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Unity During SkillsUSA Week and CTE Month Celebration

February 15th, 2009

It’s February, so it’s CTE Month once again, a time for all ten of the career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) and related professional associations to talk about the value of career and technical education and SkillsUSA week was celebrated February 8-14. 

In honor of SkillsUSA Week, on February 10, we held a great Web Conference. The conference was 30 minutes long, and it covered a variety of topics, including our connection to the new Obama administration, new programs and activities, use of our advocacy site to reach Congress, the media and special messages from our national high school and college student presidents. The Web Conference has been archived, and it can be viewed at the following link. The link goes to a full audio and video version of the broadcast, and it can be paused or forwarded/reversed during viewing. Go to http://web.ganconference.com/?meeting=3913885

The CTSOs have already requested a meeting with the new U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, and we’ve also requested an appointment with the head of the Office of Management and Budget. In addition, we’ve made several proposals to the administration relative to the CTSOs.

I’ve also met with Margaret Romer, the person handling scheduling at the U.S. Department of Education, and I’ll be joining the directors of the other CTSOs in submitting a list of national events for the administration to consider in the president’s and secretary’s schedules.

On January 29, on behalf of all of the student organizations and the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE), SkillsUSA sent the official news release for CTE Month to 1,400 news outlets nationwide using VOCUS, our online public relations contact system. Another media advisory went out on February 6 to nearly 400 education publications using the same system. The releases have generated some reaction. I did an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review last week and a story was published on February 8. The link to the story is: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_610740.html. And, on February 5, Tom Holdsworth did an interview on CTE with a representative from Edutopia, a publication and Web site, on “what works in public education” published by the George Lucas Foundation.

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Gates Foundation Discussion Continues

February 15th, 2009

On February 5, we held our third conference with representatives of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This was an online demonstration of the Work Force Ready System including the assessments and reporting system. The Gates Foundation is looking for standards-based education that leads students (or out-of-school youth) to further their education and credentials. I’d say the Work Force Ready System is right in line with the foundation’s thinking and evidently so does the foundation. The Gates’ staff has asked for more information, and we’re looking forward to another meeting. When asked how the foundation views CTE we were told: “CTE is the contextualization of education. It’s essential for education reform.”

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Highlights

February 15th, 2009
  • On March 6, NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and the Lowe’s Kobalt Racing Team will visit a SkillsUSA chapter in Lovejoy, Georgia near Atlanta to present the first of more than 500 tool sets being given across the country this year to SkillsUSA building trades labs. The students will be in official SkillsUSA attire because this will be a press event for the unveiling of Johnson’s #48 Lowe’s-sponsored car including the SkillsUSA logo. The car will run on April 5 Texas. On March 7, Johnson will meet up with more students at the Atlanta Speedway for another press event, and Lowe’s Kobalt Team will give Georgia SkillsUSA 250 tickets for the evening’s truck race.
  •  While on the subject of Lowe’s, I’m pleased to announce that Kelly Horton will be joining SkillsUSA as a consultant for the Lowe’s grant and for the SkillsUSA alumni association. Kelly has over 20 years of youth development experience with student organizations – starting as an FFA member – and came to us originally through ABG, Inc., consultants on the Kellogg Foundation grant. 
  • May I have a drum roll please? The Work Force Ready System and Skills Connect Assessments have a launch date. The first eight assessments will be available on March 16. It’s going to be a big day, and there are lots of details to work out, but I know we’ll make it.
  • Membership continues to run ahead of last year. Twelve states have now exceeded last year’s overall state membership total. Congratulations go to: Alaska State Association Director, Ray Jensen; Arizona State Association Director, Scott Soldat; Connecticut State Association Director, Heidi Balch; Florida State Association Director, Carl Miller; Illinois State Association Director, Don Bauc; Maryland State Association Director, Charles Wallace; Maine State Association Director, Don Jalbert; Michigan State Association Director, Tammy Brown; Missouri State Association Director, Paul Light; Rhode Island State Association Director, Joshua Klemp (first to exceed last year’s total); Virgin Islands State Association Director, Anton Doos; and Vermont State Association Director, Jane Donahue-Holt. 
  • Even though most areas are looking up, in light of the uncertain economy and how it might affect SkillsUSA, we’ve asked staff to target 10 percent in budget cuts. It’s a challenge because so many contract agreements have already been signed and because SkillsUSA is always a lean organization. We certainly won’t cut any essential services.
  •  And, finally, a staff member just returned from Kansas City where he visited the Kauffman Foundation and looked at I-Build, a local middle school construction-related competition; TECHSPO stands at 113 exhibits; and, we’re busy working on the strategic plan and pulling a vision together from Vision 2020. 

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State Officer Training and Advisor Training During National Conference

February 15th, 2009

Start making plans now to attend state officer training and advisor training during the national conference. The 101 training is designed for high school students who are officers of their state associations and for students who are interested in becoming state officers. The 201 training is designed for college/postsecondary students who are officers of their state associations and for high school officers who have already attended 101 training. Advisors can also benefit from training that addresses the challenges of advising student leaders. Training will take place prior to the NLSC at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center Plaza, June 20-22, 2009. To register,  go to this link. If you have questions about the conference, please contact Deborah Kenn at dkenn@skillsusa.org. The registration deadline is June 1.

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Regional PDP, CMI and CSEP Training Seminars Update

February 15th, 2009

State Farm Insurance is, once again, generously sponsoring regional Professional Development Program (PDP), Chapter Management Institute (CMI) seminars and Career Skills Education Program (CSEP) seminars. There will be one training session (CMI, PDP or CSEP) per region. All materials and training will be free to participants. The only cost is $30 for lunch and breaks. PDP participants will receive a complete set of PDP materials and free licenses for each level. CMI participants will receive an ASK CD, a SkillsUSA Leadership Handbook and the SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards CD package. CSEP participants will receive one free CSEP license.

If you would like to sign-up for or host a regional PDP training seminar, CMI training seminar or CSEP training seminar, please contact Stephanie Bland at 703-737-0622 or sbland@skillsusa.org. A minimum of 25 participants is needed to conduct the training. 

The latest seminar information is available at this link and following is the most recently announced training seminar.

March 27, 2009
Lewiston Regional Technical Center
156 East Avenue
Lewiston, Maine 04240
Registration deadline: March 13

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SkillsUSA Alumni Sign Ups Needed – Continue the Journey!

February 15th, 2009

SkillsUSA membership is an exciting part of the technical program for many students, and we want to help all program graduates to continue their SkillsUSA experience.

SkillsUSA encourages all Spring 2009 high school or college graduates to join more than nine million other former members in the SkillsUSA Alumni & Friends organization. We’re extending our offer of free alumni membership to all currently registered members. Members are sent a link to our online magazine, SkillsUSA Champions, as well as the online Alumni forum. SkillsUSA is working to provide more networking opportunities for alumni and more opportunities for involvement at the local, state and national level.

To register, go to: http://www.skillsusa.org/supporters/alumnireg.shtml.

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NTHS Scholarships Reminder

February 15th, 2009

SkillsUSA has once again teamed up with the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) to promote outstanding student achievement within technical education. SkillsUSA is offering four $1,000 scholarships through NTHS (two college/postsecondary and two high school), and these will be awarded at the 2009 national conference. The deadline is March 1, 2009.

For more information, go to this page.

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Strategic Planning with Staff


February 1st, 2009

The week of national staff planning has gone by but the excitement of the annual “Week of Excitement” lingers and so does the work to be accomplished. We worked right through January 12-16 with full staff meetings on Tuesday the 13th and during the morning the following day. 

We did a gap analysis on the FY09 plan and found there are several things – particularly in light of the current economy – for which we need to develop some contingency plans so we can maintain high quality service to our members. On the upside, we’re gearing up for the release of the first set of Skill Connect Assessments in just a few weeks, and we’re receiving a lot of interest from the states.

Looking ahead to 2010 and 2011, staff picked up the recommendations of the board based on research from the field and our own SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and has started development of objectives and business plans to move SkillsUSA ahead. Many of our objectives look toward building opportunities for our chapters to expand: community service; “green” and/or sustainability initiatives; building our national data bases and office technology; and, diversity/inclusion initiatives. We should have a strong pro-active plan for the board in March.

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Continuing the Process in Florida

February 1st, 2009

Last week, we held the State Association Directors’ Executive Committee meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The group met on the 21st and activity wrapped up on the evening of the 23rd. Under the leadership of Curtis Barnett, the state association director of Utah, the committee plowed through a full agenda. It began with a review of gaps in the FY09 plan and then the committee reviewed and enhanced the new proposed objectives and tactics for FY10-11.

From there, the committee took up the agenda for the association’s four-day August conference, including all of the training seminars and workshops they’d like to have covered. I’ll let the committee release its own agenda to the field, but I will make this observation: there are a lot of things that have to be mastered to be a good association director, particularly when so much has to be done by volunteers and on tight budgets.

Many thanks go to all of the state association directors on the executive committee for their time and leadership. Their work is essential to SkillsUSA’s success.

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Highlights

February 1st, 2009

 

  • I’m pleased to announce that I’ve received word from Neil Eibler that Nick A. Morrisroe, vice president of Channel Marketing, IRWIN Industrial Tools will be joining the SkillsUSA board of directors. Nick will be stepping into the spot previously held by Sue Smith, and we thank Sue for her service.
  • The membership clock is still ticking. As of this week, there have been two states to go over last year’s membership – Rhode Island and Michigan. Congratulations to state directors Josh Klemp and Tammy Brown. And, compared to this date last year, SkillsUSA membership is running just about the same.
  • State director Mike Cowles took a great group of officers and instructors to Washington, D.C. last week during the Ohio Regional Officers Training Institute. They were with us for training on Inauguration Day and watched the ceremony over lunch with the staff. The delegation headed to Capitol Hill the following day for meetings with the Ohio congressional delegation.
  • On Saturday, January 24, the Vision 2020 committee got underway in Ft. Lauderdale. The committee will be imagining what SkillsUSA will look like and how it will serve the world of today’s first graders when they get CTE in high school. All of us had our future thinking caps on. Steve Pierz, strategy program manager, Caterpillar Inc. worked us through the process.

 

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