The Washington State Board of Education is pleased to announce the start of the second-annual student video contest. This year's contest will focus on the important role of math, science, technology, and/or Career and Technical Education courses. The contest due date is Monday, May 2, 2011.

Last year's contest was very successful, and SBE hopes to continue that momentum this year as well. Please forward this information to math, science, technology and Career and Technical Education staff.

We've included a flyer that educators can post on the wall or provide directly to students.

This is a great opportunity for all secondary students to showcase their appreciation for math, science, technology and CTE coursework, their creativity, and their video skills.

Teachers: We encourage you to use this contest as an assignment, and we request that you only send in the top three videos from the class.

More information about the contest, including the winning videos from last year, is available on the SBE website and their YouTube channel.

Questions: contact Aaron Wyatt at (360) 430-1656 or aaron.wyatt@k12.wa.us.

We are pleased to announce that Brad Burnham has joined our team as the GRADS grant project specialist. 

Brad comes to CTE from the Washington State Board of Education and federally funded Gear Up and Student Support Services grants. The primary tasks of his current position will be direct management of the GRADS grant and to create community ties and systems to support dropout prevention and recovery programs.

The Managed Education and Registry Information Tool (MERIT) is the Department of Early Learning's (DEL) statewide online training database for early learning professionals. It helps manage State Training and Registry System (STARS) trainings.

Available now, educators can access MERIT and enter classes and the students that completed the 20- hour basic STARS training, and students can get a STARS ID number: if they have a valid email address they can go to the MERIT homepage merit.del.wa.gov and register for a STARS ID number and a MERIT account.  The process takes about five minutes and they receive their number immediately.

MERIT will help districts keep accurate records, as well as help DEL create a stronger statewide professional development system. DEL has several resources to guide users through MERIT located on the homepage, merit.del.wa.gov. 

If the 20-hour basic STARS training was taught during the 2009/2010 school year or the 2010/2011 school year, but you are unable to enter students into MERIT, please contact Katie Pitroff, MERIT specialist, at Katie.Pitroff@del.wa.gov or (360) 725-4396.

DEL will add school districts that do not have MERIT accounts into MERIT. Each High School teacher needing access will be entered as an administrator with their school district.

A team of students from Kennewick has won a statewide design competition and will get a chance to compete for national prizes, State Superintendent Randy Dorn announced yesterday. The team, from Kamiakin High School, won the 2010 Washington State Real World Design Challenge by designing a next-generation aircraft wing using real professional tools.

Calling themselves Connotations of Flight, the team comprises the following members: Grace Sun Mi Choi, Amanda Michelle White, James Stephen Luey, Collin Charles Bampton, Joseph Mikael Luey, and Sangeetha Thevuthasan. Connotations of Flight will compete at the National Challenge in April. Members will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the competition, which will be held in Washington, DC.

The team's project involved learning how to design airplane wings that are more efficient than existing designs. "The kids enjoyed learning something they're not learning at school," said Terrance Casey, an architect in Kennewick who served as the team's coach.

He said that the team toured the Boeing 737 assembly plant to gain an understanding on how airplane wings were built. "They got to look at a real-world problem up close," Casey said. "They also got in touch with professionals, such as Boeing engineers and officials from the Federal Aviation Administration."

The Real World Design Challenge is an annual high school competition run by a public-private partnership with the goal of sustainably increasing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce.

Learn more at the OSPI Communications page.

Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG) Specialists from 17 JAG sites received advanced training at OSPI on February 15, 2011.The training was facilitated by National JAG trainer John Mcconnell. The primary focus of the training was to assist the specialists with the technical skill development of entering data into the national e-NDMS data base.

JAG is a national model program which tracks "barriers" identified as obstacles blocking students from earning high school diplomas, developing personal management skills, a career plan, and gaining successful employability skills. This is the first year for JAG in Washington, and current programs are being developed at comprehensive high schools, alternative schools, and skills centers. 

There are four different models which offer data management systems, curriculum, leadership development, and professional development opportunities. The gathering also provided an opportunity for folks present to share best practices and further develop a state-wide support system.

For more information about JAG Washington, contact G. C. Hollingbery at George.hollingbery@k12.wa.us.

The WAVA Spring Conference 2011 will be held in Olympia WA at the Red Lion Hotel in combination with the Legislative Policy Seminar. The conference will be held between March 14 and 15, 2011, with the policy seminar on March 15, 2011.

Online registration is open. To register online simply click here. Here is a draft schedule of the WAVA spring conference.