trict-approved curriculum three years ago. The most important lesson learned from this pilot was the professional development and tools teachers needed to understand the pedagogy of a virtual/blended classroom. Student retention was low in these classes


for a variety of reasons. Many students felt the courses were too hard. Counselors needed to increase their understanding of virtual/blended learning. Yet, to prepare students for both college and career, it was imperative the online blended learning component would need to be an essential part of CTE curriculum. With a strong belief that all students need


to be prepared to learn, apply for college and jobs, take industry and college entrance exams, access digital content and work virtu- ally, a plan was developed to support students and teachers within the online/blended learning environments. An administrator with a background in online teaching and technology integration met with teachers to share best practices and resources through organizations such as the International So- ciety of Technology Educators (ISTE) and Computer Using Educators (CUE). Administrator access to classes allowed


teachers to get feedback on lessons and curriculum. Counselors were assigned to increase communication regarding course- work. By addressing areas of growth through initiating these support measures, the CTE courses increased student enrollment by 300 percent by the 2011-12 school year.


Setting curriculum and teacher criteria It was important that the online courses


would stay true to the district’s mission. The CTE courses needed to be able to integrate the anchor standards of the Common Core as well as the national career technical edu- cation standards, prepare for industry certi- fications and postsecondary education. To ensure that the courses being taught


virtually were preparing students for both college and career, criteria was developed to determine which courses would benefit from online/blended delivery. The selected courses were part of an approved pathway with a program of study established. They were approved a-g and/or articulated with a community college.


Due to the need to balance theoretical


and applied knowledge of a CTE course, the curriculum had to lend itself to a blended model that engaged students within face- to-face labs and supported the concepts of a flipped classroom. An example of this is the Emergency Medical Technician course,


time students take a full load of courses at their high school site and additional classes through the Virtual Academy. The blended learning model for CTE courses still allows for labs, field trips to colleges and businesses, internships, involvement in Career Techni- cal Student Organizations and integrated project-based learning. Through the use of Web 2.0


tools, CTE teachers have been able to address the workplace skills of collaboration and dig- ital citizenship. The access to the CTE classes has increased for students in remote areas of the district and for students who could not fit a CTE class in their schedule due to AP or intervention classes. Com- ments from students range from wanting college-level coursework to the desire to experience a career exhibit the scope of this new venture.


The cutting edge


which is the first blended learning model to be approved through Los Angeles County EMS. Other courses, such as International Business, allow students to access content online and still participate in internship op- portunities with Northrop Grumman and the cities of both Lancaster and Palmdale. To maintain the engaging classroom en-


vironment of the career technical education courses, teachers needed to use instructional Web 2.0 tools effectively. This past year the CTE teachers completed the Leading Edge Online Teacher Certification training. Pro- fessional development opportunities such as AVID training and industry certifications such as Adobe were offered to teachers. For the 2012-13 school year, teachers applied and were interviewed for these positions.


Virtual Academy The district’s Virtual Academy has al-


lowed the blended CTE courses to be of- fered through this new charter school. There are now more than 500 students accessing career technical education courses in this new model. These students are both full- time and part-time virtual students. Part-


According to the International Associa-


tion for K-12 Online Learning, there were more than 1.8 million enrollments in dis- tance-education courses in K-12 districts in 2009-2010, almost all of which were online courses, with 74 percent of these high school enrollments. The organization also states one of the top reasons school districts make online learning available at their schools is to provide courses not otherwise available. These facts, coupled with the goal of ca-


reer technical education to be on the cutting edge of preparing students for the workplace of the future, make accessing CTE through a blended online learning environment a via- ble option to address the challenges of main- taining rigorous CTE courses that prepare students for both college and career. This will make them competitive in the global economy of the 21st century. n


Elizabeth McKinstry is director, Career Technical Education, for Antelope


Valley Union High School District and a member of ACSA’s Career Technical Education Council.


November/December 2012 31


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