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LOS ANGELES – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today unveiled a new and comprehensive framework for career technical education (CTE) at Wilson High School Transportation Academy in Los Angeles.

"This publication provides a recipe for preparing our students to succeed in an ever-changing and increasingly competitive world," O'Connell said. "It offers schools guidance on how to provide a rigorous and relevant educational experience that integrates both academic and career technical education components. Getting the new CTE framework out to leaders in our schools and districts will go a long way toward ensuring our students have the knowledge and skills to be highly effective contributors to California's economy."

The newly published document, Career Technical Education Framework for California Public Schools: Grades Seven Through Twelve, provides schools with a blueprint for how to integrate rigorous standards into the classroom and develop the relationships to make career technical education successful for 21st century learning. It also is designed to assist students in preparing for high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand occupations in current or emerging professions and meet the continuing needs of business and industry in keeping California's economy growing. The framework will be especially important in preparing students for careers in the industries most critical to California's economy in the near future: automotive, transportation, construction, biotechnology, energy, financial services, geospatial, healthcare, hospitality, information technology, manufacturing, retail, agriculture, arts, media, and entertainment.

Joining O'Connell at today's event were Dr. Santiago Jackson, LAUSD Assistant Superintendent, Division of Adult and Career Education; and Jon Goodman, President, Town Hall Los Angeles. Representatives from Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transit Authority were also in attendance as both agencies serve as partners with Wilson Transportation Academy, one of the 274 California Partnership Academies administered by the California Department of Education.

"I've been working hard to increase the number of partnership academies in California," O'Connell said. "By working with the Schwarzenegger Administration, we anticipate the opening of 150 new partnership academies over the next three years."

California Partnership Academies provide students with a high-quality and rigorous academic and career technical education course of study. Course offerings represent California's 15 industry sectors. A recent report from ConnectEd and the Career Academy Support Network indicated that California Partnership Academies are in the forefront of initiatives aimed at preparing high school students for college and career, not just one or the other. The research points out that the partnership academies are succeeding on several important fronts, including higher student passage rates on California High School Exit Exam, more students completing the "a to g" requirements of the University of California and California State University, Sacramento, and higher proportions of seniors earning a high school diploma on time.

To order a copy of the publication, please visit Career Technical Education Framework for California Public Schools: Grades Seven Through Twelve.