Career Ready Curriculum

Resources from the California Department of Education

• CTE Career Pathways Poster
• CTE Main Site
• CTE Model Curriculum Standards
• Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) Fact Sheet
• Work-Based Learning Measures
• CTE Distance Learning Resources 

Curriculum Resources

• California Educators Together (Formerly CTE Online) 
• University of California Curriculum Education 

Connecting to career and the Labor Market

• California Career Zone 
• CalCRN (California Career Resource Network) Lesson Plans
• San Diego Workforce Partnership - My Next Move

• Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Arts, Media, and Entertainment
• Building and Construction Trades
• Business and Finance
• Education, Child Development, and Family Services
• Energy, Environment, and Utilities
• Engineering and Architecture
• Fashion and Interior Design (Includes Personal Services)
• Health Science and Medical Technology
• Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation
• Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
• Manufacturing and Product Development
• Marketing Sales and Service
• Public Services
• Transportation

Integrated curriculum is a strategy to ensure students see the connections between a variety of courses and the world of work. 

In traditional systems, a teacher can enhance learning by ensuring they are aware of what students are learning in their other classes, and building relationships with colleagues teaching the same students. This may be contextualized when students see connections to their other course work and the world of work in their courses, or Overlapping when students have opportunities to develop and use skills from other classes and the world of work. 

Some schools build smaller learning communities that transform the learning environment. In this case you may see a Shared integration where students experience interdisciplinary assignments and projects with shared concepts and skills across courses.  In some cases students are immersed and students see a systemic cross disciplinary approach with a connection to the world of work. 

Models that build smaller learning communities and build a transformative learning experience include: 

• California Partnership Academies
• Linked Learning Pathways
• Big Picture Learning 
• Project Lead the Way 

If you are looking for support as you plan or implement around integrated curriculum, do not hesitate to reach out to our Integrated Curriculum Coordinator, Jewyl Alderson! 

Assessment is essential to ensure students are gaining the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to be competitive in the world beyond. As we rarely see "exams" as products in the world of work, we encourage you to consider the types of "assessments" we see in industry, which may align to the products students create. 

As you consider each unit, project or standard, you will want to consider not only the final summative assessment, but also how you will know students are on track (formative assessment), and how they will engage in learning each objective. This tool may be useful as you plan out student learning with objectives in mind: Planning with Purpose: Clarifying, Facilitating and Assessing Learning.  

For more on authentic assessment, view the webinar Assessment Strategies for Distance Learning in CTE or access the slide deck here. Although it was created in support of distance learning, it is a great overview of the following Authentic Assessment strategies. 

Ikigai is a Japanese term meaning "reason for being" and is a great framework for helping students explore their purpose. This can be embedded in any K12 classroom through considering these concepts in a variety of ways. 

Explore the following resources to learn more about how you can incorporate ikigai into your classroom. 

• Ikigai for All: Helping all students find their purpose (Slide deck, teacher audience) 
• Ikigai Para Todos (Slide deck, student/parent audience, Spanish)
• Ikigai: A reason for being (San Diego Workforce Partnership Website)
• Ikigai for All: Webinar (YouTube Link)

Copy of Future Ready Students Interactive by Jewyl Clarke

Social and emotional learning is defined today as “the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions” CASEL   

Career technical education and other career-readiness initiatives are excellent ways to implement these foundational qualities. 

For more information and resources, explore our Social and Emotional Learning in CTE slide deck.

These free online courses will help you transform your sites and districts into career readiness hubs.

• Application Skills (train-the-trainer course) – includes resume writing, interview preparation, and more to make your students more competitive in applying for jobs and internships.
• Essential Skills (train-the-trainer course) – aka “soft” skills, including how your students can improve their teamwork, creativity, and workplace etiquette.
• Employer Engagement – strategies for building a network of employer partners.
• Student Conference Coordination – how to create impactful career events. This course walks participants through the process, from planning and budget to day-of event flow and post-event follow up.

All of the courses use the same format: a series of two- to  10-minute videos each followed by a two or three question quiz to make sure participants retained the main learning objectives. Trainings can be completed at your own pace and are about an hour and a half in duration each. After completing each training, you have access to all of the resources referred to in the training, which includes PowerPoint slides, activities, worksheets, supplemental videos, and more.