Free downloadable report from iCEV provides valuable insights on how CTE supports economic growth, along with actionable steps for creating successful career-centered education programs

Lubbock, TX – December 9, 2024 – iCEV, a trailblazer in Career & Technical Education (CTE) solutions, released a free downloadable report “The World Needs CTE: Why Career & Technical Education Holds the Key to Our Economic Future.” This report, intended for state elected officials, state departments of education, administrators, CTE leaders, and educators, details trends in global and domestic job growth, workforce projections across major industries, and how CTE can set students on a path to great jobs.

“CTE is emerging as our most powerful tool for workforce transformation, but it is not without its challenges. The future of our economy, especially in the U.S., depends on career & technical education and on giving educators the tools they need to train the workforce of the future,” said Dusty Moore, CEO of iCEV. “The voices of CTE educators are our compass, pointing the way forward.”

The report specifically covers trends in global job growth and projected shortfalls, U.S. healthcare and technology job growth, and how some states are already providing career-focused high school experiences to address these trends.  It also provides data-driven findings on the challenges CTE leaders face and it offers direct insights from CTE leaders and educators about the employability skills students need for long and fulfilling careers. 

Importantly, the report also outlines three actionable steps that CTE leaders and educators can take to create successful CTE programs and prepare students for career-ready futures. 

“The data tells us that student motivation has shifted post-pandemic, but we see this as our moment to reimagine engagement,” added Moore. “By investing in professional development for our educators, securing adequate funding for hands-on learning experiences, and creating materials that connect classroom work to real-world impact, we help students find their path forward and strengthen the workforce of the future.”

The informational report was conducted by Catapult X, an independent research agency specializing in science, STEM, and CTE education, on behalf of iCEV.

To download the “The World Needs CTE: Why Career & Technical Education Holds the Key to Our Economic Future” report, visit www.icevonline.com/education-report/world-needs-cte.

About iCEV  
Since 1984, iCEV has specialized in providing quality CTE curriculum and educational resources. iCEV is the most comprehensive online resource for CTE educators and students, offering curriculum for several major subject areas, including agricultural science, trade & industrial education, business & marketing, career exploration, family & consumer science, trade & health science, law enforcement and STEM education. iCEV also acts as a certification testing platform for industry certifications. Recognized companies and organizations utilize iCEV as the testing platform for their certifications. Additionally, iCEV offers Eduthings, a CTE data management platform that simplifies reporting for industry certifications, work-based learning, CTSO participation, and more. For more information, visit www.icevonline.com.

Foundations in Learning, creator of the WordFlight™ literacy intervention solution, is now accepting applications for its Winter 2024 Fluency Innovator Grants. Teachers and administrators who serve students in grades 3 and above and who are passionate about finding and using the best research- and evidence-based literacy solutions are encouraged to apply. Grantees will each receive a free subscription to WordFlight for the upcoming spring semester to help grow students’ foundational reading skills by bridging the gap between phonics and fluency.  

All applications are due by January 15, 2025.  

“As part of our company’s commitment to equity, we launched the Fluency Innovator Grants last year to make WordFlight available to as many students and educators as possible,” said Allison Zimmermann, CEO of Foundations in Learning, creator of WordFlight. “We’ve seen how access to the program has successfully supported educators with their instruction, as well as yielded dramatic achievement results among students learning to read fluently. Now, we look forward to helping even more students get on the path to reading proficiency.”

WordFlight helps move 80 percent of struggling adolescents to proficient in foundational reading skills in one school year. For example, after receiving a Fluency Innovator Grant in Spring 2024, one dual immersion teacher in California saw the number of students scoring above benchmark on fluency double on the FastBridge assessment after only four months of using the program. Additionally, a majority of students in the class improved their proficiency in automatic word recognition and decoding, as measured by the WordFlight Diagnostic.

Educators looking to achieve measurable results such as this and who are new to using WordFlight—including teachers applying for their individual class or administrators applying for their school building or district—must agree to certain requirements to be considered for the grant. This includes, but is not limited to, educators using the program with students in grades 3-8 whose difficulty with word recognition skills interfere with reading fluency and comprehension.

Applicants must participate in the provided training and professional development in using the program, as well as agree to use WordFlight’s online component 20 minutes per day for four to five days per week throughout the grant period.

All grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. Schools and districts that have more than one application will be given highest priority to receive the Fluency Innovator Grant.

Aligned with the science of reading and based in the science of learning, WordFlight is a unique, evidence-based program designed for students in grades 3-8 who have not achieved reading fluency and comprehension because of deficits in their foundational skills. These skills are typically developed by the end of grade 2. WordFlight’s powerful combination of components—screener, patented diagnostic, instructional program, teacher resources, and ongoing implementation support—help students move beyond decoding to learn how to use letter-sound relationships in a way that results in automatic word recognition. WordFlight helps students develop the word-level fluency that is necessary to read fluently for comprehension. 

WordFlight leverages adaptive technology and provides personalized, structured and varied practice in an engaging game-like environment that makes learning stick. Throughout the program, students experience varied task difficulty, context changes, and ongoing feedback that help students develop their automatic word recognition skills, the critical precursor to fluency.

To learn more about WordFlight and to apply for a Winter 2024 Fluency Innovator Grant, visit https://www.wordflight.com/winter-2024-grant-program/.

About WordFlight™

WordFlight™ is the first patented literacy assessment and intervention for grades 3-8 that bridges the gap between phonics and fluency. Created by researchers and program developers with decades of experience in providing schools with effective programs to meet the individual needs of students, the online program is a proven and research-based solution that blends the best of the science of reading and the science of learning to help develop fluent readers. WordFlight is a registered trademark of Foundations in Learning, a learning company based in Coralville, Iowa. To learn more, visit www.wordflight.com.

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reDesign, an organization supporting learner-centered education, has created CBE Catalyst, a team-based online professional learning community to accelerate school and district implementation of competency-based systems. Launched at the Aurora Institute Symposium in November, CBE Catalyst is designed to enable educators to turn learning into action with a comprehensive, flexible suite of professional support offerings.

“There is growing agreement, globally, that the focus of education should be on developing uniquely human skills that complement AI and other new technologies. Competency-based learning is a powerful lever in this work. However, systemic shifts to CBE require robust, adaptable, and engaging learning opportunities for educators that are affordable at scale. For years, educators at all levels of the system have shared that they are stymied by the fragmentation and cost of offerings in the CBE professional learning space,” said Antonia Rudenstine, founder and executive director of reDesign. “With 40% of states engaged in developing Graduate Portraits that spotlight the most important competencies young people need, we have an opportunity to accelerate the current momentum by collaborating as CBE learners, designers, and leaders. CBE Catalyst is a low-cost, membership community where educators can prepare to ignite this shift in their own communities–tapping into the hard-won CBE expertise and solutions of colleagues from around the country, while simultaneously contributing to the field’s knowledge base regarding emergent best practices.”

CBE Catalyst is designed to provide school and district teams with maximum flexibility to design a CBE pathway that fits their vision, community, and capacity. All activities are opt-in. An annual membership includes:

• CBE Ignite Essentials: Join a cohort of school teams for three launch modules facilitated by a reDesign coach. Essentials modules are offered quarterly so teams can determine the timing that works best for them.
• CBE Tools & Resources: Access an ever-expanding library of CBE tools, self-paced modules, and other resources, delivered to teams every month.
• Q&A Sessions: Engage with reDesign coaches for just-in-time guidance and support.
• Community of Practice: Collaborate, troubleshoot, celebrate successes, and crowdsource ideas.
• Youth Feedback: Create pathways for partnering with young people for feedback and piloting of new CBE designs and policies.

CBE Catalyst learning opportunities begin in February 2025. To learn more about CBE Catalyst, visit www.redesignu.org/cbe-catalyst.

About reDesign

Since 2008, reDesign has partnered with schools, districts, and states to spark change in education. With more than 60 years of combined experience, we’ve helped communities create opportunities for over one million young people to develop the skills that enable them to thrive in a rapidly-changing world. To learn more, visit www.redesignu.org.

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