Virginia Governor’s CTE Exemplary Standards Award Program
CONGRATULATIONS 2010 Winners! (Follow link to press release from the Governor’s Office)
The winning programs for Governor’s CTE Exemplary Standards Awards are:
- Automotive Technology Program, Arlington Career Center, teachers Mike McGhee and Dale Winchell This program exemplifies the power of partnerships with 14 local businesses that provide equipment and internship opportunities for students and full time employment after graduation as partners in Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES). Mechanical Safety, Pollution Prevention (SP2) certifications are required of all students. The Dealership Hazards and Supervisor certifications are expected from the students who are selected for a dealer internship. Students may earn certification in Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) areas and the curriculum prepares students for the Virginia state inspectors license test. NOCTI pre and post tests are administered. Students in this program may earn up to 14 free Dual Enrollment credits from Northern Virginia Community College.
- Education for Employment Program, teacher Debbie Gordon, Hayfield Secondary School, Fairfax County This EFE program prepares students for the realities of the workplace, life, and postsecondary education and lifelong learning. Certifications include CareerSafe, Customer Service, and Sales Service. This program has grown to capacity primarily through word-of-mouth student promotion and its reputation for preparing students to get jobs. Daily classroom routine simulates the workplace with high standards and expectations for professionalism.
- Fire and Rescue Program, teacher Wayne Peer, Massanutten Technical Center, Rockingham County/City of HarrisonburgAn example of responsiveness to a local need, four years ago this was a “lunchtime conversation in April” and the program was in place as an elective in September of that year. Program growth and results have led to opening an expanded facility in the fall of 2010. Students work as volunteers in area fire departments and over the course of the program may earn certifications in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), First Aid, Fire Fighter I, Hazardous Materials Operations Level, Fire Fighter II, Emergency Medical Technician – Basic, Incident Command System 100, Incident Command System 200, and Incident Command System 700. The program has an agreement with Jefferson College of Health Sciences for articulated credit to the Fire and Rescue students and they do exempt these students from some of their classes.
Site Visits Planned to Program Finalists for 2010
The three program finalists for the Virginia Governor’s CTE Exemplary Standards Award Program will receive site visits in early June. Congratulations and best wishes to finalists:
Automotive Technology Program, Arlington Career Center, instructor Mike McGhee
Education for Employment Program, Hayfield Secondary School, instructor Debbie Gordon
Fire and Rescue Program, Massanutten Technical Center, instructor Wayne Peer
When the 2010 winners are announced, their portfolios will be made available on a public Web site.
2010-2011 Timeline
| June 30, 2010 | Nominations Due (see above for links to form and instructions) |
| TBA Summer of 2010 | Technical Assistance Session CTE Resource Center Richmond, VA |
| Feb. 11, 2011 | Documentation must be posted to Web site (No paper documentation required or accepted) |
| Feb & March | Documentation Review |
| March & April | Site Visits |
| May | Exemplary Programs Identified |
| June or July | Awards Presented |
Governor Timothy M. Kaine presented his first round of CTE Exemplary Standards Awards August 4, 2009 during the Virginia CTE Summer Professional Development Institute in Richmond. Each of the three exemplary programs received a large banner for the school, a small banner for the classroom, a leather briefcase for each instructor, and a check for $5,000 to be used for program improvement.
Early Childhood Education, Arlington Career Center
Cosmetology Program, Edison High School Academy
Automotive Services Technology, Virginia Beach Technology and Career Education Center
VIEW DOCUMENTATION FOR VIRGINIA’S EXEMPLARY PROGRAMS:
The Edison High School Academy’s Cosmetology program and the Arlington Career Center’s Early Childhood Education program documentation is in binders which may be viewed at the respective schools. During the 2009-2010 school year, documentation will be posted to a Web site.
The Virginia Beach Technical and Career Education Center’s Automotive Services Technology program’s documentation may be viewed at
http://www.techcenter.vbschools.com/exemplary/pages/standard_list.html.
Virginia Governor’s CTE Exemplary Standards Award Program
“While I’m proud of the work we have done for career and technical education, we still have a long way to go…. It is essential that we develop new and creative ways to meet 21st century workforce needs and help our students succeed. This proposal gives students oppportunities to excel in career and technical fields and change the perception of career and technical education in the Commonwealth.”
Governor Timothy M. Kaine
The purpose of the Governor’s Exemplary Standards Award program is to raise the rigor and quality of career and technical education programs across the state. This will be a two-step process: programs will work with business advisory groups and postsecondary faculty to validate their attainment of rigorous standards, and then apply for the Governor’s designation.
This will be a continuous quality improvement process engaging K-12 and higher education, the business community and state, regional and local officials. The opportunity to earn this distinction will create an incentive for programs to meet high academic standards and improve other measures of program quality, strengthen their partnerships and alignment with postsecondary education and industry, and demonstrate relevant and positive outcomes.
Programs earning this distinction will form a growing network of exemplary programs to share best practices with each other and with other programs striving for the designation. All CTE programs will be eligible to seek exemplary status. The criteria for the awards will ensure that all programs earning exemplary status will raise the STEM literacy of participating students through rigorous academic and programmatic standards.
Specific activities for which funds are requested
Governor’s Exemplary Standards Program – nominal planning costs will be covered with state funds, and will include costs of bringing together CTE administrators and instructors and higher education, workforce and industry advisers to develop the criteria for exemplary standards awards, based on the rubric developed by the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education. Once the standards are finalized it will take approximately one academic year for programs to conduct their reviews and document their attainment of the standards. This process must occur program-area by program-area and it will take centers several years to complete reviews for all programs. It is a two-step process requiring industry-driven validation at the local/regional level followed by application to the state. It is anticipated that in the second year of the grant about 12 programs will qualify for this recognition. Funds are requested to support a portion of a project director at the Department of Education to coordinate the review process. Funds are also requested for incentive awards for successful applicants. Awards will include $5,000 grants for programs to pursue continued improvement activities, a banner to display at the school with the Governor’s Exemplary Standard Award designation, and other small incentives such as caps or polo shirts for lead teachers with recognition for the award.
Once the program has been in place for several years, Academies will have to meet Governor’s Exemplary Standards for a minimum number of CTE programs in order to
retain their status as Governor’s Academies. In addition, other regional and local career and technical education programs will be encouraged to participate in the Exemplary Standards program to raise the bar for their CTE programs. These awards will serve as external validation of the quality of CTE programs, based on standards developed through national research and adopted by the commonwealth. Significant business and higher education collaboration and validation is required to qualify for an award.
A statewide network of programs earning the Governor’s Exemplary Standards Award will be established to share best practices and provide mentorship and technical assistance to other CTE programs.
