News Release
For Immediate Release: June 12, 2014
Contact: Charles Pyle, Director of Communications, 804-371-2420
Julie C. Grimes, Communications Manager, 804-225-2775
Belle Wheelan, Brenda D. Long and Virginia Business Publications LLC were inducted into the Virginia Career and Technical Education (CTE) Hall of Fame today during the Creating Excellence Awards Program ceremony in Richmond. Outstanding CTE programs and partnerships were also recognized. The awards program is a partnership of the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), the Virginia Career Education Foundation (VCEF) and the Virginia Community College System (VCCS).
The three Hall of Fame inductees were selected in recognition of their leadership and involvement in CTE:
- Wheelan, as Virginia secretary of education, gave voice to major statewide CTE initiatives. While leading several community colleges, she oversaw development and implementation of CTE programs at the certificate, diploma and degree levels and provided CTE educational opportunities to tens of thousands of students. Wheelan currently serves as president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
- Long, a CTE educator and administrator for more than 30 years, is well-known for her leadership in CTE professional organizations and was instrumental in developing the electronic legislative network and public policy initiatives for Virginia’s CTE association. Long is now the executive director of the Virginia Association of Career and Technical Education.
- Virginia Business Publications LLC is a long-time CTE partner, having produced the annual RU Ready? Magazine for more than a decade. The career development and college resource, given to all 10th-grade students in Virginia’s public high schools, has been distributed to more than 1.4 million students in 15 years.
The 2014 Governor’s CTE Exemplary Standards Award went to the Veterinary Assistant Program at the Pruden Center for Industry and Technology in Isle of Wight County. Anne Hudson, teacher, accepted the $5,000 award from the Dominion Foundation to support continued improvement on behalf of the school’s veterinary assistant program. The two-year program – developed in 2000 to meet local veterinary community needs – provides high school students in Isle of Wight and Suffolk with opportunities to learn small and large animal science and participate in internships with local veterinarians. The award, sponsored by the Virginia Career Education Foundation, recognizes programs that meet rigorous criteria for program excellence; alignment with professional, industry and academic standards; implementation of best practices; relevance to community, industry and individual needs; and accountability for student outcomes.
“Today’s recipients represent the best programs and educators committed to training Virginia’s students for the jobs of today and tomorrow,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples said. “Programs like these provide our students with opportunities to explore career options and gain experience for the technically advanced work force the current economy and local communities demand.”
The VDOE Secondary CTE awards were given in three categories as follows:
- Advisory Committee Awards
- State and Region 8 – Halifax County Public Schools’ Automotive Technician Advisory Committee
- Business and Industry Partnership Awards
- State and Region 4 – Valley Health System, nominated by Page County Public Schools and Winchester Public Schools
- Region 1 – Luck Companies, nominated by Goochland County Public Schools
- Region 2 – Science Applications International Corporation, nominated by Virginia Beach Public Schools
- Region 5 – Associated General Contractors, nominated by Rockingham County Public Schools
- Region 8 – Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communications Corporation, nominated by Halifax County Public Schools
- Program Awards
- State and Region 4 – Fairfax County Public Schools’ Washington Irving Middle School STEM Neighborhood Project
- Region 1 – Goochland County Public Schools’ Orthopedic Evaluations and Modalities for Student Athletic Trainers
- Region 2 – Chesapeake Public Schools’ Firefighting Public Safety Program
- Region 3 – Spotsylvania County Public Schools’ Marketing School-Based Enterprise Program
- Region 5 – Fluvanna County Public Schools’ Television Production Program
- Region 7 – Carroll County Public Schools’ Building Trades Program
- Region 8 – Appomattox County Public Schools’ Veterinary Medicine Program
The VCCS Postsecondary CTE State Awards were presented in three categories to the following:
- Advisory Committee Award
- New River Valley Career Pathways Consortium, nominated by New River Community College
- Business and Industry Partnership Award
- Newport News Shipbuilding, nominated by Paul D. Camp Community College
- Program Award
- Integrated Robohand Project, nominated by Southside Virginia Community College.
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