Cooperative Education Program

"Cooperative education" is the term used to refer to secondary career and technical education (CTE) programs that include classroom instruction related to workplace skills as well as paid on-the-job training that complements this instruction. High school programs that include a job component but have no connection to CTE are better described by other terms such as “school-to-work.”

Recognized CTE Cooperative Education (Coop) Programs

Directory of Recognized Maine CTE Coop Programs (PDF, 29KB)

Related Forms

Coop Education, Student Work Agreement (EFV-120) (XLS, 55KB; updated 11/2019). This form is required for each student’s job assignment when enrolled in a secondary CTE coop education program. Completion of this form satisfies requirements of the Maine Department of Labor (DOL). Students in coop education programs who have not completed this form and had it submitted to and approved by the Maine DOL are not eligible for additional job hours that may be available to students enrolled in coop programs. High school students enrolled in school-to-work programs that do not fall under CTE coop are not required to complete EFV-120 form, but their teachers or administrators should still check with the Maine DOL that job assignments are consistent with current labor laws.
Job Training Plan (RTF, 32KB). All CTE coop programs must provide a Job Training Plan for each of their students. These plans reflect the educational objectives of the job to which the student is assigned.
School-to-Work Form (XLS, 42KB). This “Non-Cooperative Education Job Placement Form” is provided as a reference only for the basis of discussion with employer and the Maine DOL in order to help schools ensure that job assignments are consistent with federal and Maine labor laws.
Statewide CTE Coop Standards (RTF, 86KB). These standards must be met by every student enrolled in a secondary CTE coop education program in Maine. In addition to meeting these standards, students are also required to meet either Maine’s WorkReady standards or Maine's CTECS Workplace Readiness Skills (WRS).
Student Work Evaluation (DOC, 51KB). These evaluations must be completed for each student’s job training assignment under secondary CTE coop education. Evaluations ensure that the student’s assignment features specific educational objectives of which the job supervisor is aware and for which he or she takes responsibility in assessing on a periodic basis.
WorkReady Standards (PDF, 65KB). "WorkReady” standards, originally approved for Adult Education programs in Maine after development by the Maine Department of Education and the Maine Department of Labor, are featured at some secondary Cooperative Education programs in Maine where teacher has completed required training and obtained WorkReady approval for his/her program.

Note: The following statement is made pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, Section 7(b). Disclosure of your social security number is voluntary. Solicitation of your social security number is for student job experience tracking purposes only. No further use will be made of your social security number, and it shall be treated as confidential.

Sample Training Plans

The Maine DOE has compiled the following Job Training Plans that Maine instructors used in the past in order to help coop education teachers develop such plans. The content of these forms may be modified by the coop education teacher to reflect the specifics of a student’s assignment.

Numbers in parentheses refer to Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) or Department of Transportation (DOT) codes. All files are in Microsoft Word format.

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