Delaware students continue to bring home awards this summer. This time, from as far as Georgia and Kentucky.
In this roundup we’ll try to catch you up on some education headlines you may have missed.
Did we miss another good story? Tell me about it: kepowers@gannett.com.
Honors are heading home from national STEM conference
Students and advisers from nearly a dozen Delaware public schools found themselves competing in Louisville, Kentucky, by the end of last month. About 130 participants from the First State joined the ranks of more than 8,000 national members at the 45th annual Technology Student Association conference.
Awards came in by conference end, according to the Department of Education, as students competed in several STEM-fueled events.
Achievement Awards:
- Samhitha Vallury of MOT Charter School recognized for service as secretary of Technology Student Association
- Samra Iqbal of Caesar Rodney High School recognized for service as reporter of Technology Student Association
- Roger Seedorf of MOT Charter School recognized as High School Teacher of the Year
- Laura Barnas of Postlethwait Middle recognized as Middle School Teacher of the Year
- Mike Fitzgerald from the Delaware Department of Education recognized as the National State Advisor of the Year
National Top 10 Finalists:
- Desen Basara of Caesar Rodney High School earned first place in Essays on Technology
- Nathan Hryniewicz of Newark Charter High School earned fifth place in CAD Engineering
- Arnav Angra of H.B. duPont Middle School earned seventh place in Foundations of Information Technology
- James Carroll and Audrey Houghton of Newark Charter High School earned 10th place in Forensic Science
Students competed in individual and team events across a multitude of subjects areas, including:
- Architecture
- Podcasting
- Biotechnology
- Board Game Design
- Career Prep
- Coding
- Cybersecurity
- Data Science and Analytics
- Video Production
- Dragster Design
- Extemporaneous Speech
- Fashion Design and Technology
- Flight Endurance
- Foundations of Information Technology
- Future Teacher
- Manufacturing Prototype
- Microcontroller Design
- Photographic Technology
- Solar Sprint
- Software Development
- STEM Animation
- Structural Engineering
- System Control Technology
- Technology Problem Solving
- VEX Robotics
- Video Game Design
- Virtual Reality Visualization
- Website Design — and, somehow, more.
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More Delaware students bring home awards in national competition
Delaware saw 41 high school students join over 16,000 participants in the “SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference” in Atlanta this summer. The event took up a space equivalent to some 31 football fields.
The career conference led events in construction trades, video broadcasting, graphic arts, automotive trades and more, according to the Department of Education.
Three students from the First State placed in the top 10. Eleven students received “Skill Point” awards — representing the “pinnacle of achievement in demonstrating proficiency and workplace readiness” in a certain specialty. The state itself was also recognized for having the largest high school membership increase and the largest overall membership percentage increase.
The SkillsUSA National Championships are career competition events showcasing the best career and technical education students in the nation, DDOE explained in a press release.
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“Its vision is to produce the most highly skilled workforce in the world, providing every member the opportunity for career success.”
A list of winners can be found online.
Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for the USA TODAY Network’s Northeast Region and Delaware Online, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on Twitter @kpowers01.