SkillsUSA Names 24 Schools as National Models of Excellence
Honored as America’s Top SkillsUSA Programs for 2019
Leesburg, Va. — SkillsUSA recently named 24 SkillsUSA chapters as Models of Excellence for 2019. At the top level of SkillsUSA’s Chapter Excellence Program, these schools are recognized for the exceptional integration and application of personal, workplace and technical skills in their SkillsUSA chapter activities. This is the highest award bestowed on chapters by SkillsUSA, which is one of the largest student organizations for career and technical education academic papers only but in something.
“The Models of Excellence program represents the very best in chapter achievement and community involvement,” said Timothy W. Lawrence, executive director of SkillsUSA. “These students represent our future workforce and reflect the future of their communities. This is a tremendous honor for each school and validates these outstanding SkillsUSA programs as some of the best in the nation.”
The 24 Models of Excellence chapters will participate in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Ky., June 24-28. Activities include finalist interviews, an awards dinner at the Kentucky Derby Museum, and recognition at the SkillsUSA awards ceremony in front of more than 12,000 students, instructors and business leaders. The Chapter Excellence Program is provided in association with the Apprenticeship.gov and Crescent Tools, a premier hand-tool brand from Apex Tool Group.
“We are honored to be part of this program,” said Curt Weber, senior director of brand management for Apex Tool Group. “These students possess the skills that every employer seeks, including leadership, initiative, communication, teamwork and problem solving. Their SkillsUSA instructors take the education of these students to the next level by elevating it from classroom instruction to successful application.”
The 24 schools receiving the 2019 Models of Excellence award recognition include:
- Arizona — Valley Academy for Career and Technology Education, Willow Canyon High School
- California — Norwalk High School
- Colorado — Durango High School, Thomas Jefferson High School
- Georgia — Cross Keys High School, Greenbrier High School, Grovetown High School, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College
- Massachusetts — Greater Lowell Technical High School, Lynn Vocational Technical Institute
- Missouri — New Madrid R-I Tech Skills Center
- New Jersey — Bergen County Academies, Gloucester County Institute of Technology, East Brunswick Vocational and Technical School
- New Mexico — Deming High School
- North Carolina — Catawba Valley Community College
- Ohio — Buckeye Hills Career Center, Upper Valley Career Center, Vanguard-Sentinel Career and Technology Centers – Vanguard Campus
- Oklahoma — Geary High School
- Tennessee —Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Pulaski
- Wisconsin — New Berlin West High School
- Wyoming — Central High School
The Chapter Excellence Program promotes the intentional learning of personal skills, workplace skills and technical skills grounded in academics, as outlined in the SkillsUSA Framework for student development. Specific characteristics defined within each skill area help ensure tangible benchmarks for student achievement and chapter programming. Achievement is measured by the effectiveness of students’ efforts in implementing essential workplace skills including personal responsibility, integrity, work ethic and organization in chapter activities. The hands-on approach of this program actualizes the SkillsUSA mission of empowering members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens.
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry to strengthen our nation’s skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. This SkillsUSA Framework empowers every student to succeed at work and in life, while helping to close the “skills gap” in which millions of positions go unfilled. Through SkillsUSA’s championships program and curricula, employers have long ensured schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA’s new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job. SkillsUSA has more than 360,000 annual members nationwide in high schools, colleges and middle schools, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education. For more information: www.skillsusa.org.
About Crescent / H.K. Porter
Crescent is a premier brand from Apex Tool Group, one of the largest hand tool manufacturers in the world. The product line includes Crescent® adjustable wrenches, mechanics hand tools and sets, Crescent Wiss® snips, scissors, shears, knives and trade tools, Crescent Lufkin® measuring tapes, rules, and wheels, Crescent Nicholson® files and saws, Crescent H.K. Porter® heavy‑duty cutting products and Crescent JOBOX® on-site, flammable liquid and truck storage products.
Visit: www.crescenttool.com.
Apex Tool Group
Apex Tool Group, LLC, headquartered in Sparks, Md., is one of the largest worldwide producers of industrial hand and power tools, tool storage, drill chucks, chain and electronic soldering products. Apex serves a multitude of global markets, including automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy, hardware, industrial, and consumer retail. Visit: www.apextoolgroup.com.
SkillsUSA Contacts
Jane A. DeShong Short, Program Manager
Public Relations/Communications
Phone: 703-737-0612
jshort@skillsusa.org
Karen Kitzel, Associate Director
Public Relations/Communications
Phone: 703-737-0607
kkitzel@skillsusa.org
