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24 SkillsUSA Schools Named National Models of Excellence

Honored as 2022’s Most Outstanding SkillsUSA Programs

Leesburg, Va. — SkillsUSA has named 24 SkillsUSA schools as Models of Excellence for

2022. The annual program recognizes the exceptional integration of personal, workplace and

technical skills into SkillsUSA chapter activities. This is the highest honor bestowed on chapters by SkillsUSA, which is among the largest student organizations for career and technical education.

The focus of Models of Excellence is student-led activation. These students learn and practice the skills that every employer seeks, including leadership, initiative, communication, teamwork and problem solving by taking the lead on all SkillsUSA activities. Their SkillsUSA instructors take the education of these students to the next level by guiding them, but never doing the work for them, elevating learning from classroom instruction to successful application of skills.

“Our Models of Excellence represent the very best in SkillsUSA chapter achievement and community involvement,” said Chelle Travis, executive director of SkillsUSA. “These students represent America’s future skilled workforce and are future leaders in their local 15 communities. It is a tremendous honor for these chapters and the recognition validates these outstanding SkillsUSA programs and schools.”

The 24 SkillsUSA chapters selected as Models of Excellence will be evaluated in June at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference for top honors. A panel of judges will interview and evaluate each of these chapters based on their goals, student-led plan of action, results, evaluation and SkillsUSA Framework integration. Business and industry partners will conduct finalist interviews with students and advisors on June 22, a recognition dinner will be held June 23 and the top three schools will be recognized on June 24 during the SkillsUSA Awards Ceremony at State Farm Arena. The top three schools receive national recognition and the opportunity to share their stories through SkillsUSA in publications and trainings.

Congratulations to the following schools on being named Models of Excellence:

Buckeye Hills Career Center (Ohio)

Cambridge High School (Ga.)

Cape Cod Tech (Mass.)

Catawba Valley Community College (N.C.)

Center for Advanced Technical Studies (S.C.)

Cumberland County Technical Education Center (N.J.)

Deming High School (N.M)

Dorchester Career and Technology Center (Md.)

Douglas High School (Ariz.)

East High School (Wyo.)

Gloucester County Institute of Technology (N.J.)

Gordon Cooper Technology Center (Okla.)

Greater Lowell Tech High (Mass.)

Louisville High School (Neb.)

Lynn Vocational Technical Institute (Mass.)

New Madrid County R-I Technical Skills Center (Mo.)

Niagara Career and Technical Center (N.Y.)

Putnam Career and Technical Center (W.Va.)

Tennessee College of Applied Tech-Pulaski (Tenn.)

Upper Valley Career Center (Ohio)

Valley Academy for Career and Technology Education (Ariz.)

Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School (Mass.)

Wiregrass Georgia Tech College (Ga.)

Yuma High School (Ariz.)

The Models of Excellence program promotes the intentional learning of personal, workplace and technical skills outlined in the SkillsUSA Framework for student development. Specific characteristics defined within each skill area provide tangible benchmarks for student achievement and chapter programming. Achievement is measured by student 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 andresponsible American citizens.

About SkillsUSA

SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 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 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. We have served 13.9 million members since 1965. For more information: www.skillsusa.org.

 

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