Executive Update: January 15, 2019
Important Dates
Jan. 16-19: State Directors Association Officers Meeting, Atlanta
February: Career and Technical Education Month
Feb. 3-9: SkillsUSA Week
Feb. 5-7: SkillsUSA Championships Technical Committee Chair Meeting, Atlanta
Executive Director’s Report
Happy 2019! I hope your holiday break was enjoyable and you found time for rest and reflection. Here at the national headquarters, we appreciate the many blessings of last year but also look forward to a New Year full of possibilities. We are fortunate to work for an organization with such an important mission to develop America’s future workforce.
Strategic Planning Week a Success!
SkillsUSA staff spent last week in our annual “week of excitement” strategic planning meetings. We reviewed our four strategic imperatives and made sure we are all on track with all departmental objectives that rise to them for FY19, and then put operational excellence objectives on paper for FY20 and FY21. We also discussed the National Leadership and Skills Conference move from Louisville to Atlanta and new ways to make the conference closer to cost neutral. The State Directors Association officers will review highlights of the plan at their winter meeting this week in Atlanta, and we’ll finalize it for SkillsUSA Foundation review on March 13 and board review and approval on March 21. This was one of the most important weeks of the year for our staff to ensure we stay on a steady course with forward movement to deliver our mission.
That’s it for now. As the new year gets into full swing, I want to thank you for making 2018 so amazing for the SkillsUSA students and teachers we serve. We look forward to working with you to change even more lives for the better in 2019!
Winter Magazine Highlights Competitive Events
The digital edition of winter SkillsUSA Champions magazine is now available on the SkillsUSA website here: http://bit.ly/ChampionsWinter19. The digital edition includes everything in the print issue plus extra videos, direct links to external resources and other dynamic material.
The winter issue always focuses on the SkillsUSA Championships, and it can be helpful in recruitment. Our competitive events program is exciting for students, and they like demonstrating their skills. This issue includes articles about student members from Pennsylvania, Kansas, Georgia, New Jersey, California, Florida, Maine and New York. A feature story appears about our ambassador to the WorldSkills Champions Trust, as well as a profile of a dedicated advisor from inner-city Providence, R.I. There’s also a wrap-up of our record-breaking Washington Leadership Training Institute. A teacher’s lesson plan for students is posted alongside the link to the digital edition.
Remind Your Advisors to Register Their Members to Receive Valuable Benefits
State association directors, please pass this on to your advisors:
The national membership deadline is March 1. Students must meet both state and national deadlines to be eligible for national competition, serve as voting delegates or run for national office. Professional membership provides valuable benefits, too. Once advisors join and provide their email address, they will receive access to the following:
- 2019 SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards
- Jump into STEM!curriculum
- SkillsUSA Career Essentials: Foundations
Call the SkillsUSA Membership Hotline if you need help in starting a new chapter, engaging chapter members, or discovering strategies to strengthen an existing chapter. If you have questions or need assistance with online membership registration, the hotline operators can take care of that, too. Call toll free: 844-875-4557 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. EST Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 11 a.m.–7 p.m. EST Tuesday and Thursday, or email operators@skillsusa.org.
Schedule a One-on-One Demo with Career Essentials Coach
To learn more about the SkillsUSA Career Essentials curriculum and to gain a greater understanding of how to implement it within your program, we encourage you to sign up for a one-on-one, 15-minute demonstration of the curriculum. To sign up, click on the following link, complete the short information form and a coach will contact you to set up your demo: https://goo.gl/forms/jIS73zAkkDXSl80d2.
For additional questions and assistance, please contact us at 844-875-4557 and ask to speak with a SkillsUSA Career Essentials coach.
To visit the website, go to: www.careeressentials.org.
Plan Now for 2019 SkillsUSA Week
State association directors, please pass this on to your advisors:
You can participate in SkillsUSA Week many different ways: hold an open house, invite local media to tour your programs, conduct a community service project, work with area businesses to build more meaningful partnerships, or engage with policymakers to talk about the value of technical education. For a complete calendar of events, and resources including a sample proclamation, go to: www.skillsusa.org/events-training/skillsusa-week.
We encourage you to plan activities to follow the daily schedule of events that will be celebrated in chapters nationwide:
- Monday, Feb. 4, is Appreciation Day. Plan an event to celebrate and honor the support of advisors, teachers and administrators.
- Tuesday, Feb. 5, is Advocacy Day. Plan local or state public relations activities including presentations to legislators, school board members, administrators and community group leaders.
- Wednesday, Feb. 6, is Member Outreach Day. Involve members in the recruitment of middle and elementary school students into your CTE programs, or plan appreciation activities that honor current members.
- Thursday, Feb. 7, is SkillsUSA Serves Day. Rally around your community by focusing on a day of giving through service projects or fundraisers.
- Friday, Feb. 8, is SkillsUSA Day. Celebrate SkillsUSA by wearing your favorite SkillsUSA shirt, planning a celebration and posting the event to social media.
The SkillsUSA Store has created a SkillsUSA Week T-shirt for $18. Visit www.skillsusastore.org to order your shirt and other SkillsUSA products to support your week of celebration.
Special thank you to Channellock as the lead sponsor of SkillsUSA Week and to Toyota for their additional support of this program.
Final Reminder: Constitutional Amendments Deadline Approaching
Current SkillsUSA members can submit proposed constitutional amendments to the middle school, high school and college/postsecondary constitutions. Constitutional amendment motions must be submitted, in writing, to Kim Hegedus at khegedus@skillsusa.org by Feb. 1 by 5 p.m. ET.
SkillsUSA’s National Executive Council and board of directors will review all submissions during the March board meeting.
All motions will be distributed to state SkillsUSA directors no later than 60 days prior to the National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) by April 25. Motions will then be presented for vote at the official business meeting of the House of Delegates during the 2019 NLSC.
Constitutional amendments are governed by Article XII of the high school and college/postsecondary constitutions and Article X of the middle school constitution.
For more information and to view the constitutions, go to: www.skillsusa.org/events-training/national-leadership-and-skills-conference/delegate-sessions/. The motion form is located here: www.skillsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Constitution-and-Bylaw-Amendment-Form.docx. If you have questions, contact Kim Hegedus at 317-544-8750 or khegedus@skillsusa.org.
Important Reminder about the State Dues and Deadlines Form
State SkillsUSA directors — as we begin collecting information for the State Dues and Deadlines Form for the 2019-20 year, here are a few things you need to know:
- Each state association’s information will be collected through a survey that will be sent to each state SkillsUSA director. This will arrive by email the first week of January. The survey should only take about 20 minutes to complete. The deadline to return the completed survey is 14. Please plan to have your dues approved by your board before Feb. 14, so your complete information can be submitted on time.
- This survey will not ask for information regarding your conference dates. We understand that those dates and locations may not be confirmed by Feb. 14. State conference information will be collected later in the spring.
- If you would like extra membership kits sent to you for use at your training sessions, they will be available after June 1. Please be sure to include the date you will need them so we can get them to you in time.
If you have questions regarding the State Dues and Deadlines Form, please contact Veronica Gomez at vgomez@skillsusa.org.
NLSC “All Access” Badges Limited
As part of the SkillsUSA national headquarters’ NLSC safety and security plan, only the following registrants will be granted “ALL ACCESS” badges during the 2019 National Leadership and Skills Conference: state SkillsUSA directors and one assistant state director per state; SkillsUSA board of directors; national officers; and national staff. All other registrant types will have general attendee access. State association directors should refer to the NLSC Guide for detailed information on registrant types.
Final Reminder: Seeking Talented Singers to Open Conference
SkillsUSA is seeking talented student or adult performers to sing the national anthem at the Opening Ceremony for the 2019 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. Auditions must be received by Feb. 4. SkillsUSA does not pay any travel expenses for the selected singer to attend the national conference. Questions may be directed to Heidi Walsh at 703-737-0615 or hwalsh@skillsusa.org.
Audition videos can be submitted via: https://skillsusa.wufoo.com/forms/national-anthem-auditions/ and must be the singing of the national anthem.
Final Reminder: Take Up the Challenge! National Conference Pin and T-Shirt Design
Feb. 5 is the deadline for entries to be received (not postmarked) for the SkillsUSA National Conference Pin and T-shirt Design Challenge. This event is open to all paid student members of SkillsUSA. This is a great way to have a student and advisor from your state recognized. Questions may be directed to Heidi Walsh at 703-737-0615 or hwalsh@skillsusa.org.
Entries are accepted by mail only (no electronic files), and rules are posted on the SkillsUSA website at: www.skillsusa.org/competitions/pin-design-challenge/.
Final Reminder: Nominations Open for Honorary Life Membership, Outstanding Career and Technical Educator
If you would like to nominate someone for SkillsUSA’s national Honorary Life Membership or Outstanding Career and Technical Educator awards, please submit your nomination by Feb. 15. Awards are presented in June at the National Leadership and Skills Conference. Online applications are available at: www.skillsusa.org/membership-resources/awards.
If you have questions, contact Gayle Silvey at gsilvey@skillsusa.org or 404-216-6040.
Teachers Helping Teachers at the ‘Teach to Lead’ Summit
Teach to Lead supports teachers as valued experts in instruction and students’ needs. Teach to Lead summits provide teams with time to collaborate, skills development, and professional consultation to incubate innovative ideas that can make a positive impact for schools, communities, district and states. Teach to Lead encourages teachers to present an actionable idea for team discussion. All submitted ideas must:
- Encourage teachers to lead from the classroom
- Promote collaborative work among multiple stakeholders
- Identify an area in need of innovation or a specific problem with an eye toward actionable solutions
- Be viable in the local context and sustainable over time
For more information and to apply, go to: www.surveymonkey.com/r/TTLPhilly. Applications are due on Jan. 28. Accepted teachers will be notified by Feb. 11.
Early-Bird Registration Open for ACTE’s National Policy Seminar
Registration is open for the Association for Career and Technical Education’s National Policy Seminar (NPS). It will be held March 25-27 in Arlington, Va. Some benefits of attending include:
- Learning from policy and advocacy how-to sessions to help you continue to strengthen support for CTE
- Meeting with your Members of Congress and their staff on Capitol Hill to share your CTE success stories and programming needs
- Having opportunities to exchange best practices and lessons learned for the future
- Attending a Perkins V symposium offering practical guidance as we move from reauthorization to state and local implementation
For more information, go to: www.acteonline.org.
Due Dates
January
Jan. 11: Deadline to receive SkillsUSA open-house grant applications
Jan. 28: Teach to Lead Summit applications due
February
Feb. 1: SkillsUSA constitutional amendment motions must be submitted to Kim Hegedus in writing
Feb. 4: National Anthem audition videos due
Feb. 5: National Conference Pin and T-shirt Design Competition entries must be received (not postmarked)
Feb. 14: Deadline to complete the state dues and deadlines form survey
Feb. 15: Honorary Life and Outstanding Educator applications due
March
March 1: National SkillsUSA membership deadline
March 1: National Youth Safety Video Contest video submissions due to CareerSafe
March 29: President’s Volunteer Service Award applications due
April
April 1: Student2Student entries due
May
May 1: Nominations due for ACTE Business-Education Partnership and Champion for CTE awards due
May 1: Marsha Daves Scholarship application deadline
May 1: Fine Homebuilding #KeepCraftAlive Scholarship application deadline
June
June 1: National officer applications due
National Staff Travel
January
Jan. 16-19: Atlanta/State Director Officers’ Meeting/selected staff
Jan. 20-22: Monett, Mo./teacher training/Courtney Ferrell
Jan. 22: Reston, Va./National Coordinating Council for Career and Technical Student Organizations meeting/Tim Lawrence
Jan. 23-24: Scottsdale, Ariz./FutureTech Foundation Annual Partner Summit/Eric Gearhart
Jan. 30-Feb. 2: San Diego/American Association of Community Colleges Workforce Development Institute/Gene Dudley
February
Feb. 5-7: Atlanta/SkillsUSA Championships Technical Committee Chair meeting/selected staff
Feb. 4-8: SkillsUSA Week events, national officers and staff
Feb. 14-16: Myrtle Beach, S.C./South Carolina Technical Education Association Conference/Gene Dudley
Feb. 20-22: Louisville, Ky./Louisville Advisory Council meeting/Tim Lawrence
March
March 10-13: St. Paul, Minn./WorldSkills USA Training and SkillsUSA Foundation meeting at 3M/selected staff
March 14-16: Greenville, S.C./South Carolina State Leadership and Skills Conference/Tim Lawrence
March 20-21: Sacramento, Calif./SkillsUSA Board of Directors’ meeting/select staff
March 21-24: Charlotte, N.C./national officer pre-NLSC training/Courtney Ferrell
March 25-27: Arlington, Va./ACTE National Policy Seminar/Tim Lawrence
March 26: Washington, D.C./National Coordinating Council for Career and Technical Student Organizations meeting/Tim Lawrence
April
April 9-11: Greensboro, N.C./North Carolina State Leadership and Skills Conference/Tim Lawrence
April 11-13: Grand Island, Neb./Nebraska State Leadership and Skills Conference/Tim Lawrence
April 25-26: TBA/Iowa State Leadership and Skills Conference/Tim Lawrence
April 28-30: Tulsa, Okla./Oklahoma State Leadership and Skills Conference/Tim Lawrence
May
May 1-2: Napa, Calif./NCCER Board Meeting/Tim Lawrence
May 14: Reston, Va./National Coordinating Council for Career and Technical Student Organizations meeting/Tim Lawrence
