TO:                  J. W. Andrews, School President

 

FROM:            Denise Spurlock, Program Chair, Business and MIBC

 

DATE:             March 20, 2005

 

SUBJECT:       Proposal for Student Organization

 

Student organizations have among their goals the application and enhancement of skills learned and opportunities to provide service in the community. Because of the diversity of the programs offered in our school, I have concluded that the best option for our school would be to start a SkillsUSA chapter.

 

SkillsUSA is a national organization whose mission is as follows:

 

“SkillsUSA is an applied method of instruction for preparing America's high performance workers in public career and technical programs. It provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development. It builds and reinforces self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills. It emphasizes total quality at work: high ethical standards, superior work skills, life-long education, and pride in the dignity of work. SkillsUSA also promotes understanding of the free-enterprise system and involvement in community service.”

 

There are more than 13,000 SkillsUSA chapters with over 260,000 students and instructors participating.

 

Our students would benefit by having the opportunity to develop leadership and teamwork skills so necessary in the workforce. It would give them an opportunity to work with students from other program areas to benefit all students, the school and the community. I have thought of several activities in which student members might participate: a fund-raising to benefit disaster victims, organizing a school-wide holiday celebration, planning a special presentation at graduation or Program Advisory Committee meeting, organizing a mentoring program for new students, or providing input to student services for student appreciation day.

 

Every member of the organization would be required to pay both national and state dues ($12.50 for students and $18.00 for professionals). The school would need to provide facilities for chapter meetings (a lecture room would work well). In addition, faculty and other staff involved as advisors would need to be compensated for their time outside of regular work if not current paid on a salary basis. I would anticipate that program chairs would provide most of the support required by the organization.

 

SkillsUSA has resources available to assist in new chapter organization and development, including sample constitutions. If you approve, I would be willing to undertake the responsibility of the initial organization and promotion of the organization.