MatanuskaSusitna Borough School District, Alaska

1
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District,
Alaska

• SkillsUSA Champions for Change
• Community Implementation Grant
• 2008-2009

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Champions for Change

• Champions for Change is a SkillsUSA initiative
  funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg
  Foundation, encompassing two key initiative areas
  to build our American work force
• SkillsUSA Work Force Ready System
• Six pilot sites in vulnerable communities
• www.championsforchange.org

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Matanuska-Susitna Borough

• 50 miles north of Anchorage
• Major cities are Palmer, Wasilla, Houston
  Talkeetna
• 24,681 square miles, larger than the entire state
  of West Virginia
• Growth requires a new school every year second
  largest school district in the state

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Participating Schools

• Three outlying schools
• Susitna ValleyGrades 7-12
• HoustonGrades 9-12
• Glacier ViewGrades K-12
• SuValley and Houston are located on the Parks
  Highway
• Glacier View on the Glenn Highway
• 120 miles from Glacier View School to Su Valley HS

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Components

• Virtual Community through Tech Mat-Su, the MSBSD
  distance delivery site
• Leadership
• Mentorship
• Coordination
• Chapter and advisor in each school
• Local Site Manager mentored by SkillsUSA State
  Director

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Features

• Tech Mat-Su for coordination, training,
  professional development, and goal setting
• Individual chapters for skill development and
  accomplishment of program of work
• Opportunities for skill assessment in own
  environment
• Community events for career pathway development
• Participation in statewide fall CTSO leadership
  development and spring assessment conference

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For 2009-10

• Recruiting for a school off the road system,
  outside the Mat-Su Borough, to join in on the use
  of Tech Mat-Su
• Testing to see if the distance component can be
  replicated
• More SkillsUSA on-line assessment
• Continued development of three chapters

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Partners

• Alaska AGCACE Academy
• Alaska WorksConstruction Trades Academies
• State Department of Labor and Workforce
  Development, Office of Apprenticeship
• Advisory Committees
• Construction Trades Woods
• Drafting Pre-Engineering
• Welding

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Implementation Team

• Wendy Taylor, Principal, and Ben Gerwig, student,
  from Glacier View School
• Ron Levesque, Construction Trades Woods
  Advisory Board member
• Brad Drake, Construction Trades Woods teacher
  from Houston High School
• Kathlynn Andrews, Local Site Manager, former
  Coordinator for Career Technical Education,
  MBSBD

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Matanuska-Susitna Borough Schools
Glacier View School
Houston High School
Susitna Valley Jr./Sr. High School
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Contact Information

• Kathlynn Andrews, kathlynnfrost_at_hotmail.com,
  907-748-1599, 4911 West 84th Avenue, Anchorage,
  AK 99502
• Ray Jensen, raymond.jensen_at_matsuk12.us,
  907-355-4558, State SkillsUSA Director
• Ray DePriest, ray.depriest_at_matsuk12.us,
  907-746-9238, MSBSD Director of CTE