Career Clusters
DEBBIE GRANTHAM
I N S T R U C T I O N A L M A N A G E M E N T C O O R D I N AT O R
W AY N E C O U N T Y P U B L I C S C H O O L S
CTE SUMMER CONFERENCE
J U LY 1 2 – 1 6 , 2 0 1 5
Career Clusters, Pathways, and Courses
 Career Clusters – groupings of occupations used as an organizing tool for
curriculum design and instruction
 Career Pathways – sub-groupings of occupations within a Career Cluster which
are based on a set of common knowledge and skills required for career success
 North Carolina groups careers into 16 Career Clusters
 Every NC Career & Technical Education course falls into one or more of the
16 Career Clusters
CTE Concentrator
 CTE Concentrator – a student who has earned four or more technical credits in
a Career Cluster; with at least one of those courses being a completer course
 Completer Course – second or third course in a series that builds upon skills
acquired in the previous course (completer course has a prerequisite)
 Foundation Course – provides fundamental knowledge and skills needed for
student success in secondary and postsecondary education and careers in the
Career Cluster
 Enhancement Course – supplements the foundation courses within each
Career Cluster
Criteria for CTE Concentrator
 Student must earn four (4) credits in CTE courses in a particular Career Cluster:
• Three (3) credits must come from the Foundation Course List
• At least one credit must be a Level 2 CTE course
• Level 2 courses require a prerequisite and are identified by an asterisk (*) on the Career Clusters
documents
• The fourth credit can be a Foundation Course or Enhancement Course
NC Career Clusters Document
 Document published by DPI which contains all of the CTE courses approved by
the NC State Board of Education representing all Career Clusters and Pathways:
NC Career Clusters
 Each LEA can edit this document to publish a local guide reflecting its own
Career Clusters, Pathways, and courses
 Local document may also include any approved Local Course Options
Wayne County Public Schools - Career Clusters Chart
• One-Page Document – printed
front and back
• Printed on Colored Card Stock
• Used by counselors as a guide
when scheduling students for
elective classes
• Used by CDCs and counselors
when determining or verifying
CTE Concentrators
NC Career & College Promise
 Provides seamless dual enrollment educational opportunities for eligible
North Carolina high school students in order to accelerate completion of
college certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees
 Career & College Promise courses are included in all of the 16 Career Clusters
 CCP courses count toward a student’s CTE Concentrator status:
• Level 1 – counts as a Foundation course in the Career Cluster
• Level 2 – counts as a Foundation “completer course” in the Career Cluster
• Level 3 – counts as an Enhancement course in the Career Cluster
How Community College Courses Count in Career Clusters
Identifying CTE Concentrators for
ACT WorkKeys Testing
 ACT WorkKeys assessment is a component of the READY Accountability Model
and is included in the calculation for School Performance Grades
 Schools are expected to meet the 95% Participation Rate of eligible students
• Target Population = graduates identified as CTE Concentrators
 Key to the process:
• Clear understanding of how a student meets CTE Concentrator requirements
• Skill to access and review the Diploma Assessment Report in PowerSchool
• Verify all CTE Concentrators have a Silver, Gold, or Platinum NCRC OR are administered the
ACT WorkKeys assessments
Diploma Assessment Report (DAR)
 Report generated from PowerSchool that evaluates a student’s credits earned
and courses scheduled to determine concentrator status
 Diploma Assessment Report will identify the cluster to be achieved:
• Column on DAR called “CTE Concentrators” which will identify all students who are
concentrators based on completion of 4 courses in a Career Cluster
• A plus sign (+) beside the cluster name indicates that the cluster is not complete, but is on
track to be completed prior to graduation based on courses in which the student is enrolled
 Diploma Assessment Report should be generated for the following students:
• ALL Seniors
• Early Graduates (Example: 11th Graders on track to graduate in 3 years)
• Students who will be promoted at mid-year to the 12th Grade
Recommended Process for Identifying CTE Concentrators
 Designated school staff will generate the Diploma Assessment Report to review
the concentrator status for potential graduates:
• Students who have a concentration identified on the DAR must take the ACT WorkKeys
assessments
• Students who are currently in a course (identified by a + symbol) that will result in a CTE
Concentrator status must take the ACT WorkKeys assessments
• Students who are identified as “No” under CTE Concentrators must be reviewed to ensure
they are not potential CTE Concentrators who need to take the ACT WorkKeys assessments
 In the review process, if a student is labeled “No” on the DAR and is
determined to be a CTE Concentrator, an Override must be performed:
• Overrides should only be performed for rare circumstances, such as Local Course Options
• Overrides will appear on the DAR with an asterisk (*) beside the cluster name
CTE Concentrator Verification Process
(established for Wayne County Public Schools)
Generate “Diploma Assessment Report” from PowerSchool to include ALL Seniors:
• Click on “12” under Student Search to select all 12th Grade students
• Click on “System Reports”
• NCDPI Reports tab
• Diploma Assessment Report
• Save as an Excel Spreadsheet
CTE Concentrator Verification Process
(established for Wayne County Public Schools)
Include Early Graduates and 11th Graders who will be promoted
at mid-year to the 12th Grade:
• Obtain list of students from counselors
• Click on “11” under Student Search
• Scroll to bottom of list and click on “Select by Hand”
• Deselect all 11th Graders and choose only the 11th Graders that are determined to
be Early Graduates or promoted to 12th Grade at mid-year
• Click on “Update Selection”
• Click on “System Reports” and generate DAR for selected students
• Save as an Excel Spreadsheet
• Copy & Paste the list of students to Diploma Assessment Report
containing all Seniors
CTE Concentrator Verification Process
(established by Wayne County Public Schools)
Format the DAR Excel Spreadsheet to create a working document to verify CTE Concentrators
•
•
•
•
Change CTE Concentrators column to read: CTE Concentrators from PowerSchool
Insert new column to the right to read: CTE Concentrators Verified by School
Format spreadsheet and delete any columns not needed
Create column to record NCRC completion and level (None, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum)
Column labeled “CTE Concentrators Verified by School” is used to record the Career Cluster
completed by the student after checking the following for each student:
• Historical Grades
• Student Schedules (for BOTH Semesters)
Sample DAR Report by WCPS
Checking Historical Grades
 Click on “12” under Student Search to select all 12th Grade students
 Click on [Select Function] drop down arrow at bottom of student list
 Select “Mass Print a Student Screen” from the list of Group Functions
 Click on the “Quick Lookup” drop down arrow
 Select “Historical Grades” and Submit
 All students will be listed in the left menu:
• Click on each student (one at a time) to view the Historical Grades for that student
OR
• Follow Mass Printing Instructions on the computer screen OR click on the printer button to print the
Historical Grades report for each student on the list
Checking Student Schedules
• Click on “12” under Student Search to select
all 12th Grade students
• Click on [Select Function] drop down arrow at
bottom of student list
• Select “Student Schedule Report” from the list
of Group Functions
• Change the date beside “Include Active
Enrollments As Of” to Today’s Date
• View or Print this report for each student
Maintaining Accurate Concentrator List
 Process calls for “Team Work” between CDCs, counselors, and data managers:
• Counselors/Data Manager will notify the CDC when a “new” Senior is enrolled at the school
• Counselors will notify the CDC when a Senior makes a schedule change that involves a CTE course
• CDC will update the DAR spreadsheet (working document) to maintain an accurate list of all Seniors,
Early Graduates, Mid-Year Graduates, and students promoted to 12th Grade during the school year
 Identifying CTE Concentrators should occur by November for ACT WorkKeys testing, and again
in February in case there are additional students who have fulfilled the requirements to be a
CTE Concentrator
 Accountability reports are based on final data submitted by June 30 each school year
Career Clusters Test
Student A
Student B
Student C
Agricultural Mechanics I
Agricultural Mechanics II
Microsoft Word/PowerPoint
Carpentry I
Foods I
Microsoft Word/PowerPoint
Microsoft Excel/Access
Principles of Business & Finance
Personal Finance
Adobe Visual Design
Marketing
Entrepreneurship I
Principles of Business & Finance
Career Management
Teen Living
CTE Concentrator?
CTE Concentrator?
CTE Concentrator?
Career Cluster?
Career Cluster?
Career Cluster?
Career Clusters Test
Student A
Student B
Student C
Agricultural Mechanics I
Agricultural Mechanics II
Microsoft Word/PowerPoint
Carpentry I
Foods I
Microsoft Word/PowerPoint
Microsoft Excel/Access
Principles of Business & Finance
Personal Finance
Adobe Visual Design
Marketing
Entrepreneurship I
Principles of Business & Finance
Career Management
Teen Living
CTE Concentrator?
CTE Concentrator?
CTE Concentrator?
YES
NO
YES
Career Cluster?
Why?
Career Cluster?
AGNR
No Completer Course
MRKT
Questions?