Clackamas C-TEC

In an effort to better communicate with our CTE teachers, I will be sending you monthly emails following our Clackamas Career Technical Education Consortium steering committee meetings that occur on the second Tuesday of each month.

• Explore and advance work-based learning
• Develop messaging to students and families about CTE pathways
• Purchase equipment/software that supports the school district IG plan for updating equipment to industry standards
• Increase the Retention Rate of Participants (0.5cr or more) to Concentrators (2cr) from 36% to 46% in Four Years
• Reduce teacher turnover
• Schools, Programs, and Teachers Develop Meaningful Connections between secondary and post-secondary and with Industry Partners

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I hope you had a restful and energizing summer. As we kick off a new school year, I want to thank you for the passion, creativity, and expertise you bring to your shops, classrooms, and labs. The work you do every day opens doors for students, connects them to careers, and builds pathways that truly change lives.

This year, we’ll continue growing our programs, strengthening industry partnerships, and creating meaningful opportunities for students. I’m excited to support you in this important work and look forward to everything that will be accomplished.

Here’s to a great start to the year!

Manufacturing Day & Taste of the Trades will be held on Friday, October 3, 2025, at the Clackamas Community College Oregon City campus. The event gives students the opportunity to tour local manufacturing facilities, explore diverse career paths, and gain hands-on experience with industry professionals using state-of-the-art equipment, shops, and labs. Students will also be able to connect directly with CCC’s career and technical education (CTE) programs that lead to high-demand, living-wage jobs, and yes, free lunch is back this year.

As of Monday morning, 40 companies and more than 700 students are already signed up - Schools can register using the online form.

School Sign Up form

Link to Flyer

Providing work-based learning opportunities for your students is required for all CTE programs of study. WBL gives students an opportunity to work with professionals from the field and receive feedback.

The competition challenges student teams to design and fabricate a metal sculpture that represents school pride. This project promotes hands-on skill development, teamwork, and real-world application through CTE pathways, with guidance from local industry professionals. It also supports teachers by providing a meaningful work-based learning (WBL) framework, which connects classroom instruction to industry standards, deepens student engagement, and strengthens school-employer partnerships.

Teacher Guide

Project Brief

If you are interested in participating. please contact

Bill Blevins

Regional CTE Coordinator

bblevins@clackesd.k12.or.us

Tom Brown
Career Connected Learning Systems Navigator

thomasb@clackamas.edu

ODE has reviewed each district's Perkins proposed expenditures for the 2025-26 school year. The vast majority of line items have been approved. The federal Perkins law required equipment and software to be procured by December 1st. Please work with you school's/district's CTE administrator to ensure you are making those purchases in a timely manner.

As new equipment is purchased for the school year, any item costing $200 or more and funded with Perkins federal dollars must have an inventory sticker and be recorded in the school’s Perkins Equipment Inventory spreadsheet.

If theft of equipment is suspected, report lost inventory and document inventory changes to regional coordinator, file a timely police report, keep all documentation, and provide outcome of investigation. The police report will be attached to your yearly inventory submission to ODE.

Every four years, CTE Programs of Study are required to go through a renewal process and be approved by ODE. This is a great opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of your program

This will be an in-person meeting and you should have everything you need to complete your renewal with your school’s CTE administrator by the end of the meeting. Due to the timing (after school), food will be provided at the meeting.

The consortium’s schedule for this process has not yet been set for each of the specific programs but generally take place in the month of April.

Here are the programs that are scheduled for renewal:

Architecture & Construction

Architecture, Sabin-Schellenberg

Construction, Sabin-Schellenberg

Construction, Canby

Construction, Molalla

Construction, Oregon City

Construction, Riverside

Business, Management & Administration

Business, Gladstone

Business, Molalla

Business, Oregon City

Business, Riverside

Business, Sandy

Information & Communications

Computer Programming, Canby

Computer Programming, Lake Oswego

Computer Programming, Lakeridge

Computer Programming, Sabin-Schellenberg

Computer Programming, Sandy

Computer Programming, West Linn

Computer Programming, Wilsonville

Information & Communications Technology, General, Gladstone

Wed & Digital Communications, West Linn

Manufacturing

Manufacturing, Canby

Manufacturing, CAIS

Manufacturing, Estacada

Manufacturing, Sabin-Schellenberg

Manufacturing, Sandy

The window to make changes to your program of study is now open in the CTE Information System. Your CTE administrator has access to this portal. This would include adding new courses, changes in course description, and updating new course codes.

It's imperative to have correct information in the CTE Information System so students taking classes in your program are properly counted.

I came across this Education Week article that may be useful in supporting students who are exploring pathways other than a four-year college.

The traditional four-year college pathway is losing its appeal as more students and educators recognize the need for diverse career options beyond college. National leaders and surveys highlight a growing interest in community college, technical training, and apprenticeships, yet many students remain underprepared for non-college routes due to limited exposure and support. Experts call for stronger collaboration among schools, industry, and higher education to create meaningful pathways for all students, especially those not pursuing a degree.
Key Points:

• Four-year college enrollment dropped 15% from 2010–2021; 63% of students are open to alternatives like CTE or job training.
• Only a small percentage of high schoolers have discussed non-college paths like apprenticeships (23%) or entrepreneurship (13%).
• Non-college-bound students report feeling less prepared for the future compared to college-bound peers (40% vs. 54%).
• Advocates urge more industry-school collaboration through internships, pre-apprenticeships, and school board support.
• School counselors play a key role in helping students explore technical/trade schools, the military, or service year programs.
• Link to Education Week article

The Oregon Plan, authorized by the Adjutant General of the Oregon National Guard and supported by Dr. Charlene Williams, Director of the Oregon Department of Education, is a unique program that allows qualifying high school students to recover academic credits through completion of military basic training. The goal is to keep students on track to graduation and reduce dropout rates by providing an alternative pathway to success.

• Credit Recovery Plan supported by ODE
• Students can earn up to 8 elective credits through successful completion of Basic Training
• Requirements: 17 yo, no current meds, no felonies, pass ASVAB
• Link to one-pager
• Link to details

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3rd Annual Portland Trades Day

Expose your students to hands-on opportunities across the build environment - from construction, engineering, design, technology, sustainability, and more. Give them real-world insight into careers that span labor, leadership, and innovation.

• Thursday, October 23, 9am - noon
• Portland Career Expo
• Link to Flyer
• Registration Link

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1. Oregon State University is launching their Explore Engineering virtual talk series

2. Explore Engineering Majors

1. Students can join sessions focused on specific engineering disciplines, such as Mechanical Engineering, to hear directly from current students about what each major entails, the types of problems they solve, and the career paths they lead to. It’s a great way to get a real feel for the major from those living it every day.

3. Explore Engineering Communities

1. These sessions highlight student organizations and community-based groups that support underserved and underrepresented students in STEM. Students will learn how these groups have contributed to building a sense of belonging, mentorship, and support within the College of Engineering. The following student organizations will host a session:

1. National Society of Black Engineers

2. Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

3. Society of Women Engineers

4. Native American and Indigenous Engineers

5. Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers

4. Student can register for the sessions here: https://beav.es/coetalks

5. Link to Flyer

As your programs are aligned with Portland Community College, you are asked to attend the Fall Consortium alignment meeting Friday, October 3 at 9am - 3pm at PCC Rock Creek Campus

Agenda:
9:00 - 11:00am - Alignment meetings
11:00am - 1:00pm - Industry Networking Session
1:00 - 3:00pm - CTE Dual Credit Teachers collaboration with PCC Dual Credit
1:00 - 3:00pm - CTE Non-Dual Credit Teachers A-Like Program Area PLC Time
Link to Register

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Many of you have either a Restricted CTE License or a License for Conditional Assignment. Those include professional development plans that may include taking education courses.

Here is the fall schedule at Clackamas Community College for some of those courses:

• ED130 Comprehensive Classroom Management
• ED220 Introduction to CTE in Oregon
• ED113 Instructional Strategies for Literacy
• ED114 Instructional Strategies for Math

If you don't know what your professional development plan requires, fee free to contact me.

All classes are offered online in an asynchronous format. There are no meetings times for classes.

Please reach out to Megan Helzerman at Clackamas Community College if you're interested in getting started, have questions, or need assistance getting registered: meganh@clackamas.edu

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Meet the apprenticeship coordinators and learn specific information about each apprenticeship program in our area.

You will learn about program openings, how to apply, tips and tricks for interviewing, wages and a general overview of each program.

December 5, 2025, 9:30am - 11:00am
Sprinkler Fitters 669, 14325 NE Airport Way, Suite 115, Portland, OR 97230

https://www.accessingunionapprenticeships.org/event/union-apprenticeship-coordinators-public-informational-session-4/

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This fall, we are offering a special training session designed to support new CTE teachers as they begin their journey. The training will cover essential topics for building safe, high-quality, and engaging CTE programs.

We will start with a focus on student safety in classrooms, labs, and shops, including the legal duties of instructors, classroom setup, tool and equipment training, student orientation, creating a culture of safety, quizzes, incident response, and recordkeeping. We’ll also review observation practices and strategies for addressing unsafe acts or distractions.

Teachers will also explore what makes CTE unique—including its strong ties to industry, alignment with high-wage, high-demand careers, connections to college programs, and the hands-on learning experiences that help keep students engaged and on track to graduate.

Additional topics include:

• CTE licensure reminders and program of study (POS) updates

• Key elements of a CTE Program of Study such as scope and sequence, standards, student leadership, and work-based learning (WBL)

• Career-connected learning opportunities, from guest speakers and job shadows to internships and registered apprenticeships, guided by Oregon’s WBL and CCL resources

• Advisory committee expectations and how they support continuous program improvement

• Industry-recognized credentials—what they are, where to find them, and how to add them

• CTE funding sources, including Perkins Basic, Perkins Reserve, and Secondary Career Pathways grants

• Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs), their role in fulfilling student leadership requirements, and how to provide alternatives if a CTSO is not available

This training is designed to provide both practical tools and a big-picture understanding of how CTE programs operate within Oregon.

If you are a new CTE teacher—or if you’d like to join us to refresh your knowledge—please let us know if you are interested in participating on October 10th.

Flyer

ODE has announced the release of the first iteration of the CTE Safety Systems Web Page! This landing page is designed to provide valuable resources to help educators, administrators, and our community partners create and maintain comprehensive safety systems tailored to the unique needs of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Overview
Safety is paramount in hands-on environments, and this page offers a collection of tools to empower CTE programs in fostering a culture of safety and excellence. By using these resources, we aim to prepare students for successful careers within a secure learning environment.

Thank you for all you do for the students of Clackamas County. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you may have.

Best Wishes,

Bill Blevins

Mobile) 503-342-7671

Regional Coordinator of Career and Technical Education

Clackamas Education Service District

13455 SE 97th Avenue, Clackamas, OR 97015

ClackamasCareers.com