Alumni Activities Idea: Local Advisory Committee Members and Competition Judges Add an alumni member to your existing committee, or establish a local advisory committee if you do not already have one for your program. Advisory committee members, as well as alumni members, can be great advocates for your CTE program. This committee can provide resources, standards and industry insights to you, your program and your students. What is It? The advisory committee helps keep your program on point with changing industry standards. This committee provides resources and volunteers to assist with your program activities and enhance the educational experience for students. Once your advisory committee is set, hold regular meetings, review the curriculum and share industry updates and changes. These meetings can also include chapter activities and competitive events. Why It Works Advisory committees can be an integral part of a career and technical education program, offering support of resources and experience. In preparing for the regional, state and national competitions, it is important for students to learn their skill areas as well as sportsmanship. Local competitions are a great way for students to learn and prepare for those higher level events. Also, competitive events are a great way for members to complete the transition from student to alumni, as they now mentor and facilitate as judges and competition coordinators instead of competing themselves. Offering challenges or competitive events to students can be a great way to prepare them for competition and the world of work as well as to test their skill level at the end of a section. Work with alumni volunteers and advisory committee members to create another level of assessment in your classroom. Steps to Success Step 1: Networking and building partnerships within the community, especially with business partners in your field of study, is the first step to building an advisory committee. As partners come on board to support your program, formalize advisory committee meetings with agendas, as well as more specific requests for support. Support can be guest speaking, offering field-trip destinations, placing students in internships, advising on curricula, judging local contests, donating materials, and more. Step 2: As these partnerships are developing, be sure they are mutually beneficial for both the partner and the school. Recognize and thank partners for their involvement. Step 3: Using the Standards rules & bylaws, have committee members test students on a single contest competency or multiple competencies. These contests may be leadership or skill competitions. By using volunteers to assist with these competitions, students experience another perspective, which can be helpful to their growth as young leaders. In addition to judging, these volunteers can also reinforce student learning and assist with the student application.
Posted on: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 05:58:08 +0000
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