CTE Scholarship Opportunities

MPMA Education Foundation- 

The Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association’s (MPMA) Education Foundation is offering $2,000 scholarships to students with an interest in manufacturing. Information about how to apply can be found at www.mpma.com.  Deadline to Apply is April 15.

Workforce Development Scholarships are available for students pursuing careers in high-demand occupations at Minnesota State colleges.  These scholarships were made possible by a $7 million appropriation from the MN Legislature.  The scholarships are for students pursuing careers in advanced manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare services, information technology, early childhood education, and transportation at any of the 30 state colleges of Minnesota State.  Click here for more detailed information.

Culinary Skills Challenge

Registration is open for the annual Schwan's Culinary Skills Challenge to be held at Southwest Minnesota State University on March 31, 2020.  Registration deadline is March 17. 

Click here to register.

Competitions include: Baking Science, Cake Decorating, Cooking, Food Art, Knife Skills, Menu Design, and Place Setting.

Confirmed interactive sessions:  
SMSU Culinology Department Tour- take a tour and make mocktails and seasoned popcorn
Barbeque Pitmaster Basics- make your own rub and sample award-winning BBQ
Preserving Organic Homemade Jam- make and can your own blueberry jam
Can You Buffalo a Bison Producer- compare buffalo meat to pork and beef and try a sample
Making Meatballs- work with food scientists to create meatballs and jerky
Potato Leek Soup: From Simple to Elegant- learn how to change the flavor profile of your dish
Vietnamese Noodle Bowls- explore the flavors of Hmong cuisine

For more information, visit our website.

Educator Externship Opportunity

The Minnesota West Perkins Consortium is offering an Educator Externship opportunity for up to 10 CTE teachers with approved programs.  Teachers who are chosen to participate will be expected to contact a company in the industry area in which they teach and submit a short review as to how they can enhance their classroom based on what they learned during their experience.  Teachers can receive a $150 stipend and schools can be reimbursed for substitutes if necessary. 

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) gives us a chance to redefine what high-quality career and technical education (CTE) looks like.   The transition from Perkins IV to Perkins V provides the opportunity to enhance old and build new relationships between educators and industry.  This is the time to examine our past practices and try something new and innovative. One way to do that is to take time to get out into the community and link the classroom to the world of work. 

Applications are due February 28.  Externships must be completed by June 12, 2020.

Program Approval Codes

You will soon be getting confirmation from MDE that your Program Approval applications have been approved.  Make sure you share the approved course codes with your district's MARSS coordinator so they have the most up-to-date information as they prepare their P-Files this spring.

Complete Articulation Certificates

If you planned to articulate any of your courses from last semester, don't forget to go back to the site and award the credit to your students who earned a B or better.

www.ctecreditmn.com 

Important 2020 Dates

Mark Your Calendars!

Work-based Learning Teacher Annual Meeting- April 22 @ Minnesota West Granite Falls

Career Expo- September 29 @ MN West, September 30 @ SMSU

CTEWorks Conference- November 3-4 @ Brooklyn Park

Family Consumer Science Teacher Annual Meeting- November 12 @ SWWC

Business Teacher Annual Meeting- November 13 @ SWWC

Tech Ed Teacher Annual Meeting- November 17 @ Redwood Area High School

Agriculture Teacher Annual Meeting- November 20 @ SWWC

Digital Photography Competition- December 9 @ SWWC

Technical Skill Assessments

Technical Skill Assessments (TSAs) can be used to strengthen the link between secondary and post-secondary as well as demonstrate students' career readiness.  Precision Exams has a nice variety of TSAs available that can be given in less than an hour, do not require a proctor, offer a pre and post test option and are reasonably priced.

Please take a look at the exam list on their website and let me know if you'd be interested in offering an assessment to your students.  The consortium will cover the cost of the tests for teachers with approved CTE programs.  If you have any questions, please contact me.  TSAs are a requirement of the Carl Perkins Act- if you can assess your students you really should!