On February 3, 2023, the Utah Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) presented awards to deserving recipients from the Mountainland CTE Region. The winners were recognized for their exceptional contributions and achievements in the field of career and technical education. Alan Ashton was named the Utah ACTE Champion of the Year, for his tireless efforts in promoting and advancing CTE programs in the region. Jan Jardine received the Utah ACTE Lifetime Achievement Award for her extensive commitment to the improvement of CTE education and her remarkable impact on countless students. Rachel White was honored with the Utah ACTE Counseling and Career Development Professional of the Year Award, for her exceptional work as a career counselor and her dedication to helping students achieve their career goals. These awards serve as a testament to the hard work and dedication of these individuals and their impact on the future success of CTE students in the Mountainland Region.
Utah ACTE Champion of the Year
Alan Ashton, CTE Director
Nebo School District
This ACTE Champion of the Year Award recognizes individuals and entities, from within or outside the Association, for the highest meritorious contributions to the improvement, promotion, development, and progress of career and technical education.
CTE has been a life-long journey for Alan, starting with his 1st woodshop class in 6th grade to preserving Animal Labs for current and future Agriculture programs in Nebo School District. Alan has had the opportunity to influence Utah legislators about the importance of CTE funding and policy. He worked side by side with the Utah Highway Patrol, Petroleum Retailers Organization, and legislators to successfully draft and approve legislation that allowed 16-year-olds to hold an automotive State Inspection license and work for an authorized Inspection Station. This allowed more students the opportunity to do internships, apprenticeships, and get part-time jobs in the automotive industry and helped Utah fill the gap in automotive technicians. Another opportunity was visiting with Education Finance Committee members about the distinct role that CTE has in secondary education. A personal visit from the committee chair, Francis Gibson, allowed Alan the opportunity to showcase how CTE could be relevant to the representative’s children at the secondary and post-secondary levels. A shift in funding was quietly averted and Representative Gibson became a vocal champion for CTE in the Utah House.
Alan was influential in creating Nebo’s CTE technical center, the Advanced Learning Center (ALC), and served as principal for 4 years. The Advanced Learning Center allowed for the centralization of advanced courses that did not have enough enrollment for individual high schools. The ALC allows over 1200 students a year to participate in courses that would not be available to them at their high school. The ALC also offers the opportunity to take college courses and begin earning their General Education certificate. Alan has strengthened CTE programs by helping put in place CTE prep courses in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. The goal of these courses is to help students identify what the possible next steps in CTE could be and start the pathway decision-making at an earlier stage. As CTE teachers continue to talk about “Next Steps” the average CTE enrollments are increasing and teacher full-time jobs are more stable.
Alan has been pivotal in protecting programs. As urban sprawl has overwhelmed South Utah County, complaints about animal labs were on the rise. To combat this and protect agriculture programs, Alan has partnered with the Nebo School Board to find agricultural land that can be a permanent home for the animal labs. The new animal labs provide greater opportunities for students to have a diverse agriculture experience and provide that agriculture programs will always be a part of CTE in the Nebo School District. Alan’s latest focus is on building strong CTSO programs that help with social and emotional learning. CTSO official dress was purchased for each CTE teacher, and they are encouraged to wear it on a regular basis and talk about the advantages of being involved with a CTSO. Alan is constantly asking teachers, “What do you need to be successful?”, and then he works to provide for that need.
His passion is helping teachers find their “why” and supporting them with the appropriate equipment, supplies, and professional development that allows CTE educators to inspire students.
Utah ACTE Lifetime Achievement Award
Jan Jardine, Provo CAPS/WBL Director
Provo School District
Jan has worked as a CTE educator in Provo School District for over 20 years—starting as a business/marketing teacher, then a school-site work-based learning coordinator, and now as the district WBL coordinator and Provo CAPS Director. Jan works hard to provide opportunities for students to experience careers, whether through guest speakers, site tours, job shadows, internships, or CAPS projects. Jan works with students at all levels (elementary, middle school, and high school) to get them thinking about career options and try to close the exposure gap. Jan believes that when students have more interactions with professionals in a variety of career fields, the students will be better able to connect their learning in the classroom to real situations. This quote by President John Quincy Adams is one of Jan’s favorites: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”
Jan is constantly looking for ways to improve processes and break down barriers. One barrier that is always present for high school students wanting to participate in internships is the ability to provide their own transportation to the internship site. The Provo Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) has been a solution to eliminate this barrier for many students. Jan has been working on the implementation of the CAPS program in Provo School District since the idea was first introduced in 2018. With the support of district and school administration, CTE teachers, and business/community partners, Provo CAPS welcomed its first cohort of students in August 2021. CAPS students work in teams to complete projects for local businesses and community organizations. This profession-based learning experience goes beyond the observation that is typical of a high school internship and empowers students to engage with project clients in a more authentic way. CAPS students communicate professionally, create meeting agendas and run client meetings both virtually and in person, and manage a project from start to finish. The growth these students experience is remarkable.
In her role as the District WBL Coordinator and Director of Provo CAPS, Jan has been able to increase the number of students having a work-based learning experience as well as the number of businesses and community organizations partnering with education. Jan runs the Provo CAPS Advisory Board, which includes key partners from the community in several CTE areas, including Provo City, US Synthetic, RevRoad, Microsoft, Sunroc, Squire, Intermountain Healthcare, DWS, and UVU. These partnerships have not only opened doors for students to complete CAPS projects, but have increased internship sites, guest speakers, and site tours from K-12. Jan is working closely with the elementary schools in Provo District to increase career awareness opportunities for these students with great success. Each elementary school in Provo District was given a copy of two picture books that focus on careers. Jan was able to arrange for several women from the Utah HBA Professional Women in Building to come to the schools and read one of the books to the students. Jan has also helped schools plan field trips with a career focus, develop plans to introduce careers to students through research and provide presentations from internship/CAPS students and industry professionals. Jan has been active in professional organizations since she first started teaching. Jan has been a member of ACTE and Utah ACTE since day one and has served as UACTE Conference Chair, Utah ACTE WBL Division President and Board Member, a member of ACTE Region V Conference Planning Committee, Utah DECA Board Chair, Utah FBLA State Awards Program Committee member and a judge for various CTSO competitions. Jan currently serves as the ACTE Work-Based Learning Division Vice President. Under Jan’s leadership, and with the support of an amazing policy committee, Work-Based Learning moved from a section to a division. Something that hadn’t happened at ACTE in more than 25 years.
Utah ACTE Member Award for Counselor of the Year
Rachel White, SHHS Counselor
Nebo School District
Rachel White and the SHHS counseling team have scheduled time to visit individual departments for a better understanding of how programs work and the department's needs. For example, the Agricultural department met with them and shared a presentation, then allowed the counselors time to educate the teachers on tips and tricks to get more kids in their classrooms. Counselors listen to teachers' requests when it comes to scheduling and classroom needs.
Counselors work with teachers to help build all CTE programs' success. They meet with students to discuss college and career plans, and they encourage students to continue to take more classes in the pathway that they are interested in. SHHS Counselors continuously meet with the school CTE coordinator to ensure they are meeting each program's needs. They also work closely with MTECH, the Advanced Learning Center in Nebo, and other institutions to direct students to programs that will help them get a jumpstart on their career path. They encourage students to take advantage of the low cost offered to them while they are attending high school.
With the help and support of the SHHS counseling team, Rachel was able to increase the number of CTE pathway completers each year for the past 3 years.
The counseling team has recognized the importance of having SHHS CTE students/Pathway Completers recognized at the Senior Awards night. This was a linchpin for CTE in our school. Recognizing that student success comes in all its shapes and forms. These seniors are also recognized at graduation by wearing pathway cords/medallions and in the graduation program as a CTE pathway completer.
The counseling team has also attended multiple CTE collaboration meetings held in various departments to stay in the loop. Through one-on-one counseling, and encouraging students to be in Hope Squad or other CTSO chapters, we were able to reap the reward of having a CTE student receive the Presidential Scholarship last year. This was an opportunity that the student would not have received if he wasn’t involved in Hope Squad or hadn’t taken multiple CTE courses at our advanced learning center. What an amazing opportunity for this student. SHHS Counselors also put forth effort in explaining the benefits of students doing a CTE internship and encouraging them to do it. They work hand-in-hand with our CTE coordinator to support any CTE functions, such as the yearly career fair.
Rachel and the SHHS counseling team received the following recognitions: 2021 Highest MTECH Student Enrollment, 2019 CE Largest Enrollment Increase, 2018 CE Highest Percentage of Student Body Participation, 2017 CE Highest Percentage of Student Body Participation, and 2016 CE Largest Enrollment Increase.