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Secretary of Education Tours SkillsUSA Championships in Louisville

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was in Louisville on June 28, touring the SkillsUSA Championships with Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton. SkillsUSA executive director Tim Lawrence hosted the walking tour of the national competition for the trio, who also met with students and business partners participating in the conference at the Kentucky Exposition Center. “I know all of you in red blazers appreciate this gathering as an opportunity to share ideas, compete on the floor, take part in leadership workshops, network with peers and discuss ways to prepare all students for today’s and... Read More

Dirty Jobs, Good Pay

Experts testifying before Congress don’t typically start by describing the insights they’ve gained from a backed-up toilet. But when Reality TV star Mike Rowe appeared before the Senate committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in 2011, he detailed two incidents involving malfunctioning commodes. Read the full story on city-journal.org. Read More

Getting Kids Into Unfilled and Good-Paying Blue Collar Jobs Will Require a Cultural Shift

Experts testifying before Congress don’t typically start by describing the insights they’ve gained from backed-up toilets. But when reality TV star Mike Rowe appeared before the Senate committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in 2011, he detailed two incidents involving malfunctioning commodes. Read the full story on the Dallas Morning News. Read More

SkillsUSA Announces Winners of the PR Challenge

SkillsUSA congratulates the winners of the public relations challenge. This new online challenge encouraged local chapters and state officer teams to demonstrate how they showcased SkillsUSA to the news media in ways that highlighted career and technical education opportunities and student success. The purpose of the challenge was to help students grow in their communication and teamwork skills and promote SkillsUSA to a wider audience. Teams promoted SkillsUSA to a minimum of three audiences in the community, and then documented all media coverage. The goal was to gain positive local media attention for schools, programs and events. Read More

Virginia County’s ‘Signing Day’ Celebrates Seniors Heading to Jobs, Not College

This is a great article from Today.com about students in Henrico County, Va. The county held its first-ever “Career and Technical Letter of Intent Signing Day” on March 28 to celebrate those students and their imminent employment. Read the full article on Today.com. Read More

High-Paying Trade Jobs Sit Empty, While High School Grads Line Up For University

Like most other American high school students, Garret Morgan had it drummed into him constantly: Go to college. Get a bachelor’s degree. Read the full story on NPR.org. Read More

Opposing the Elimination of OCTAE

SkillsUSA has become aware that the U.S. Department of Education is proposing to consolidate the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) into a new Office of Postsecondary and Lifelong Learning. Eliminating OCTAE could directly or indirectly harm countless business and industry sectors and millions of CTE students, as well as dampen efforts to bridge the skills gap. OCTAE, as structured is an important branch of the Education Department, provides vital support to CTE programs at all levels and allows for a federal voice dedicated to CTE. We’ve included an alert and message on the SkillsUSA Advocacy... Read More

Spreading Kindness and Mulch

SkillsUSA Lowe’s grant helps Kennedy High students renovate a playground. Photo: Sofia Mejia, John F. Kennedy High School, Granada Hills, Calif. Used with permission. Students in architecture, digital design and filmmaking programs applied for and received a $2,250 SkillsUSA Lowe’s grant to help renovate the playground on the campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, Calif. The students wanted to complete a kindness-themed activity and came up with the plan to fix up that abandoned playground. They removed a tree and a fence, spread mulch and gravel, built planter boxes and painted a playhouse and a... Read More

It’s Their Move

Less electronics, more human interaction and exercise inspired Adam Taylor and Victoria Moreau to develop a chess/checkers garden for their community in Pocomoke City, Md. Large pavers were used to create the oversize game board, allowing players to walk through the pieces to make their moves. The Worcester Technical High School students also planted an herb garden nearby to add aromatherapy to the mental exercise of playing the games. Read More