Technology Centers
Technology Centers
Shared- and full-time technology centers fuel economic growth in their states and communities by offering specialized CTE programs leading to advanced credentials and degrees in high-tech, high-demand fields.
SREB’s Making Schools Work school improvement process supports the unique needs of the nation’s technology centers.
2021 Student and Teacher Surveys
For middle grades schools, high schools and career centers
SREB’s new and improved online
surveys offer a unique opportunity to collect authentic,
anonymous data from students and teachers about their school and
classroom experiences. Participating sites receive user-friendly,
actionable feedback and valuable insights they can use create a
roadmap for school improvement.
Technology Centers That Work
Jump start credentials and careers
SREB’s school improvement design for technology centers — Technology Centers That Work — helps leaders and teachers adopt continuous improvement practices that foster rigorous academic and career pathway curricula, project-based instruction, work-based learning and personalized supports.
With SREB support, leaders and teachers collaborate with sending high schools and community and technical colleges to design and implement career pathways that close critical workforce gaps. They also use our problem-solving process to address problems of practice.
What Makes It Work – 10 Key Practices
We’ve invested over 30 years of research to identify 10 key practices that positively impact student effort and achievement. These practices give students the purpose, direction and support they need to achieve college and career readiness.
Customizable Support
TCTW sites gain access to our full range of support services, Advanced Career, our exciting project-based career pathway curricula, professional development and coaching services, and surveys for center students and teachers that generate valuable data for improvement planning.
SREB encourages states, districts and centers to join our national network of TCTW sites for the most cost-effective access to services.
We invite TCTW sites and their partners to attend our annual TCTW Leaders Forum, a national convening focused exclusively on quality CTE and the critical role centers play in their states’ educational and workforce development systems. Most sites also attend our annual Making Schools Work summer conference to network and learn with thousands of educators nationwide.
Technology Center Key Practices
Making Schools Work engages the
entire center community — teachers, leaders and staff working
together in a distributed leadership structure — in addressing
SREB’s five focus areas (leadership for continuous improvement,
aligned curriculum, engaging instruction, career exploration and
systems of support) and taking ownership of their improvement
efforts.
By combining this process with the 10 Key Practices below, career and technology centers build their capacity to continuously address problems and meet clear targets for student success.
Download the Key Practices: Download the PDF
Download an 11×17 poster of our process and practices: Download the PDF
Download a 24×36 poster of the practices: Download the PDF
Download a grid of SREB’s Key Practices and Focus Areas across K-12: Download the PDF
2021 National TCTW Leaders Forum
Attend the TCTW Strand and Workshops at the 2021 Making Schools Work Conference
We were looking forward to offering you a virtual Technology Centers That Work Leaders Forum this coming February.
But when registration opened in November, we heard from individuals nationwide that CTE teachers are feeling overwhelmed and leaders are struggling to find the time and substitutes they need for teams to attend.
In lieu of a stand-alone Forum this year, we encourage you to register and attend a strand of powerful TCTW-related sessions at the all-virtual 2021 Making Schools Work Conference, July 6-9.
The conference’s 150+ live and on-demand sessions include more than 40 sessions designed and led by and for CTE educators like you. Topics including connecting classrooms and the workplace, using project-based learning to help students gain high-demand workplace skills, transforming your CTE classroom into a simulated workplace and supporting skilled industry professionals in becoming great CTE teachers.
Don’t miss our Friday morning workshops with the Technology Centers That Work team on:
- Integrating academics in CTE curricula
- Preparing for Perkins comprehensive local needs assessments
- Designing career exploratory experiences like industry tours and tech center tours
- Differentiating instruction for CTE students
Learn with Experts
Get inspired with featured speakers like Alan Marnett, founder and CEO of BenchFly, a video learning platform that facilitates collaboration between students and industry experts, and Pam Daly, the branding maven behind the successful Academies of Nashville initiative.
Learn more about the 2021 Making Schools Work Conference and register now.
Forum refunds/cancellations. If you registered for the TCTW Forum, we have refunded your original registration fees. If you did not receive a cancellation notice and/or refund, contact us at summerstaffdev@sreb.org.
Shared-Time Technology Centers
A Study of Six State Funding Systems
Students need learning experiences connected with the world of work to equip them to enter the workforce and secure good jobs. This report provides an overview of funding for career and technical education and a detailed look at CTE funding models in Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia. Produced by SREB for the Kentucky Career and Technical Education Task Force, it also offers considerations for actions to improve CTE.
Case Study: Columbia Area Career Center
Project-Based Learning: A Formula for Rapid Results
This case study details how a Missouri tech center took steps aimed at making its center a national leader in CTE by taking on a daunting and improbable task: implementing project-based learning schoolwide in less than a year.
Case Study – Lee’s Summit West High School: Empowering Students to Succeed
Lee’s Summit West (LSW) High School in Kansas City, Missouri boasts of a 99 percent graduation rate; 93 percent of its students are bound for college. This case study details how the High Schools That Work model was instrumental in helping LSW students achieve.