WELCOME, MARICOPA COUNTY

EDUCATION SERVICE AGENCY!

Advocacy for Alternative Postsecondary Pathways in
Arizona by Sabel Diskin, ASU Student
5:00PM – Introduction

5:05PM – Presentation of SMART Goal

5:06PM – In reference to adolescent development

5:12PM – Rundown of important research

5:14PM – What do we have now?

5:16PM – A short video Agenda

5:24PM – What do we do?

5:28PM – The next steps

5:29PM – Spreading the word

5:30PM – Conclusion
 SMART Goal

■ To implement a statewide pathway

program by the beginning of the next
school year that would collect and
analyze data, over a period of five years,
to determine the correlation between
college and career readiness and
student drop-out rates in traditional
colleges, in order to elevate the validity
of alternative post-secondary choices.
This goal would aim to cut the college
drop-out rate by 20% over five years by
directing students into technical or
vocational programs of their choice, in
high school of beyond.
 Adolescent Development
Traditional college is stressful, on
As students go through their high
top of a high cost, students deal
school education, few know what
with an immense amount of stress
they want to do when they
and pressure that they were not
graduate. prepared for.
How does this coincide with
adolescent development? It affects
Students are also in need of
High stress, feelings of their self-worth and self-esteem
remedial education upon entering
helplessness, lack of funding, and (emotional), ability to access new
college, because they are information (cognitive), ability to
others are the reasons so many
underprepared by their high make meaningful relationships with
schools. students drop out of college.
peers (social), and it puts more
stress on their bodies (physical).
 Adolescent Development
Effects of Traditional College
Cognitive:
• Students are unable to handle the work load.
• Students have a hard time compensating for
their lack of preparation in high school.
• When students quit college, they develop a
fixed mindset and are likely to not return.
Social:
• Traditional college students have a drinking
problem. Peer pressure is rampant.
• Students who drop out miss out on
developing meaningful relationships with
peers who have similar interests.
Emotional:
• Students in college have issues with low self-
esteem, low self-worth, and depression.
• From 2012-2013, 48.7% of students
attended counselling for mental health
concerns, of those students, 30% say they
have contemplated suicide (Novotney, 2014).
Physical:
• Stress can be debilitating.
• Sleep deprivation is normal.
• Students are engaging in regular promiscuity
leading to a sharp spike in STDs on college
campuses.
 Adolescent Development
CTE Program Benefits
Cognitive:
• Students learn multiple useful skills while in high
school.
• They develop a more rounded sense of their own
possibilities.
• CTE programs do not discourage students from
attending college, and may make them more
willing to complete a two or four year degree.
Social:
• Students make lasting relationships in
programs that are catered to their interests.
• Students are less likely to engage in risky
behavior with peers, if the content they are
studying is relevant to their futures.
Emotional:
• Students are often happier when they are in
programs doing things they are really
interested in.
• Programs that encourage multiple paths to
success relieves the pressure of having to get
a bachelor’s degree to be successful.
Physical:
• CTE programs offer hands-on training for students.
They develop physical skills rather than studying
from books.
• Schools that employ technical and vocational
programs that coincide with traditional coursework
have students who are less tired, less bored, and
less stressed.
 Research
• A 2014 study by Dr. Johyun Kim confirms that CTE dual credit enrollment classes in high
school had a positive relationship with college and career readiness, as well as retention.
This means that more students who partook in CTE programs in their high school went
on to college or vocational schools and did not drop out than students who did not take
any dual credit or CTE classes (Kim, 2014).
• Students are pressured into picking a career at such a young age, that they often pick
programs that are not right for them. A survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of young
baby boomers revealed that, between the ages of 18 and 48, they changed jobs or
careers an average of 11.7 times (US Dept of Labor, 2017). If people can change jobs or
careers that many times in a working lifetime, college seems to be an expensive waste of
time and resources.
• “One-third of students of students who enroll in college [in the United States] never
graduate college; the United States has one of the lowest college-graduation rates in the
industrialized world, despite the fact that economic returns on college completion in
America are among the world’s highest” (Steinberg, 2014).
 Arizona’s ECAP program is the only state sanctioned plan for
students transitioning from high school to careers or higher
education.

The program currently “reflects a student’s current plan of

Arizona’s coursework, career aspirations, and extended learning
opportunities in order to develop the student’s individual

Education academic, career goals and postsecondary plans” (AZ Dept of

Education, 2017).

and Career School counselors are primarily responsible for working with
students on completing their plans.

Action Plan
A study of the program from 2013-2014 showed major
challenges in implementation: scheduling and high case load
(high student to staff ratios).
PBS Report on the benefits and drawbacks of
CTE training at the high school level
 •Relieve counselors and instead begin the program in a “home
room setting” starting in 9th grade. Each “home room” will have a
teacher or staff member advocate where they will work with a
Arizona is currently small group of students, online or face-to-face, to develop their
struggling to practically personalized plans throughout their four years of high school.
implement the ECAP
program.

•Focus on directing students into practical programs that interest

them. Instead of traditional electives, introduce hands-on technical

What do we
programs, and require each student to take one each year of high
school.
College drop-out rates •Put less emphasis on traditional college as the only way to have a
are extremely high for successful career. There are thousands of examples of successful

do?
the US. individuals who did not attend or stopped attending college.

•The example provided in the video shows a technical high school

wherein students explore their interests while earning a well-
rounded high school academic education. Their test scores
Put technical showed that it is possible for students to gain proficiency in math
education on equal and English, while studying to become a mechanic, hairstylist, etc.
footing with academic
education.
 The next steps…

1 2 3 4 5

Contact local school Contact local education Develop a working plan Revise the ECAP program Hold meetings and
boards advocates in order to implement to shift focus on fundraisers to raise
ECAP further. Technical and Vocational awareness.
skills.
 Contact Information

Steve Watson – Maricopa County Lori Shough – Director of Education

Sabel Diskin sdiskin@asu.edu School Superintendent Innovation; MCESA
Steve.Watson@mcesa.Maricopa.gov lori.shough@mcesa.Maricopa.gov

Arizona Department of Education

602-542-5393
1535 West Jefferson Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
 References

■ Arizona Department of Education. (2017). Retrieved October 3rd, 2017 from

http://www.azed.gov/ecap/.
■ Kim, J. et al. (2014). Relationship of tech prep and dual credit to college readiness
and retention. College Student Journal, 48(3), 337-346.
■ Novotney, A. (2014). Students under pressure. Monitor on Psychology, 45(8), 36.
■ Steinberg, L. (2014). Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the new science of
adolescence. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 13.
■ United States Department of Labor. (2017). Retrieved October 2nd, 2017 from
https://www.bls.gov/nls/nlsfaqs.htm#anch41.