As the year winds to a close we want to encourage all schools that are up and running and able to offer exams to reach out to students to offer them a "last chance" to end the school year with a certification. This will travel with them and can be used in college, job and/or internship applications. 

We also encourage you to reach out to those students who attempted but did not pass an exam to give it another try.

Note, if you are already testing, be sure to check your expiration date for the exam voucher in case your pool of 500 exam vouchers expires this summer -- use them while you can. Offer additional testing times and study materials to help students pass. 

To support this effort we have created exam review kits for OneNote, Word, Excel and PowerPoint aligned to the exam objectives.

CCI Learning Solutions will be awarding 15 $1,000 scholarships to the top 15 schools with the highest percentage of eligible certifications per total registered students in Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12.  

Each school will receive a $1,000 scholarship to be awarded to one eligible student of their choosing. 

Click here to learn more or contact CCI Learning Solutions at waschools@ccilearning.com. Just one more reason to tackle the "Last Chance" campaign above.

This one day Professional development Workshop will showcase sustainability and innovation is co-sponsored by Center of Excellences for Marine Manufacturing & Technology; Construction; and International Trade, Transportation & Logistics. It will be held Friday June 8 at the South Seattle Community College, Georgetown Campus. Cost is $25 and includes clock hours, professional development hours, tour and lunch. 

Who should attend: apprenticeship, CTC professional/technical staff, and high school teachers. Feel free to contact Vicki Plemmons at vplemmons@rtc.edu  if you have questions or need more information, Register here.

$150,000 is allocated for one-time grants to Skills Centers for start-up equipment and curriculum purchases. To be eligible for funding, the skill center must agree to provide regional high schools with access to a technology laboratory, expand manufacturing certificate and course offerings and provide a laboratory space for local high school teachers to engage in professional development in the instruction of courses leading to student employment certification in the aerospace and manufacturing industries. Offer the course for the 2012-13 school year. 

Qualifying programs can be offered under the following CIP Codes: 150613 Manufacturing Technology/Technician, 460290 Marine Carpentry/Boat Building, 470607 Aircraft Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician, 470616 Marine Maintenance & Ship Repair Technology/Technician, 480503 Machine Shop Technology/Technician, 480506 Sheet Metal Technology/Technician, 480508 Welding Technology, 480511 Metal Fabricator, 480703 Cabinetmaking and Millwork/Millwright.

$300,000 is allocated for one-time grants to high school programs to implement the aerospace assembler program. Participating high school must agree to offer the aerospace assembler training program to students by spring semester of the school year 2012-13. 

Qualifying programs can be offered under the following CIP Codes: 150613 Manufacturing Technology/Technician, 460290 Marine Carpentry/Boat Building, 470607 Aircraft Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician, 470616 Marine Maintenance & Ship Repair Technology/ Technician, 480503 Machine Shop Technology/Technician, 480506 Sheet Metal Technology/Technician, 480508 Welding Technology, 480511 Metal Fabricator, 480703 Cabinetmaking and Millwork/Millwright, 4700000 Manufacturing Foundations, 480000 Precision Production Trades Foundations, 469998 Pre-Apprenticeship Skills for the Trades, 480701 Woodworking Foundations.

These grant applications are due June 15.

Please contact Denny Wallace at dennis.wallace@k12.wa.us or call (360) 725-6241 to request information for the tooling and consumables costs to start an Aerospace Assemblers Manufacturing program. Details will be made available for potential Kitted and non-kitted tools lists, Power Island items and consumables. Information will be provided to requesters with comments from Boeing Curriculum writers.

This program establishes the process through which education-based preparatory programs can seek and obtain formal recognition form the Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council (WSATC) for their efforts to link students to registered apprenticeship. 

For more information contact Denny Wallace at  dennis.wallace@k12.wa.us or call (360) 725-6241

Peninsula College Hybrid Train-The-Trainer: NSF grants provides a reduced costs for these In-service opportunities: Hybrid Train-The-Trainer , 5 days beginning July 9; Predictive Maintenance, 3 days beginning July 16; and Hybrid Battery Rebuild, 2 days beginning July 19. All will be held in Port Angeles. For more information or to register please contact  mhansen@pencol.edu.

Registration is now open for the 2012-2013 Real World Design Challenge. The Challenge starts in the fall, but you can sign up today.

The Real World Design Challenge is an annual aviation design competition for teams of 3-7 high school students. The Challenge is free for students and teachers. And each teacher that signs up a team will receive $1 million in professional engineering software as well as access to mentors from industry, government and academia. 

Every team that wants to participate needs to register even if they participated in the past.

Teams can register by clicking the following link Registration for the 2012-2013 Real World Design Challenge is now open. Sign up today, or by going to  www.realworlddesignchallenge.org and following the registration link there.  The team's teacher/coach should do the registration.

The annual School of the Future Design Competition (SOFC) offers an opportunity for middle and junior high school students to creatively illustrate school facility planning and design. The national competition challenges student teams to design their schools to enhance learning, conserve resources, be environmentally responsive and engage the surrounding community. The SOFC is tied to School Building Week, which highlights the importance of high-performance school facility environments that are safe, healthy and well planned.

What's in it for the student? 

Students learn to collaborate, make team decisions, develop slide shows and models, and potentially present their design to hundreds of people at local, state, and national levels. Prizes up to $2,000 are awarded and national finalists fly to Washington, D.C. where their models and presentations are judged.

Have Washington students won before?
Washington students have placed at the highest levels in the past four years. In 2012, talented, hard-working students from Mill Creek Middle School (in Kent) and Mount Baker Middle School (in Auburn) presented meticulous visions that modeled sustainability.

How can our district plan for SOFC 2013?
Please consider SOFC as you plan for the 2012-13 school year. Planning should begin this spring and fall to allow sufficient time to prepare for the next SOFC in spring 2013. It is recommended that specific work for the competition effort be extracurricular; although, related lessons may be integrated into class curriculum. Eventually, districts may choose to have a specific course that includes all of these lessons. Mentors are provided through the support of Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) and are typically comprised of professional planners, architects and technical professionals.

Call for middle school and junior high school student teams in School of the Future Design Competition.

Register or get more information about the competition (Council of Educational Facility Planners International Web site).

$250,000 is solely for advanced Project Lead The Way courses at 10 high schools.  To be eligible for funding, a high school must have offered a foundational project lead the way course during the 2011-2012 school year. 

One-time funding must be used for start-up course costs for an advanced Project Lead The Way course to be offered to students beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. 

Qualifying programs can be offered under the following CIP Codes:  149997, DE, Digital Electronics; 149998, AE, Aeronautical Engineering; 410301, BE, Biomedical Engineering; 470495, CIM, Computer Integrated Manufacturing; 260104, BI, Biomedical Innovation, 510714, MI, Medical Intervention.

These grant applications are due June 15.

Washington State University's fifth annual Imagine Tomorrow problem-solving competition attracted 112 student groups from 46 high schools in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana to present their ideas for transitioning to alternative energy sources. The students competed for more than $100,000 in prize money in four categories: behavior, biofuels, design and technology.

Winning projects came from Todd Beamer High School from Federal Way, Camas High School, Ellensburg High School, Interlake High School from Bellevue, Lake Roosevelt High School from Coulee Dam, Bellingham High School, LaCenter High School, Archbishop High School from Everett, Ballard High School from Seattle, Stanwood High School, Union High School from Camas, and others.

For more information, see the Imagine Tomorrow website.  The 2013 competition will take place in Pullman May 17-19.  

Free Financial Algebra Summer Institute June 28 and 29, at 1910 Church St. SE, Salem, OR 97302. Hosted by Cengage, the author of Financial Algebra, Richard Sgroi, will be leading a free 1.5 day workshop for teachers who are teaching or implementing a Financial Algebra Course. 

Workshop will include:

• Comprehensive overview of the Financial Algebra course.
• In-depth look at each chapter, offering insight into the instructional model, chapter features.
• Algebraic modeling deployed.
• How to use the graphing calculator and spreadsheets throughout the course.
• Teaching the mathematics of Financial Algebra.
• Using projects as an alternate means of assessment.
• Using the Financial Algebra program supplemental resources.
• Effective teaching tips and strategies.

For more information, contact christine.stakr@cengage.com.

To register contact lethe_laura@salkeiz.k12.or.us. 

Announcing a $1,300 Scholarship for SkillsUSA Activate and Leverage Training (formerly known as State Officer 101/201 Training) Open to all students. The deadline is April 29. 

Go to  www.skillsusa.org/educators/101.shtml for more information on this training opportunity.

The Foundation For Private Enterprise Education (Washington Business Week) uses experiential learning to teach high school students about careers, business, leadership, and teamwork while they gain valuable life skills and college credit (optional) in a fun and exciting way. Students can choose programs in Business, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Energy and Agri-Business.  Students live on one of four university campuses (Gonzaga, CWU, WWU or PLU) for a full week and get a taste of college life, mentored by industry professionals.  

Registration is now open for all programs.  To learn more, watch this 9 minute documentary or download flyers for classroom distribution.  For more information go to www.wbw.org, or contact WBW at (253) 815-6900, or Herman Calzadillas, Pathways Manager, at herman@wbw.org; (253) 561-1840.

Applications now open for summer Materials Camp opportunities. Here's your opportunity to participate in a week-long, hands-on lab experience that shows you how to use applied engineering techniques in the classroom. Camp is July 16-20 in Seattle. Apply here. Learn more here.

Registration is now open for the 5th annual conference From Structure to Instruction Institute on High School Design and Improvement, Friday, June 29 to Sunday, July 1 in Seattle, WA. 

For more information, visit http://educationnorthwest.org/event/sti12 or contact Suzanne Hay at (503) 275-9634, suzanne.hay@educationnorthwest.org.

The Northwest Association for Biomedical Research (NWABR) presents professional development and curriculum on bioinformatics (Bio-ITEST). High school teachers, particularly those with advanced biology or biotechnology courses are invited to apply. Prior bioinformatics experience is not required. 

The workshop will be held July 23-27, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, at Shoreline Community College in Seattle, WA. Applications are due April 27. Visit http://www.nwabr.org/bioitest-adv-workshop to register.

The Washington Agriculture Education Summer Update Conference will be held in Bellingham, WA, June 24-28.

Register here. Learn more here.

Registration information can be obtained by emailing twhitcomb@mtbaker.wednet.edu or 

gparkert@comcast.net.

The agriculture education & science pathway at OSPI is holding the first Curriculum for Agriculture Science Education (CASE) training in Washington State this summer. Twenty agriculture education teachers have been chosen to attend this training. Scholarships have been provided to the teacher's school districts to cover the cost of the training. The CASE training will be in Moses Lake, WA, July 30 - August 9. To learn more, contact Wayne Gilman at hw.gilman@k12.wa.us.

This workshop is a collaboration between BTC and WSU Agricultural Education. The workshop was established to coincide with the WAAE Conference that starts on Monday, June 25, in Bellingham. 

This workshop will focus on helping high school metal shop instructors bring their welding skills up to current industry standards in the area of Gas Tungsten Arc, with refreshers in Shield Metal Arc and Gas Metal Arc Welding techniques. The workshop will take place in BTC's state-of-the-art welding facility. Participants will be introduced to BTC's welding curriculum and desired student achievement standards for employability in today's welding marketplace. High school teachers will receive guided practice in learning and refining welding skills from BTC's program instructor. Focus will be on hands-on learning. Come prepared to spend two days welding while gaining skills in TIG, MIG, or SMAW. The idea behind the workshop is for instructors to improve their own skill set. Participants need to supply personal protective equipment, including safety glasses, gloves, leathers, welding hood, notebook and pencil.

Note: Teachers do need to have, at a minimum, basic welding skills and equipment.

Registration:  Complete the attached registration form and submit with payment to: Bellingham Technical College, 3028 Lindbergh Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225, Attn: Business Office. Fax registration to: (360) 676-2798.   

For workshop questions: contact Linda Crawford at crawford@btc.ctc.edu  or phone at (360) 752-8353; or Linda Ruthrauff at lruthrau@btc.ctc.edu or phone (360) 752-8409.

The Department of Labor proposed a rule relating to the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which would eliminate the student learner exemptions, particularly related to agriculture experiences. These changes would limit the opportunities for students to participate in hands-on learning experiences in agriculture programs.

The Department recently announced that they were withdrawing the proposed rule "in response to thousands of comments expressing concerns about the effect of the proposed rules on small family-owned farms."