ECMC Foundation is pleased to announce funding for 20 projects totaling $98,500 as part of the Career and Technical Education Leadership Collaborative (CTE LC) 2024 Mini-Grant Program, an opportunity for ECMC Foundation Fellows (Fellows) to apply for funding to initiate projects related to postsecondary career and technical education. 

ECMC Foundation received a record number of submissions this year from Fellows across all six fellowship programs: The CTE Research Program at Old Dominion University, The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE, Talent of Tomorrow Fellowship at JFF, The Higher Education Media Fellowship at the Institute of Citizens and Scholars, The Strategic Data Project - CTE at Harvard University Fellowship and Postsecondary State CTE Leaders Fellowship Program at Advance CTE. The number of submissions and funding requested increased more than 30% from the previous year, which saw 15 submissions totaling nearly $75,000. ECMC Foundation is pleased to announce that it will support 20 projects in 2024, totaling $98,500–the largest year of the program since its launch in 2021. 

The projects that will be funded this year represent a range of activities that promote equity and advance improvements in postsecondary CTE, including analyzing workforce data implementing innovative training programs, bettering employment pathways, improving carceral education, launching support networks among students and educators and more. This year’s projects are positioned to impact student success, break siloes between education and workforce, inform quality implementation at postsecondary CTE institutions and inspire long-term innovation in the field.

Congratulations to this year’s Mini-Grant Program Recipients! Read below to learn more. 

Do Postsecondary CTE Programs Align with Locally Available Jobs?
Sophie McGuinness (The CTE Research Program at Old Dominion University) will use public workforce and postsecondary data to monitor whether students have access to career and technical education (CTE) programs that lead to available jobs in their local communities. The goal is to improve understanding of regional alignment between CTE programs and available jobs in order to determine postsecondary CTE access, evidence which is largely missing at a national scale. 

Postsecondary CTE Teacher Recruitment, Training and Retention Toolkit: A Nationwide Search 2025
Lisa Martino (The CTE Research program at Old Dominion University) – in partnership with Sara Shaw, PhD (The CTE Research program at Old Dominion University) – will compare different state plans for recruitment, training and retention of career and technical education (CTE) teachers while identifying best practices for each aspect. The goal is to add on to a previous project, which created a toolkit providing information to recruit, prepare and retain “quality CTE teachers” who will impact and promote equity in postsecondary CTE education.

Hometown, Homecooked Chef
Kia Keyton (The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE) will develop a career pathway program that provides students from high poverty areas with opportunities for culinary-focused summer camps and paid, work-based learning with local business partners who, in turn, will benefit from a talent pipeline to fill the jobs of the future and close the growing skills gap. The goal is to increase the opportunity and readiness of low-income students in a high-wage and high-demand career field and develop interest in career and technical education (CTE) in Greenville’s highest poverty areas.

SkillUp Marshall Islands: Empowering Students with Essential Soft Skills
Rigieta Lord (The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE) will develop structured soft skills training for postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) students through curricula and partnerships with local businesses and organizations that will provide internships, apprenticeships, mentorships and projects where students can practice and refine soft skills and receive resources and support in real-world settings. The goal is to bridge the soft skills gap, enhance employability and foster long-term career success for CTE students.

A Framework for Embedding Culturally Responsive Practices into Postsecondary and Adult Education CTE Programs
Cynthia Thomas (The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE) will develop a culturally responsive practices (CRP) framework that will provide guidelines, strategies and professional development programs for educators and administrators to implement CRP into their teaching and administrative practices. The goal is to integrate effective CRP into career and technical education (CTE) programs to create an inclusive educational environment that values and leverages the cultural backgrounds of all students, enhancing engagement, retention and success. 

Inclusive Postsecondary CTE Signing Day 
Christian Zimmerman (The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE) will promote and host two Signing Nights celebrating the acceptance of students with intellectual disabilities into inclusive postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) institutions in Florida. The goal is to promote equity in postsecondary CTE by providing scholarships and publicly recognizing achievements made by a traditionally underrepresented population. 

Understanding the CTE Training and Labor Market Gap 
Steven Smith (The CTE Research Program at Old Dominion University) will research how community colleges respond to rapid changes in technology, structure and policy within their limited budgets and facilities. The goal is to identify barriers and possible remedies for training job-ready staff and leaders for a competitive and changing career and technical education (CTE) labor market. 

Skills Alignment and Employment Outcomes for Humanities Applied Programs at NOVA
Xianmin Shi (The Strategic Data Project – CTE at Harvard University) – in partnership with Marisa Lemma (The Strategic Data Project – CTE at Harvard University) – will employ data from various sources to determine if skills alignment with the regional labor market significantly correlates with employment outcomes in humanities applied degree programs at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). The goal is to help more graduating students find jobs in a competitive labor market by adjusting the skills offered in these academic programs. 

Agriculture Programs at Community Colleges
James Sewell (The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE) will research a successful community college agricultural program in Iowa to provide a model for developing specialized agricultural training at the community college level in Alabama in order to cater to the demand for skilled workers and create clear career pathways for students in agricultural sectors. The goal is to lead to higher employment rates, greater job satisfaction and long-term environmental sustainability in Alabama’s rural communities. 

Uncovering Labor Force Access and Equity with Postsecondary CTE in Nevada’s High Demand Industries 
Xue Xing (The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE) will study who is working in Nevada’s high demand industries, how much they earn with training from postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) programs and whether access and wage equity exist. The goal is to inform strategies for attracting and retaining certain demographic populations to build a strong school-to-work pipeline and inform policy recommendations for a diversified and equitable workplace. 

Reforming Futures: First-Degree Connections in Carceral CTE 
Taija Jackson (The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE) will provide career and technical education (CTE) educators, administrators and policymakers within correctional facilities with a supportive network, continuous professional development and innovative training to improve the quality of education delivered to incarcerated students and enhance employability and societal reintegration. The project will also facilitate partnerships with businesses to create opportunities for employment. The goal is to transform carceral education into a more effective tool for changing one’s future and to promote systemic change that fosters a more equitable and effective correctional education system. 

Enhancing Postsecondary Outcomes through Certified Work Ethic Training at Wake Technical Community College 
Dimitria A. Harding (The Postsecondary State CTE Leaders Fellowship Program at Advance CTE) will integrate essential workplace skills into Wake Technical Community College’s postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) curriculum by training key staff members to become Certified Work Ethic Trainers and offering each student an opportunity to earn the Certificate of Work Ethic Proficiency for free. The goal is to advance student outcomes, recruitment and retention by adequately preparing them for a workforce which currently sees a critical shortage of essential workplace skills among graduates of postsecondary CTE programs, which negatively impacts employability and workplace efficiency. 

PS Ventures – Capstone Career Navigation Project for Diverse Learners
Matt Dreier (The Strategic Data Project – CTE at Harvard University) will pilot a capstone project for five students in underserved communities to earn credentials, gain exposure to various jobs through hands-on experiences, interact with industry professionals to explore new career paths and gain access to internship and apprenticeship opportunities through networks and mentorships they build in the program. The goal is for students from historically underserved populations to discover their potential and build the skills needed to prepare for their futures. 

Nationwide Survey on Postsecondary CTE Offerings for Incarcerated Students
Chandra Bozelko (The Higher Education Media Fellowship at the Institute for Citizens & Scholars) will conduct a nationwide survey of programming in prisons to determine the correct or incorrect application of Perkins V funding. The goal is to create a written report that reveals holes in prison career and technical education (CTE) programming and explores new ways to use postsecondary CTE to the benefit of incarcerated students. 

Connecting Youth to CTE Postsecondary Training and Registered Apprenticeships 
Crystal Davidson (CTE Industry Fellowship Program at Jobs for the Future) will provide construction training to underserved high school students in an economically disadvantaged region and connect them with companies that sponsor employees for local apprenticeships. The goal is to provide support and placement assistance to enhance employment opportunities and promote sustainable careers for students who do not have access to valuable education pathways. 

Texas Gulf Coast CTE Symposium  
Patrick Sanger (The Strategic Data Project – CTE at Harvard University) – in partnership with Philip O’Brien (The Strategic Data Project – CTE at Harvard University) – will gather all of the Gulf Coast Community Colleges together in multiple meetings to address questions about two major issues affecting postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) programs in Texas: the newly implemented Gainful Employment Act and a change to the state funding model for community colleges. The goal is to create an open forum of support for the colleges to discuss how the Gulf Coast can increase the number of CTE programs and completers. 

Soaring to Greater Heights: A Peer-Supported Career Coaching Group to Enhance Career Readiness 
Mia Kennedy (The CTE Research Program at Old Dominion University) will create a safe, peer-supported space and online resource for underserved student groups to support each other in career exploration, self-discovery and goal setting. The goal is to empower students in their career journeys, enhance self-awareness and career decision-making and ensure equitable access to high-quality career and technical education (CTE) programs. 

Filling the Gaps: Addressing the Recruitment and Retention of Postsecondary CTE Faculty (Phase 2) 
Brandon Hensley (The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE) – in partnership with Sophia Alston (The Postsecondary Leadership Success Program at ACTE); Jodi Adams (The CTE Research program at Old Dominion University); and Linda Van Doren (The CTE Research Program at Old Dominion University) – will conduct interviews with career and technical education (CTE) faculty to expand on phase one of this project (2023–2024) that revealed a discrepancy between existing research that shows a shortage of CTE faculty and survey results indicating high job satisfaction and low desire to change employers. The goal is to develop evidence-based recommendations that institutions can implement to enhance their CTE faculty recruitment and retention strategies. 

Facilitating Equity Across Postsecondary Career and Technical Education: Identifying and Addressing Enrollment and Outcome Disparities for Women and Historically-Marginalized Populations
Jordan Dolfi, Ed.D. (The CTE Research program at Old Dominion University) – in partnership with Sara Shaw, PhD (The CTE Research Program at Old Dominion University) – will conduct comprehensive research exploring potential disparities in access and outcomes for women and historically underrepresented populations within high-quality career and technical education (CTE) programs, which tend to be aligned with higher-skill work and higher-wage occupations. The goal is to increase high-quality CTE program accessibility and outcomes for these groups, increase awareness among educators and industry leaders on the importance of equity in CTE and the need for inclusive practices, and influence policymakers to support a more inclusive environment. 

Enhancing Language Access for Equity: Supporting LEP Students through Multilingual Resources on the WTCS CARES Website  
Jomarie Coloriano (The Postsecondary State CTE Leaders Fellowship Program at Advance CTE) will enhance the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) CARES website by scaling up language access resources to better support the limited-English proficient (LEP) students, particularly Spanish speakers. The goal is to ensure that all students, regardless of their English proficiency, have equitable access to the essential information and resources needed for their academic and personal success. 

The CTE Leadership Collaborative Mini-Grant Program application for ECMC Foundation Fellows will reopen in Spring 2025.