Lots of Free CTE Learning Opportunities for Educators

In February, the Summer 2024 ISBE CTE Professional Learning Calendar was released. The Summer 2024 Calendar includes 24 workshops, including in-person workshops across Illinois. 

Today, the 2024-2025 ISBE CTE Professional Learning Calendar is released. In addition to the three online asynchronous professional learning courses that are running multiple times each year, this 2024-2025 Calendar features 65 workshops, including workshops focused on equity and closing opportunity and achievement gaps, workshops focused on new teachers, workshops focused on the integration of literacy and math instruction, workshops focused on CTE coursework in specific Career Pathways, and workshops to support administrators and counselors. 

Please share with educators in your school districts and regions and register today!

May 2024

Expanding the NIU Illinois CTE Project Team

The NIU Illinois CTE Project, one key component of the larger Illinois P-20 Network Team, is contracted by the Illinois State Board of Education’s CTE & Innovation Team to collaborate with ISBE and educators across Illinois in leading CTE-related professional learning; evaluating, identifying, creating, and sharing instructional resources; supporting the goal of having high-quality and diverse CTE educators in classrooms across Illinois; and implementing ISBE’s annual Career Connections Conference.

As schools across Illinois begin the 2023-2024 school year, we are excited to announce two new members of our NIU Illinois CTE Project Team: 

Brian Rick – Brian joins the team with a background having served as a high school CTE teacher as well as having worked in CTE at the community college-level and in the Regional Office of Education setting. Brian has extensive experience in construction and engineering classrooms, with Perkins V and its related processes, in implementing and leading Skills USA within a school district, and with leading efforts to close opportunity gaps for all students. Most recently, Brian has served as the CTE Navigator at Southeastern Illinois Community College having also previously worked at Vienna High School, ROE 20, Shawnee Community College, and at Carbondale High School. Brian has been involved in IACTE, and this past year, Brian was also part of ACTE’s IAED Diversity Cohort. 

Betsy Westergreen – Elizabeth (Betsy) Westergreen joins the team having most recently served as the Career and Community Services Coordinator at Pontiac Township High School. In addition to teaching in this role, she was actively involved in leading schoolwide efforts to implement the PaCE Framework and the Work-Based Learning Continuum as well as serving as a liaison with community and business partners and the community college. Prior to her most recent role, Betsy also worked on the Innovative Curriculum Resource Project at Illinois State University under contract with ISBE, and Betsy served for many years as a CTE teacher in Flanagan-Cornell Unit School District 74 in which she taught classes across the Arts and Communications, Finance and Business Services, and Information Technology Career Pathways as well as leading a range of student activities. 

Over the coming weeks and months, we look forward to the opportunities that teachers, counselors, and administrators across Illinois will have to collaborate with Brian and Betsy alongside current NIU Illinois CTE Project Team members Shavina Baker and Bill Rose. 

August 2023

2023-2024 Professional Learning Calendars

ISBE and the NIU Illinois CTE Project Team, part of the Illinois P-20 Network, invite you to participate in a variety of professional development opportunities this school year, including: 

  • Online Professional Learning Courses 
  • CTE & Equity Promising Practices 
  • Administrator Academies – Open to All 
    • Illinois Career Pathways Overview 
    • Social & Emotional Learning Leads to College & Career Readiness 
    • PaCE Framework Overview 
    • Forming Relationships with Community and Business Partners 
  • Teaching & Assessing the Essential Skills in CTE 
  • Writing Team-Based Challenges
  • Career Pathway User Group
  • ISBE Career Connections Conference – June 18, 2024 – Tinley Park Convention Center

For more information and to register, please visit the ISBE CTE Professional Learning Calendar – 2023-2024. Additional workshops will be added to the calendar moving forward!

July 2023

NIU Illinois CTE Project is Hiring

UPDATE – Apply now for our CTE Educator position. Applications are now open with a priority review date of June 23, 2023.

CTE Educator – NIU Illinois CTE Project – APPLY NOW

The NIU Illinois CTE Project Team is excited to announce that we will be hiring a CTE Educator. While the position’s official job vacancy posting is not yet out, as the school year is wrapping up across Illinois, we wanted to share this opportunity as widely as possible, and we want to stress that candidates for this position will be considered from across Illinois.  

This position presents an incredible opportunity to work with educators and school districts across Illinois and to partner closely with the Illinois State Board of Education’s Career and Technical Education team. 

Highlights of the Job Description

The CTE Educator is an instructor in the Northern Illinois University Division of Outreach, Engagement, and Regional Development (OERD). Outreach and Engagement Instructors are professionals who conduct the division’s multitude of outreach and engagement activities with customers and partners across the region. This position will be primarily focused on instructional tasks – curriculum development, delivery of instruction, assessment and evaluation. Outreach and Engagement Instructors operate independently with minimal supervision and collaborate intentionally with colleagues across the division and across the university.

Duties and Responsibilities

Curriculum Development

  1. Lead development of instructional programs for students and teachers of all ages including, but not limited to new units of activities for students and teachers in both domestic and international settings.
  2. Research and develop curriculum and instructional activities, select books and other instructional materials, create videos of experts and authors as needed for the units.
  3. Investigate, develop, and promote new and innovative programming opportunities, especially those tailored to the needs of students with disabilities.
  4. Recruit and collaborate with NIU faculty, staff, and students to participate in NIU CTE and NIU CTE instructional programs.
  5. Write lessons, podcasts and other curricular materials that are aligned to standards and focus on building CTE and CTE skills.

Instructional Delivery – 30%

  1. Create proposals to deliver instruction in school classrooms, field, clinics, camps, across campus and online or other learning environments.
  2. Deliver high-quality instruction as an individual or part of a team that performs within timelines and within budgets and meets evaluation expectations.
  3. Deliver CTE instruction to families and community members in schools and communities on campus and off campus during school days, evenings, weekends, and summers.
  4. Monitor regional and national literacy news, research and publications a to identify opportunities for new programs and partners.

Assessment and Evaluation – 20%

  1. Study and use best practices for CTE instruction.
  2. Conduct a continuous improvement process, identifying metrics that establish accountability for CTE projects.
  3. Collect metrics and complete analyses as needed to determine effectiveness.
  4. Complete reports on outcomes and others needed or required.
  5. Work with faculty and SPA staff to identify opportunities, assist in development of proposals, and provide support as needed to research teams.

Other tasks that impact instructional improvement or innovation – 20%

  1. Coordinate with the P-20 Center’s personnel to ensure effective and efficient administration and operations.
  2. Work with P-20 Center students in instructional development, delivery and evaluation.
  3. Nurture established CTE delivery networks and develop new ones.
  4. Identify and cultivate internal and external sponsors of particular instructional programs.
  5. Serve as a liaison between NIU CTE and NIU’s many CTE academic departments, cultivating positive relationships with internal individuals and organizations.
  6. Work with messaging and media staff to promote CTE programs to targeted audiences.
  7. Represent the university, the division and the program to internal and external clients in a multitude of venues.
  8. Cultivate positive relationships with external individuals and organizations, including developing and sustaining both new and existing CTE and CTE partnerships.
  9. Collaborate across OERD’s networks, integrating NIU CTE activities into other networks, maximizing involvement of faculty, and increasing involvement of external partners.

Requirements of the Position

Minimum Educational Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in a CTE field required.
  • Master’s degree preferred.

Minimum Experience Requirements

  • Two years’ experience as a secondary CTE instructor.
  • Professional presentations in a CTE/CTE or educational field.
  • Two years’ demonstration of leading a team to produce high quality CTE/CTE programming, curriculum, instruction and/or assessment including creating accommodations for disabilities.

Licensing or Certification Required

  • Illinois Professional Educator License – Teacher licensure required in CTE field.
  • Administrative licensure preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Critical to Performance of this Position

  • Experience with new Perkins V Needs Assessment and Program of Study Process.
  • Involved in Illinois Perkins V planning.
  • Familiar with EFE/ACC requirements and improvement planning processes and documents.
  • Experience with local WIOA connections.
  • Experience with successful local business and industry councils.
  • In-depth knowledge of at least one CTE discipline.

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

  • Create and deliver professional development according to state and national standards.
  • Ability to work successfully as a team leader and as a team member.
  • Demonstrated ability to operate independently with minimal supervision, initiate new projects, and network across CTE networks, NIU, and the region.
  • Strong written and oral communication skills.
  • Commitment to accountability for the university’s outreach and engagement mission, presidential goals such as increasing partnerships, and division goals for mutually beneficial engagement with communities across the region.
May 2023

Registration Open – ISBE Career Connections Conference

ISBE Career Connections: Building Community before the IACTE Annual Conference – February 15, 2023
Register for the 2023 ISBE Career Connections Conference

Join the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) on February 15, 2023, for a day of networking and collaboration with and among Illinois CTE educators and state administrators before attending the annual IACTE conference.

Morning sessions at the ISBE Career Connections Conference will provide timely information and support for specific groups including:

  • Agriculture Grant Recipients
  • Career Exploration/Career Development Experience Grant Recipients
  • College and Career Pathway Coordinators
  • District/School CTE Administrators
  • Ed Pathway Grant Recipients
  • EFE Directors
  • Innovation Grant Recipients
  • New or Nearly New CTE Teachers
  • Regional Work Experience Career Exploration Programs
  • School Counselors

Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend a specialized networking lunch and afternoon breakout sessions providing opportunities for individuals to broaden their knowledge and skillsets related to various CTE topics.

In addition, the ISBE Career Connections Conference is hosting an evening keynote event to help kick-off the IACTE Conference (February 16-17). Dr. Amanda Bastoni, Educational Research Scientist at CAST, as well as former CTE teacher and administrator, will bring her energetic and highly-informative presentation style that will provide significant insights into what schools of all sizes and in all settings across Illinois can do with and through CTE to improve learning and increase student success.

Participants have the opportunity to register for the Day Conference Event, the Keynote Dinner Event, or both events. Don’t miss this opportunity to grow your knowledge and skills while interacting with CTE colleagues from across the state. Register now for the ISBE Career Connections Conference!

And register for the 2023 IACTE Conference on February 16 and 17, 2023. 

November 2022

Return of the Career Pathways User Group

In collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Innovation team, the Northern Illinois University CTE Project hosts the state-wide Illinois Career Pathways User Group to support the adoption, growth, and ongoing improvement of the Illinois College and Career Pathway Endorsements, with authentic learning, integrated learning, and work-based learning at the heart of these efforts for all students across Illinois.

This video is the September 2022 meeting of the Illinois Career Pathways User Group. During this meeting, updates were provided to all participants about the growth in earned Endorsements across Career Pathways since the start of this policy in 2020, about recently passed HB3296 and its requirements to implement the Endorsements and the PaCE Framework, and with information about the application process for school districts. Watch the video of the meeting below or on the Illinois P-20 Network YouTube Channel.

Illinois Career Pathway User Group – September 2022

If you are not already part of the Illinois Career Pathway User Group, register today in order to access the Google Group and meeting invitations.

September 2022