Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Career Technical Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District outlines expansion of CTE programs and dual‑enrollment efforts
Summary
Director Debbie Cardozo updated trustees on career technical education (CTE) programs, grant funding, early college credit expansion, and plans to increase industry partnerships and local work‑based learning.
The district's director of college and career readiness, Debbie Cardozo, presented an update on Career Technical Education (CTE) programs at the May 28 board meeting, describing program growth, grant activity and plans to expand dual enrollment and work‑based learning.
Cardozo told the board the district currently offers 20 CTE programs covering 11 of 15 state industry sectors and that nearly 1,900 students were enrolled this year, a small increase over the prior year. She described multiple grants—Perkins, Golden State Pathways, K‑12 strong workforce planning grants, and CCAP dual‑enrollment grants—totaling over $4.3 million that the district is using to expand early college credit, industry pathways, and teacher professional development.
Cardozo said the district is focusing on increasing the number of CTE completers (students who complete a multi‑course pathway and capstone) and aligning courses to a‑g and early college credit. She described a newly reintroduced Exploring College and Career course at Santa Rosa Middle School (a 10‑day career module “CTE wheel”), partnerships with SRJC to expand articulation and CCAP dual‑enrollment, and systems to track local work‑based learning activity.
Trustees asked about a‑g approvals for construction courses, credentialing for teachers in arts/media programs, and how to increase access for students in special education or those who missed programming during the pandemic. Cardozo said the district is identifying master‑schedule and scheduling models (including 4x4 options at specific sites) to increase access and that the CTE advisory committee includes industry partners and a student representative.
Board members and staff discussed outreach and visibility: Cardozo described partnership work with the CTE Foundation of Sonoma County and recent community presence such as a CTE culinary food truck at a local market. Trustees encouraged more visible promotion of CTE pathways and asked staff to deepen industry partnerships and provide metrics demonstrating how grant funds increase student outcomes.
Cardozo said next steps include expanding CCAP dual enrollment offerings (pending SRJC faculty availability), completing a‑g approvals for remaining courses, establishing a new middle‑school CTE lab at Montgomery for 7–8 graders, and building reporting against CTE completer and post‑graduation follow‑up data.
