PIQUA — Upper Valley Career Center students and staff members were recognized for achievements during the Monday, April 25, board of education meeting.
Tony Trapp was honored on his selection as the 2022 Seamless Work-Based Learning Professional of the Year. The purpose of the award is to recognize a work-based learning (WBL) professional who has demonstrated overall contributions to student success through community engagement, leadership roles, student organizations, WBL classroom innovations, and WBL advocacy.
Anthony Fraley was recognized for receiving the Ohio Auditor of State Award Recognition for excellence in financial reporting and compliance for Fiscal Year 2021.
Keri Lovelace has been selected as a finalist for the 2022 Excellence in Education Award from the Rotary Club of Sidney. Her application will move forward and she will be interviewed by a panel of judges in the final round.
Superintendent Jason Haak reported students and staff from Upper Valley Career Center participated in a blood drive in partnership with the Community Blood Center. A total of 80 donors registered to donate, 33 of which were first time donors. The 68 units were collected, achieving 125% of the goal established.
Audrey Gutman, Upper Valley Career Center’s Public Relations Relations coordinator, has been recognized as the Ohio ACTE Public Relations Distinguished Service Award winner.
Jessica Helsinger, Covington/UVCC satellite instructor, has been promoted to Master Teacher, a distinction given to those who have served as a Lead Teacher for at least three consecutive years and have shown an elevated commitment to delivering CASE professional development.
Jeffrey Bertke, Electrical Trades instructor at the Upper Valley Career Center (UVCC), was presented the TORCH Award on Monday, April 11, by the Ohio Department of Education. TORCH stands for Teachers of Ohio Representing Character and Heart and is given out to five teachers in the state annually.
Keaton Mead, an Electrical Trades student from Bradford, has been selected to receive a 20 under 20 award for his work at Calvin Electric LLC. This award honors students, schools, and businesses working collaboratively for the purpose of career development for individuals age 20 and under.
Quinci Voisard’s Presidential Scholar application one of 620 selected as semifinalists from a pool of over 5,000 candidates. The Commission’s choice will be announced in mid-May by the U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona. Voisard was also selected as the Franklin B. Walter Scholarship winner from the Midwest Regional ESC.
The Upper Valley Career Center FFA Veterinary Science Team placed first in the state in the Veterinary Science Career Development Event. Ethan Avey- Newton placed third overall individual; Hailey Whitacre – Newton: sixth; Emma Hinkle – Russia: seventh; Emma Pax – Botkins: ninth. The team will move on to compete at the national level.
The Upper Valley Career Center Culinary Arts ProStart team who placed first in the state competition. The team members are Ebony Six – Troy, Colin Macy – Troy, Peyton Dunn- Troy, Anthony Six – Troy, and Rayna Yoder – Anna. The team has qualified for the National Prostart Competition in Washington, D.C.
The Upper Valley Career Center SkillsUSA Chapter has been recognized as a state level Gold Chapter of Excellence. Only two SkillsUSA Chapters in Ohio received this recognition. Their application will move forward for National SkillsUSA consideration and receive the National Model of Excellence award meaning the Upper Valley SkillsUSA Chapter is among an elite group of the top 24 SkillsUSA chapters nationally.
Haak discussed with the board the importance of satellite programs in fulfilling the mission and vision of Upper Valley Career Center. He reported that on average, Upper Valley Career Center sees nearly 3,400 to 3,500 students per year enrolled in the satellite programs. Dwayne Thompson, Piqua City Schools superintendent, and Rob Messisk, Piqua High School principal, shared how the partner ship with Upper Valley Career Center has helped them reach their goals established by the Piqua Business Advisory group and their district’s Success Bound initiative. The Board was able to tour all the UVCC satellite classrooms at Piqua High School (Mechatronics, Pre Engineering, Medical, and Family and Consumer Sciences) and hear from teachers and students about the course offerings and projects in which the students are participating.
Jeff Shaffer, technology director, reported the district will be purchasing three new server cabinets which will be replacing five older models that were installed nearly 10 years ago. The current cabinets are no longer eligible to receive technical support and are limited in storage capacity.
The Board approved the Harbor Freight “Better Together” grant in the amount of $2,701.16 to be used for the building of five lending food pantries in Piqua and surrounding communities.
