Press Release - Programs & Practices That Work: Preparing Students for Nontraditional Careers Award Winners Announced

June 29, 2006
For Immediate Release

The National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc), the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE), the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE), and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) proudly presented the “Programs & Practices That Work: Preparing Students for Nontraditional Careers” Award to the Illinois Center for Specialized Professional Support on Thursday. An Honorable Mention was also awarded to Minnesota Public Schools.

The Illinois Center for Specialized Professional Support received the award for work on their project titled “The NTO Look.” The NTO Look is a multi-phase program that was developed to encourage secondary and postsecondary partnerships to respond to local needs for recruitment or retention of students preparing for nontraditional careers by providing resources, consultant assistance and financial assistance. Essential elements of the model include partnering across educational/business boundaries, self-study, research into effective practices, long and short-term measurable goal setting, activity design and implementation, and program evaluation. In the implementation phase of each site’s project, participants are provided professional development, technical support, specialized resources, and financial assistance through “The NTO Look” Program.

Minnesota Public Schools received their honor for their “High Tech Girls’ Society”, which was launched in 2003 to increase representation of girls in traditionally male-dominated courses of study. The Society provides hands-on learning activities, mentoring and counseling to girls in cooperation with colleges, universities and employer partners and in conjunction with a rigorous academic and technical curriculum in such fields as aviation, engineering and information technology.

The Programs and Practices That Work Award winners are selected annually from local and state educational agencies across the country that have implemented effective programs and practices for improving access and success of students pursuing careers nontraditional for their gender.

###