTE. Dan has taught from 6th grade through graduate school at two K12s and two universities. He is currently writing a book on veterans in transition through education and he teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. 

Panelists: Forthcoming

Biographies: Forthcoming

Concurrent #2

Creating a Culture of Career Readiness in Your District

You have created a great scope and sequence of Academic and Career Planning (ACP) activities. But, you are still struggling to fully integrate ACP into your school district. How can you get buy-in from your teachers and administrators? How can you get your district to embrace a culture of career readiness? And, when are you going to find the time to do it? Find the answers you are looking for at this session!

Presenter: Karin Smith, Academic and Career Planning/Dual Enrollment, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Biography: Building on her background working with both education and business partners, Karin Smith’s mission is to build a bridge between educators and employers in order to create a brighter future for youth and a stronger talent pipeline for businesses. She is living this mission as an Educational Consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction specializing in Academic and Career Planning, Dual Enrollment and Career Pathways.

Smith previously worked as the Milwaukee Regional Career Pathway Director through Wisconsin’s New Skills for Youth grant. She has a strong background creating programs and leading initiatives related to her mission such as Lead to Succeed, My Life! My Plan! and Inspire Southeast Wisconsin

Presenter: Beth Kaminski:  State Director, Regional Career Pathways, Pathways Wisconsin

Biography: After spending 21 years in the K-12 education system at the high school level as a teacher, instructional coach, associate principal, and principal, Beth Kaminski is excited to be working on behalf of Wisconsin students to create regional career pathways focused on ensuring employment opportunities for them after graduation in high-skill, in-demand sectors. Working alongside state level Regional Career Pathway Coordinators, K-12 districts, the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Workforce Development, Higher Education Institutions, the Wisconsin Economic Development Organization, and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Beth's work with RCP is intended to create career ready graduates resulting in a talent pool for Wisconsin employers to hire from, both now and in the future

Concurrent #3

Guided Pathways Implementation

Guided Pathways Implementation- Learn one college’s approach towards planning and implementing a guided pathways framework and the operational challenges they’ve encountered along the way.

Presenter: Josh Gamer, Dean, Integrated Technology Division, Western Technical College

Biography: Dr. Gamer earned his Ed.D. in Career and Technical Education at the University of Wisconsin – Stout in 2017. His transition into education followed a 10-year career in the manufacturing industry, where his most recent role was Director of Operations. In his 12 years at Western Technical College, he took on many responsibilities including three years as an instructor, two years as the Associate Dean of the Business Division and a year as the Interim-Vice President of Academics. Dr. Gamer is currently the Dean of the Integrated Technology Division at Western Technical College, where he aims to infuse cutting-edge technology and skills into STEM/CTE education. Through his numerous efforts, he has secured funding to expand advanced manufacturing education into new areas; worked with local correctional departments to help establish new vocational training programs in skilled crafts; and overseen the planning and construction of a new state-of-the-art apprenticeship center, horticultural education center, and the newly remodeled Integrated Technology Center. Dr. Gamer was formally recognized as a Rising Star under 40, a 2020 Friend of Correctional Education, was a previous League of Innovations presenter, an NSF ATE Evaluator, and has served in multiple volunteer capacities within his community. Using business acumen acquired through his MBA and industry experiences, he enjoys bringing local industry and education together in unique partnerships aimed at addressing the skills gap and ensuring the vibrancy of the local economy.

Presenter: Dr. Rebecca Hopkins, Dean of Academic Excellence, Education and Human Services, Western Technical College

Biography: Dr. Rebecca Hopkins is a professional educator and academic administrator with over 19 years in higher education, as well as experience in K-12 teaching, and state government. Dr. Hopkins’ areas of expertise are teaching and learning, teacher preparation, equity and inclusion, program development and assessment, student success, and partnerships. Rebecca is starting her fourth year at Western Technical College and currently serves as the Dean of Academic Excellence, Education and Human Services, leads the 7-Week Redesign Steering Committee, and is the academic administrator on the College Equity team.  Prior to this, Rebecca served as the Dean of Education for Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota for 12 years. Dr. Hopkins has strong local, regional, and international experience in education having participated on state teacher preparation evaluation teams, led program development including consulting internationally, and has leadership experience in accreditation (program specific and institutional level) both regionally and internationally.

Concurrent #4

ACTE Federal Policy Update

In this session, you will be informed of the happenings of the new Congress and the Biden Administration related to CTE. This will include potential updates to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Higher Education Act (HEA), strategies to address CTE teacher shortages, and forecasting of Perkins funding.

Presenter: Zach Curtis, Manager of Government Relations, ACTE

Biography: As ACTE’s Manager of Government Relations, Zach serves as the organization’s federal lobbyist advocating for CTE funding and other key education and workforce policy priorities. Prior to ACTE, Zach spent 6.5 years at Bloomberg, during which he provided pro bono consulting for San Francisco Unified School District and advised Bloomberg Government’s nonprofit and postsecondary clients. He also completed a graduate federal policy internship for the Learning Policy Institute focused on the national teacher shortage. Zach holds a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the University of Oregon and a master’s degree in Public Policy, focused on education policy, from George Washington University.

Concurrent #6

Start at the Beginning: Kindergarten to College - Aligning Each Grade Level with CTE

The partnership between the Kenosha School of Technology Enhanced Curriculum and Gateway Technical College engages elementary, middle, and high school students with STEM-related activities, dual credit courses, and career exploration while embedding industry certification opportunities. Through this partnership, students learn academic, technical, and soft skills while understanding the possibilities after high school. The future of higher education's enrollment and industry's workforce is currently sitting in K12 classrooms across the state, so a strategic K16 alignment is vital to our state's economic development.

Presenters: Dr. Angela Andersson, Principal, Kenosha Schools of Technology Enhanced Curriculum 

Biography: Dr. Angela Andersson graduated from Texas A&M University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts and in 1995 with a Ph.D in political science. She taught at Loyola University Chicago before starting to teach in Kenosha Unified School District in 2000.  In January 2006, she began planning a school with a small team that became the Kenosha School of Technology Enhanced Curriculum in September 2007.  Dr. Andersson has been the principal ever since. She is incredibly proud of how the curricular program at KTEC is producing high levels of achievement for students and opening doors to further education and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Most recently, she collaborated with industry and higher education to design the Kenosha High School of Technology Enhanced Curriculum.  The high school promotes career paths in high-skilled, high demand positions for students.

Presenter: Dr. Matt Janisin, Gateway Technical College

Biography: Matt started at Gateway Technical College in 2011 as the NC3 Instructor/Coordinator where he was responsible for coordinating with local, state, and national industry partners to design, develop, and implement industry credentials to help students fill the skills gap found in many industry sectors including transportation, manufacturing, and construction. Since 2017 he has been Vice President of the Business & Workforce Solutions (BWS) division at Gateway where his primary role is to oversee outreach to business and industry, apprenticeship, customized contract training, Fab Lab student support and community outreach, business partnerships, and specialized collaborative training initiatives working with organizations including the Department of Corrections, local workforce agencies, and private donors.  The work done in BWS connects many aspects of the college and its mission to business and industry and facilitates deeper relationships.  Businesses are served through short-term customized training to fill their immediate needs but then connected to the academic programs to ensure they have a pipeline of talent to grow and prosper. Through the Fab Lab BWS connects our local K12 schools and other community groups working with students of similar age with academic areas in the college and with employer partners.  The open lines of communication between the college, K12 schools, and businesses forge a stronger community.  Matt holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Industrial & Technology Education and a doctorate in Career and Technical Education; all from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.  He taught CTE-related courses, including engineering, manufacturing, automotive, and power sports technologies at the high school level for almost nine years before joining Gateway.

Concurrent #7

Building Robust Career Pathways in a PK-12 Setting

Have you hoped to strengthen Guided Career Pathways within your school district? How do we build these, what do they include and who are the key influencers in this work?

If you are interested in understanding what a strong pathway includes, how to get there and what may be the next steps for your district, please consider attending. We will also explore steps to increasing work-based learning opportunities, industry credentialing, and dual-credit attainment.

Presenter: Britta Rotering, Supervisor of Career & Technical Education, School District of La Crosse

Biography: Britta Rotering is the Supervisor of Career & Technical Education for the School District of La Crosse.  Britta leads the career pathway efforts, including three CTE Academies: Health Science, Architecture & Construction, and the La Crosse Engineering Academy.   
 
Britta is passionate about building career pathway opportunities, with work-based learning programming embedded into the PK-12 school system.

Concurrent #8

Career Guidance as a Core Function of High-Quality CTE

Whether PK-12 or post-secondary education, CTE teachers have both an opportunity and a responsibility to advance career guidance through their lessons, courses, and programs. The current practice limits students’ academic and career identity development by relegating the career guidance responsibility primarily to the school counselor. With the projected advancement of knowledge, skills, and dispositions life cycle, learners must prepare for an evolutionary education and life-work journey. Academic and career planning (ACP) evolving student career readiness (ACPR) is an initiative that gets it right, provided it is a collaborative approach embraced through sustained cross-curricular guidance, teaching, and learning.

ACP, in practice, has an opportunity to evolve into a PK-16 teaching and learning culture. A culture that manifests interdependent, highly contextualized learning and skill development across an academic and career foundation. A call for such a culture date back to (Perkins: II-VI, 1984-2006) and the School to Work Opportunities Act (STWOA, 1994). Both highlighted an interdependence between CTE and Gen Ed through which all students experience rich, highly contextualized curricular school-coordinated learning through career-based and work-based learning, thereby preparing all for engagement in the economy through vocation.

Through dialogue guided through a visual presentation, the attendee will be introduced to Career Guidance as a shared responsibility. They will understand the opportunity to affect a culture of student academic and career planning and preparedness. Session participants can connect Guided Pathways and Career Guidance and see them as interdependent functions.

Presenter: Urs R. Haltinner, Ph.D., Professor & Program Director, Ed.D. In CTE, UW-Stout

Biography: Urs is a native-born, educated Swiss who emigrated to Wisconsin and worked in the Ag, sales, and service sectors. During the mid 80’s agriculture recession, he advanced his associate degree to a BS in Marketing Education. He taught Marketing at the secondary level and earned his MS degree in Vocational and Technical Education He then served as UW-Stout Marketing and Business teacher education and program director. He earned his Ph.D. in Work and Human Resource Education during that time. Currently, he is UW-Stout’s Ed.D. in the CTE-Leadership program director.

Concurrent #9

Influences on Career Selection

The acute shortage of career and technical educators at the secondary level has resulted in many school districts seeking alternative ways to fill teacher shortage.  This study sought to identify what influenced students in career and technical education programs at UW-Stout.  In addition, non-education majors were also surveyed as a comparison group.  Participants responded to a specifically designed  Qualtrics survey.

Presenter: Diane Klemme, Professor and Family and Consumer Sciences Program Director, UW-Stout

Biography: Forthcoming

Concurrent #11

The Undecided College Student: How Career Assessments Can Help Student Success and Retention

With a high percentage of college-age students withdrawing from school, focus needs to be put on maintaining student enrollment and retention rates. Career planning tools such as career assessments can be used to keep students in school and have successful program completion. I will focus on the Career Cruising ™ that can be used in the 6-12 curriculum and higher education academic planning services.

Presenter: Rachael Mason, M.S. Student Central Advisor, Chippewa Valley Technical College

Biography: Rachael's CVTC Years of Service will be 8 years in March 2023. Rachael earned an undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education from UW-Stout and a Masters in Career and Technical Education from UW Stout. Rachael's Graduate paper was titled “The Relationship between the Kuder Career Assessment and Program Completion at Chippewa Valley Technical College”.

Concurrent #12

CTE Wisconsin State Association

Join CTE professionals from around the state to discuss the development of a new ACTE state association. The discussion will include the status of state CTE organizations, the logistics involved in starting a state association, and the benefits of a unified state K-16 CTE association. Please join us to help shape the future of CTE in Wisconsin!

Presenter: Matt Simoneau, Associate Professor of Career and Technical Education, UW-Stout

Biography: Matt Simoneau currently serves as Associate Professor in Career and Technical Education at UW-Stout where he teaches various courses in career and technical education. He also serves a Program Director for both the BS in Career, Technical Education, and Training and the BS in Individualized studies degree.

Concurrent #13

FeMade: Encouraging Female Students to Explore Nontraditional Career Pathways

About seven years ago, a partnership with the school district and area industry partners — called MADE (manufacturing, automotive, design, and engineering) — was created that focuses on changing the mindset many have on these pathways, creating opportunities for students to explore these pathways, engage in career-based learning, and take on real-world projects that partner with industry and are embedded in curriculum. From that group, a subgroup began focusing on encouraging female students to participate in what are considered nontraditional occupations by creating clubs at each high school called FeMADE. Learn about how these clubs were developed, the scope of activities they have created so far to engage female students and serve as mentors for them, and future plans to bring these clubs to younger grades and further develop the goal of empowering women to make career choices that best fit them.

Presenter: Mollie Haubenschild, Career and Technical Education Coordinator, School to Career Coordinator, Academic and Career Planning Coordinator, School District of Waukesha

Biography: Mollie has been a member of the Waukesha School District for 20 years. She began as a business/marketing teacher, primarily at the middle school level, also served as an instructional technology coach and then coordinator. Mollie is currently serving as the Career and technical education coordinator, overseeing the business/marketing, family and consumer, and technical education, serves as the school-to-work coordinator, and is coordinator for Academic and Career Planning. She is passionate about providing students with opportunities and experiences that allow students to explore future pathways in a real world context.

Concurrent #14

ACTE Federal Policy Update (Repeat of Session #4)

In this session, you will be informed of the happenings of the new Congress and the Biden Administration related to CTE. This will include potential updates to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Higher Education Act (HEA), strategies to address CTE teacher shortages, and forecasting of Perkins funding.

Presenter: Zach Curtis, Manager of Government Relations, ACTE

Biography: As ACTE’s Manager of Government Relations, Zach serves as the organization’s federal lobbyist advocating for CTE funding and other key education and workforce policy priorities. Prior to ACTE, Zach spent 6.5 years at Bloomberg, during which he provided pro bono consulting for San Francisco Unified School District and advised Bloomberg Government’s nonprofit and postsecondary clients. He also completed a graduate federal policy internship for the Learning Policy Institute focused on the national teacher shortage. Zach holds a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the University of Oregon and a master’s degree in Public Policy, focused on education policy, from George Washington University.

Concurrent #15

Curriculum Design & Development in Career and Technical Education

Session Description: Forthcoming

Presenter: Michelle Conrad, Associate Professor, CTE & CSPA Graduate Coordinator, School of Professional Education & Leadership, University of Central Missouri

Biography: Forthcoming

Concurrent #16

Manufacturing Your Future: A Dual Enrollment Pathway for STEM and Technology Based Manufacturing in Connecticut

Research obtained from this study will provide information on the attainment of career-ready dual enrollment pathway programs that will not only address the shortfall in employment but promote social and economic advancements. While research exists on dual enrollment, research on dual enrollment towards an AS degree in MFG during high school, with recruitment beginning in the 9th grade, and commencing with the choice of further academic pursuits with an advantage or active employee engagement, is limited. The purpose of this study is to advance research on the validity of this unique dual enrollment effort, where high school students acquire manufacturing workforce readiness skills while working toward an Associate of Science in MFG or earn an industry-recognized Manufacturing Certificate during their high school endeavor.

Presenter: Christine Cherry, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, Computer & Electrical Engineering Technology Gateway Community College

Biography: Christine Cherry is an Associate Professor in the Engineering and Applied Technologies department at Gateway Community College (GCC) in New Haven, Connecticut. She is the program coordinator for computer and electrical engineering technology. In addition, she is the GCC coordinator and liaison for the Hamden Engineering Career Academy (HECA). HECA, established to support the manufacturing sector in Connecticut, is a dual enrollment program for high school students at Hamden High School where students complete an associate in science degree in manufacturing engineering technology during their high school careers.