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WLTI students Impress(ed) on the Hill

October 15th, 2009

We’re still reviewing delegation reports from the students’ visits to Capitol Hill. We’ve received more detailed reports than in the past, and we know that 16 states held meetings with at least 70 different Senate and House offices on September 22. The students are always told to find common ground when visiting their senators and representatives, and at least two visits by Texas delegations yielded some surprises:

“As we toured the Capitol, we met a gentleman who is a legislative aide for Congresswoman Sheila Jackson from the 18th District in Texas. He asked us if SkillsUSA was the organization formerly known as VICA. We said yes, and he told us he had been a member when he was in high school and that VICA had laid the foundation for his success as an adult.”

Another student wrote: “Congressman Solomon Ortiz (27th District) was attentive to what we had to say. He related to what we were talking about because he had been involved in VICA. He explained how VICA had helped him get a job when he needed it most.”

The students also made strong and positive impressions on Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor Ortiz and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education Glenn Cummings. Following his visit, Mr. Cummings wrote: “I cannot tell you how happy I was to speak to your excellent group of students. It was a thrill for me to have such an attentive and passionate crowd when it comes to CTE  …  I would very much like to learn more about your skills assessments and performance measurements – they sound terrific.”

We’re proud of the students and advisors who participated in WLTI for carrying forward the message of career and technical education and SkillsUSA.

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Meeting of Student Organizations

October 15th, 2009
I was back in D.C. later in the week for a meeting of the NCC-CTSO (National Coordinating Council for the Career and Technical Student Organizations) at the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE). The group discussed the future vision of the CTE project being conducted by NASDCTEc (National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education consortium).
We were told that Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter (who met with the WorldTeam earlier in September) says she wants her legacy to be a much higher graduation rate and “she knows she can’t do that without CTE.” It was also reported that she wants CTE to “have parity with the academic side of the house.”

I was back in D.C. later in the week for a meeting of the NCC-CTSO (National Coordinating Council for the Career and Technical Student Organizations) at the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE). The group discussed the future vision of the CTE project being conducted by NASDCTEc (National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education consortium).

We were told that Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter (who met with the WorldTeam earlier in September) says she wants her legacy to be a much higher graduation rate and “she knows she can’t do that without CTE.” It was also reported that she wants CTE to “have parity with the academic side of the house.”

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Highlights

October 15th, 2009
On the last day of the WLTI, we met with representatives from the U.S. Army’s agency. They told us that because the economy has been bad Army recruitment has been good. As a consequence, they’ve met their recruiting goal, and their budget has been cut 42 percent. We were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, they told us there are only three approved sponsorships this year and SkillsUSA is one of them. Their funding for SkillsUSA will remain level. They said the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference is one of their best events all year, and they’re looking into scholarships for students to attend WLTI.
* The final transactions between Midwest Trophy and our new SkillsUSA Store were completed. The folks at E Group reported they have received the last of the inventory and everything looks good.
* In the “out and about section:” Tom Holdsworth and I had a great visit with board member Jim McKenney to discuss areas of greater cooperation between the American Association of Community Colleges and SkillsUSA, particularly on the legislative front; Marsha Daves and Bruce Potter recently returned from Alaska where they worked with chapters under the W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant; Tom Holdsworth and a representative from TSA (Technology Student Association) traveled to Baltimore on September 29 to present on the Engineering Alliance to supervisors of technology education in Maryland; I recently traveled to New Hampshire for a meeting with intelitek, and I spoke at a STEM conference there; and, (drum roll, please) last weekend I took my young grandson, Will, to Disney World. We had an awesome time!
  • On the last day of the WLTI, we met with representatives from the U.S. Army’s agency. They told us that because the economy has been bad Army recruitment has been good. As a consequence, they’ve met their recruiting goal, and their budget has been cut 42 percent. We were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, they told us there are only three approved sponsorships this year and SkillsUSA is one of them. Their funding for SkillsUSA will remain level. They said the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference is one of their best events all year, and they’re looking into scholarships for students to attend WLTI.
  • The final transactions between Midwest Trophy and our new SkillsUSA Store were completed. The folks at E Group reported they have received the last of the inventory and everything looks good.
  • In the “out and about section:” Staff and I had a great visit with board member Jim McKenney to discuss areas of greater cooperation between the American Association of Community Colleges and SkillsUSA, particularly on the legislative front; Staff recently returned from Alaska where they worked with chapters under the W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant; Staff and a representative from TSA (Technology Student Association) traveled to Baltimore on September 29 to present on the Engineering Alliance to supervisors of technology education in Maryland; I recently traveled to New Hampshire for a meeting with intelitek, and I spoke at a STEM conference there; and, (drum roll, please) last weekend I took my young grandson, Will, to Disney World. We had an awesome time!

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SkillsUSA Announces New Lowe’s Grants for 2010

October 15th, 2009
SkillsUSA is pleased to announce a continuing partnership with Lowes. As part of their overall grant to SkillsUSA, Lowe’s will be awarding grants to local chapters of up to $10,000 each for community service projects or campus improvement projects conducted during 2010.
Schools can apply for grants as a whole school, or as an individual training program. Schools may also team up with another SkillsUSA chapter at a different school on a larger project.
There are four grant categories:
• Community Service Grants to improve an aspect of your local community
• Campus Improvement Grants to enhance your school campus or technical lab
• CareerSafe Online training vouchers to promote safety among technical students
• Sed de Saber Grants to teach English to Hispanic students and their families
To see projects that have been successfully funded over the past several years, visit the Lowe’s Web page for project summaries. Lowe’s will be reviewing the top applications as selected by a SkillsUSA staff committee and selecting the schools to receive the funds.
Grant applications must be submitted by December 1, 2009. Notification of successful applicants will be in February 2010. Projects may be done during the spring semester 2010 or in the fall semester 2010 and must be completed by November 30, 2010.
If you have questions on the program, please contact Lowe’s grants manager Kelly Horton at 402-309-4679 or e-mail: khorton@skillsusa.org.
To apply, schools should complete an application and submit it online, as a PDF document with electronic attachments or by mail. Electronic applications are preferred. Schools should be sure to save a copy of the application for future reference.
For more information and to reach the online application, go to:
www.skillsusa.org/educators/lowes.shtml

SkillsUSA is pleased to announce a continuing partnership with Lowes. As part of their overall grant to SkillsUSA, Lowe’s will be awarding grants to local chapters of up to $10,000 each for community service projects or campus improvement projects conducted during 2010.

Schools can apply for grants as a whole school, or as an individual training program. Schools may also team up with another SkillsUSA chapter at a different school on a larger project.

There are four grant categories:

  • Community Service Grants to improve an aspect of your local community
  • Campus Improvement Grants to enhance your school campus or technical lab
  • CareerSafe Online training vouchers to promote safety among technical students
  • Sed de Saber Grants to teach English to Hispanic students and their families

To see projects that have been successfully funded over the past several years, visit the Lowe’s Web page for project summaries. Lowe’s will be reviewing the top applications as selected by a SkillsUSA staff committee and selecting the schools to receive the funds.

Grant applications must be submitted by December 1, 2009. Notification of successful applicants will be in February 2010. Projects may be done during the spring semester 2010 or in the fall semester 2010 and must be completed by November 30, 2010.

If you have questions on the program, please contact Lowe’s grants manager Kelly Horton at 402-309-4679 or e-mail: khorton@skillsusa.org.

To apply, schools should complete an application and submit it online, as a PDF document with electronic attachments or by mail. Electronic applications are preferred. Schools should be sure to save a copy of the application for future reference.

For more information and to reach the online application, go to: www.skillsusa.org/educators/lowes.shtml.

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2009 National Leadership and Skills Conference Souvenir DVD

October 15th, 2009

Relive the excitement of the 2009 Week of Champions! The 2009 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference DVD is now available. Use it to share the memories with your students. The DVD is organized in chapters for each major NLSC event so it can easily be divided into instructional topics. The DVD is $19.95, Stock No. P84. To order, call 800-321-8422 or go to www.skillsusa.org/store/dvd.html.

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Contest Singles are Available Now!

October 15th, 2009

The SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards have been revised and new rules will be effective at the 2010 Championships. Contest guidelines are included within the 2010 contest singles. The contest singles provide the contest guidelines, helpful hints from some of our technical committee members and the 2009 contest project (if available). Singles are available at www.skillsusa.org/store/singles.html.

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Medalist Photos

October 15th, 2009

If you are interested in receiving a free digital winners’ photo from the 2009 SkillsUSA Championships, please e-mail Jane Short at jshort@skillsusa.org.

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Delmar Cengage Learning Green Challenge

October 15th, 2009

One of our sponsors, Delmar Cengage Learning has developed an online Green Challenge Quiz for SkillsUSA students only. The top scorer of this quiz will enter their teacher into a drawing for a $500 American Express gift card. State association directors… please pass this information on to your advisors so they don’t miss this opportunity to win some “green” by showing off how green their students are! To take the quiz, go to http://cengagelearning.aptaracorp.com/CGI/

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PDP Online Web Conference Archive

October 15th, 2009

SkillsUSA held a national Web Conference to demonstrate the all new PDP Online on October 14, 2009. Here is the link for the Web conference archive. Go to www.skillsusa.org/educators/index.shtml#pdp.

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More Honors from the WorldSkills Competition

October 1st, 2009
I’m pleased to announce that Jack Frederick, our automobile technology contestant on the SkillsUSA WorldTeam and a former national officer, received the Albert Vidal Award during the WorldSkills Competition in Calgary. The Albert Vidal Award recognizes the top 20 scorers among all 900 contestants in all contests. This award is in addition to Jack’s silver medallion in the automobile technology competition and his gold medal for being the best of nation.
Just to recap: the 16-member SkillsUSA WorldTeam entered 15 contests and brought home two silver medallions and four medallions of excellence for scoring above 500 points in the 600-point contests. This is the best medal score for the U.S. since 2001.
News releases on the team since its return have been sent to hometown papers of the winners and to the trade press. WorldTeam has garnered 73 news stories including Motor Age, Contracting Business, Collision Week and many others. Trade news releases were mailed on September 19th and were being picked up and published online within minutes. The overall team news release went out last week to the education media and to the team hometown papers.
Silver Medals
–Jack Frederick from Wichita, Kansas and a student at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, Automobile Technology
–Joe Young from Heartland, Michigan and a student at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Welding
Medallions for Excellence
–Amela Mujkic from Clinton Township, Michigan and a student at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, Printing
–Ben Janke from Madison, Wisconsin and a student at Madison Area Technical College, Car Painting
–Craig Growney from East Rutherford, N.J., and a student at the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y., Cooking
–Jennifer Miaczynski from Bourbonnais, Illinois, and a student at Kankakee Area Career Center in Bourbonnais, Hairdressing
Other members of WorldTeam who competed in the WorldSkills competition were
–Scott Raymond from East Hampton, Massachusetts and a student at Universal Technical Institute in Norwood, Massachusetts, Autobody Repair
–Kyle Wegman from Parkesburg, Pennsylvania and a student at Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Cabinetmaking
–Fernando DeLaGarza from Meridian, Idaho and a student at Dehryl A. Dennis PTEC-Boise in Meridian, CNC Milling
–Josef Schwarzer from Leonard, Michigan and a student at Romeo Engineering and Technology Center in Washington, Michigan, CNC Turning
–Hayden LeJeune from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and a student at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Industrial Electronics
–Kinzie Doll from Kansas City, Missouri and a student at DeVry University in Kansas City, IT/PC Networking
–Adam Bierschbach from Albany, Minnesota and a student at Alexandria Technical College and Adam Wiechmann from Melrose, Minnesota and a student at Alexandria Technical College competed as a team in Mechatronics
.–Leroy Rogers from West Allis, Wisconsin and a UA apprentice, Plumbing
–Ryan Rutherford from Stickney, Illinois and a UA apprentice, Refrigeration
We’re tremendously proud of this year’s WorldTeam and thankful to our technical experts, official and technical delegates, and team leader, sponsors and supporters who made the team’s success possible.

I’m pleased to announce that Jack Frederick, our automobile technology contestant on the SkillsUSA WorldTeam and a former national officer, received the Albert Vidal Award during the WorldSkills Competition in Calgary. The Albert Vidal Award recognizes the top 20 scorers among all 900 contestants in all contests. This award is in addition to Jack’s silver medallion in the automobile technology competition and his gold medal for being the best of nation.

Just to recap: the 16-member SkillsUSA WorldTeam entered 15 contests and brought home two silver medallions and four medallions of excellence for scoring above 500 points in the 600-point contests. This is the best medal score for the U.S. since 2001.

News releases on the team since its return have been sent to hometown papers of the winners and to the trade press. WorldTeam has garnered 73 news stories including Motor Age, Contracting Business, Collision Week and many others. Trade news releases were mailed on September 19 and were being picked up and published online within minutes. The overall team news release went out last week to the education media and to the team hometown papers.

Silver Medals

  • Jack Frederick from Wichita, Kan., and a student at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan., Automobile Technology
  • Joe Young from Heartland, Mich., and a student at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Mich., Welding

Medallions for Excellence

  • Amela Mujkic from Clinton Township, Mich., and a student at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., Printing
  • Ben Janke from Madison, Wis., and a student at Madison Area Technical College, Car Painting
  • Craig Growney from East Rutherford, N.J., and a student at the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y., Cooking
  • Jennifer Miaczynski from Bourbonnais, Ill., and a student at Kankakee Area Career Center in Bourbonnais, Hairdressing

Other members of WorldTeam who competed in the WorldSkills competition were

  • Scott Raymond from East Hampton, Mass., and a student at Universal Technical Institute in Norwood, Mass., Autobody Repair
  • Kyle Wegman from Parkesburg, Pa., and a student at Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, Pa., Cabinetmaking
  • Fernando DeLaGarza from Meridian, Idaho and a student at Dehryl A. Dennis PTEC-Boise in Meridian, CNC Milling
  • Josef Schwarzer from Leonard, Mich., and a student at Romeo Engineering and Technology Center in Washington, Mich., CNC Turning
  • Hayden LeJeune from Baton Rouge, La., and a student at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Industrial Electronics
  • Kinzie Doll from Kansas City, Mo., and a student at DeVry University in Kansas City, IT/PC Networking
  • Adam Bierschbach from Albany, Minn., and a student at Alexandria Technical College and Adam Wiechmann from Melrose, Minn., and a student at Alexandria Technical College competed as a team in Mechatronics
  • Leroy Rogers from West Allis, Wis., and a UA apprentice, Plumbing
  • Ryan Rutherford from Stickney, Ill., and a UA apprentice, Refrigeration

We’re tremendously proud of this year’s WorldTeam and thankful to our technical experts, official and technical delegates, and team leader, sponsors and supporters who made the team’s success possible.

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