Academy for Career and Tech Ed Administrators Announced

by Suzanne Wayne (February 2010)

The Professional Personnel Development Center (PPDC) in the Penn State College of Education will be holding its annual Penn State Directors’ Academy on March 22 and 23, 2010.

The Directors’ Academy is designed exclusively for the executive directors of career and technology centers, area vocational technical schools, comprehensive schools, and state correctional institutions in central Pennsylvania. The Academy is a unique professional development opportunity for these administrators as it provides an opportunity to network and brainstorm with other administrators who face similar issues in their own centers.

The focus of discussion at this year’s Academy will be understanding, monitoring, and encouraging instructional strategies that result in increased instructor focus, increased student time on task, and increased student achievement in career and technical education programming.

Food, lodging, and any conference fees are paid for these administrators by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the PPDC. They just need to pay mileage to attend.

For over 30 years, the PPDC, in partnership with the Workforce Education Program in the College of Education, has offered Vocational Education I and II teaching certification programs for skilled workers who want to teach their particular skill in career and technical education centers. A vocational teaching certificate allows individuals who have worked in a professional trade to teach their skills to a new generation through career and technical education centers or vocational technical schools.

In addition to the Vocational Education I and II certificates, the PPDC at Penn State also offers an Administrative certificate for individuals who wish to become administrators at the vocational education centers. The Directors’ Academy is designed for these administrators.

PPDC is one of three centers in Pennsylvania funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to provide teacher education and certification, as well as administrator certification for career and technical educators in Pennsylvania. Similar centers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Temple provide these services in the western and eastern regions of the state, respectively.

For more information about the Directors’ Academy, please contact Robert Clark, rwc107@psu.edu, or 814-867-2652.

For more information about the Professional Personnel Development Center, contact Rick Walter, raw18@psu.edu, or 814-865-2133.