This past week, two new toolkits became available to assist in the implementation of Career Technical Education planning efforts.
1. A new Planning for Students’ Successful Transition to Postsecondary Education and Employment Toolkit has been developed by members of the Career Pathways and Technical Education Task Force of the Minnesota Department of Education.
This  tool contains the following transition elements with accompanying strategies, example resources for implementations, and partnerships.

• Provide a comprehensive academic plan for completing a college and career ready curriculum premised on meeting state and local academic standards
• Developing 21st century skills such as teamwork, collaboration, and good work habits
• Emphasize academic rigor and high expectations
• Help students identify personal learning styles that may affect their postsecondary education and employment choices
• Help students succeed at gaining/gain access to postsecondary education and career options.
• Integrate strong academic content into career focused courses and integrate relevant career focused courses into strong academic content
• Help students and families identify and gain access to appropriate counseling and other supports and assistance that enable students to complete required coursework, prepare for postsecondary education and careers, and obtain information about postsecondary education costs and eligibility for financial aid and scholarship
• Help students and families identify collaborative partnerships of kindergarten through grade 12 schools, postsecondary institutions, economic development agencies, and employers that support students’ transition to postsecondary education and employment and provide students with experiential learning opportunities

2. The Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Family Assistance recently released Career Pathways: Catalog of Toolkits, an online compendium of free resources available for use in planning a Career Pathways initiative. In an effort to better coordinate efforts by the Departments of Education, Labor, and HHS, the catalog seeks to serve as a directory for model Career Pathways programs and details strategies for implementation. Users are able to browse toolkits and filter results based on the indented audience, target population, career pathway element, industry, and publisher.
Ramona Schescke, Member Services Manager