Ohio ACTE is once again working with the Ohio Department of Education Office of CTE to identify five outstanding career-technical senior (Class of 2023) students to be recognized as part of the US Department of Education  National Presidential Scholars Program. This is the eighth year that career technical students will be represented among the US Presidential Scholars. Out of all the applicants nationwide, 20 CTE students will be recognized.  Each state may submit up to five scholars.

For more information and to access the criteria/nomination form, click here.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.  Click here for more information.

Nominations are being accepted for the position of Ohio ACTE Board Secretary for the unexpired term ending September 1, 2023.

This is due to a resignation from the Board because of a job change outside of Career-Technical Education. According to the bylaws, nominations need to come through the divisions and the Ohio ACTE Board Members will vote on the replacement:

“A vacancy on the Executive Board of Directors shall be filled from at least two (2) nominations submitted from the divisions. A majority vote of the Executive Board of Directors shall be necessary to fill the vacancy from the nominees.”

Interested members can email nominations to Ohio ACTE at membership@ohioacte.org by November 25th. If the person wishes to continue serving, they will have to declare candidacy by April 15^th, 2023 for the term to begin September 2, 2023 through September 1, 2025 (2 year term).

Ohio ACTE is grateful for the leadership of Christine Boucher, who served as Secretary for the past term. She made many contributions to the Board and Ohio ACTE, and we appreciate her leadership and guidance!

Quality Program Review (QPR) 2022 data is now available to view in the CTE-26 Compliance System. Keep in mind that Technical Skill Attainment and Post-Program Placement return to accountability with this data set. Work-based Learning will remain Hold Harmless until the QPR 2025 data set. 

When reviewing data, remember that due to the reset in non-compliance, any pathway that is non-compliant in either Technical Skill Attainment or Post-Program Placement will be 1^st year non-compliant. The Office or Career-Technical Education (CTE) is currently scheduling QPR Workshops for December, January and February and will be releasing a schedule and registration information soon.

Buckeye Local High School in Rayland, OH, will be hosting the Sea Air and Land Challenge on April 28, 2023. Interested schools should register now at http://seaairland.psu.edu/register/.

Nicknamed the SeAL Challenge, this program is a Department of Defense (DoD) sponosred STEM initiative in which teams of high school students design and build robotic vehicles and payloads. Students have 12-16 weeks to design their vehicles. Each team is paired with an engineering mentor to guide them through the design and build process.

Now in its 11th year, the SeAL Challenge is free to students, school districts, and organizations. There is no fee for registration or program material, but each team is responsible for securing their own funding, a maximum of $600 per team, for their open-sourced robotic system.

Jeff Merrill from Buckeye Local HS will host this year's Eastern Ohio SeAL Challenge. Questions regarding the program should be directed to him at jeff.merrill@buckeyelocal.net.

The Ohio Department of Education is seeking feedback from businesses on new industry-recognized credentials recently submitted for consideration for the approved graduation list. The industry-recognized credential feedback survey requests feedback on recognition of the industry credentials and their use in the hiring process. The industry-recognized credential review process relies on industry partners to validate the need for credentials in their respective career fields to ensure students are earning credentials that are valued by Ohio businesses or tied to Ohio’s Top Jobs List.

To ensure as many quality responses as possible, the Department is asking school personnel to send the survey to their industry partners and business advisory councils and encourage them to take part. Survey participants should be involved in the hiring process at their companies, such as members of the human resources team or hiring managers. Industry partners may pass the survey on to anyone they feel meets this criterion to participate.

Direct questions to Emma Waymire at IndustryCredentials@education.ohio.gov.

Ohio ACTE is seeking members to serve on important Ohio ACTE Committees to improve service to members and students.

Visit the new Get Involved page, where you will find the Committees seeking members, approximate time commitment and committee descriptions.   There are opportunities to volunteer with Ohio ACTE and work together with fellow  members to serve on a committee, volunteer to read over student scholarship applications, or even consider joining the Board.

On this page, you will also find a form to complete for joining a committee. To go straight to the application form. click here to see the form and the different committee opportunities.  Applications will be reviewed and committee members selected to serve based on the needs/input being sought by the committee/

Being involved in your organization helps further the mission of Ohio ACTE while allowing you to build your leadership skills. 

Ohio ACTE is always open to new ideas from members. If you have other ways you would like to get involved, email us at membership@ohioacte.org. 

Each month, the Ohio ACTE E-news will feature one of our Organizational Members. Ohio ACTE Organizational Members are schools and other institutions that join Ohio ACTE to show their commitment and support for career-technical and adult education.   Organizational membership covers membership for all staff and includes access to benefits, discounts, and resources for all staff members. See all Organizational Members here.  

This month, meet Pike County Career Technology Center, located in Piketon, Ohio!

Location:

Website: www.pikectc.org

Superintendent: Eric Meredith

Pike County Career Technology Center serves 480 students, which represents record attendance this year, within the Scioto Valley, Waverly City, Eastern (Pike), and Western School Districts in Pike County.

“We foster an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity, honesty and equity. We have high expectations of all staff and students and celebrate a strong commitment to hard work and personal accountability in this ever-changing world,” says Eric Meredith, Pike County CTC Superintendent.  

Engineering Technology is their most popular program at Pike County CTC, but all programs prepare students for the working world and in-demand careers. “Our programs align well with local and state wide job openings. We have a very high job placement rate,” said Eric.

Pictured: Pike County Career Technology Center Students work together to develop their projectcharter, one of the steps to developing and implementing a process improvement project. These students eliminated the use of disposable water bottles in their Engineering Technology classroom. Picture courtesy of Newswatchman.

A recent accomplishment for the Career Center is that more than 30 students received their Lean Six Sigma Yellow and/or Green Belt Certifications this past school year. The students were featured in the local news for their hard work. This school year (2022-2023), they will make Lean Six Sigma training available to all students.

Nine new staff members also joined the Pike County CC team this school year. “I look forward to the new ideas they all will bring to our school,” Eric said.

Ohio ACTE is grateful to have Pike County Career Technology Center as an Ohio ACTE Organizational School Member!

The Byrl R. Shoemaker Leadership Institute is an extended professional development opportunity for educators to learn more about career-technical and adult education and how it is delivered in Ohio, challenges and opportunities, as well as learn leadership characteristics.  Learn more about the Shoemaker Leadership Institute here.

Applications are now being accepted for the the 2022-2023 Shoemaker Leadership Institute, which will begin in February 2023 and end in February 2024 with meetings throughout the year. Click here to learn more and apply.

Congratulations to the 2021-2022 Shoemaker Leadership Institute Participants who completed the program, facilitated by Nancy Luce, PhD:

Jeff Berk, Laurie Buchieri, Duane Caudill, Dan Davis, Kyle Fulton, Doug Haas, Tina Hayslett, Brian Jettinghoff, Alyssa Johnston, Lauren Logan, Jennifer Manning, Beth Manor, Jesse Maxfield, Ellen McCabe, Kayla Ruberg, Justin Shank, Deanna Strauss Hersko, Tony Thornsberry, Steve Verhoff, Denise West, Thom Ziems

The CTE Exiting Student Follow Up survey has been updated to align to the redesign and expansion of the CTE Follow-up collection. Visit the Perkins V Secondary CTE Follow-Up page to review the new survey template and updated guidance document. Districts are encouraged to use these resources when following up on concentrators. Please be aware there are new collection and appeals windows due to this redesign.  

 Follow-up data for CTE Concentrators who left secondary education must be reported during the Initial Student Follow-up Collection (S1EXT). Data reported during the Final Exiting Student Follow-up Collection (S2EXT) will not factor into the calculation of Post-Program Placement for accountability purposes.