Skill Centers

Washington State Skill Center Association Website

Skill centers are an integral part of an overall expansion of CTE programming in Washington. Skill centers are regional secondary schools that serve high school students from multiple school districts. They provide instruction in preparatory programs that are either too expensive or too specialized for school districts to operate individually. Currently, there are 14 skill centers in Washington state. Many more will be emerging in the near future. Find out more from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) website.

Our Washington State Skills Centers are regional, cooperative technical schools providing access to over 92% of secondary high school students in the state through consortium or participating districts. Skill Centers by design, serve as the preparatory step in a student's program of study and high school and beyond plan. This provides the opportunity for students to participate in specialized, high cost, low enrollment, preparatory Career and Technical Education programming that is not sustainable in a single high school setting.

The Washington State Skills Center Directors Association have established three focus areas to increase student access to the CTE Graduation Pathway and workforce development by eliminating barriers to high quality, preparatory CTE Programs to all students.

Focal Area 1: Access, Small District Specific
Statement of Purpose: Small districts (<3000 total K-12 headcount enrollment) are challenged to provide robust, preparatory CTE programming due to their size, geographical location, initial transportation costs and resources.
Additionally, smaller districts are disproportionately impacted with shared FTE with skills centers. Skills Center programs provide access to a complete CTE graduation pathway.

Solution: For small districts in which a combined 10+% of the juniors and seniors access a skills center, the sending district will retain 1.0 BEA FTE and the Skills Center claiming the available CTE FTE funding up to 1.6 FTE cap.

Focal Area 2: Operational Sustainability
Statement of Purpose: Skills Center operational revenue is derived solely from student apportionment and centers cannot access local funds (i.e. levy or bonding funds). Current funding is not sufficient to meet existing operational requirements or meet the increasing industry demand to develop new programs. Changes in the Prototypical Funding Model will ensure Skills Centers stay current with evolving technologies, increasing workforce demand and to sustain existing and develop future high-quality programs to meet emerging industry demands.

Short Term Solution: Codify 19-1 prototypical funding model though revision in in RCW 28A.150.260

Long Term Solution: Restore the Class Size driver in the prototypical funding model from the current 19-1 to 16.67-1 over a three-year phase-in period in RCW 28A.150.260

Focal Area 3: Facilities and Capital Projects
Statement of Purpose: Skills Centers are high cost, specialized facilities with extensive infrastructure and equipment needs(i.e. commercial kitchens, dental clinic, manufacturing shops). Skills Centers are responsible for all small and large scale maintenance. Skills Center Directors have worked collaboratively with OSPI School Buildings and Facilities to establish a project scoring and prioritization model similar to the SBCTC project approval process.
 

Solution 1: Fund the Skills Center capital projects as outlined in the priority ranking in the current OSPI’s Ten-Year Capital Plan.
Solution 2: Commitment in Budget for Capital Projects for Skills Centers $50 million per year

 

Our state skills centers need your attention!
 

Cascadia Technical Academy | Vancouver | Joan Huston | Joan.huston@evergreenps.org
Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center | Moses Lake | Christine Armstrong | carmstrong@cbtech.k12.wa.us
New Market Skills Center | Olympia | Matt Ishler | Matt.ishler@tumwater.k12.wa.us
NEWTech Skills Center | Spokane | Kari Duffy | karened@spokaneschools.org
Northwest Career & Technical Academy | Mt. Vernon | Lynette Brower | lbrower@nwtech.k12.wa.us
Pierce County Skills Center | Puyallup | Michelle Ledbetter | mledbetter@bethelsd.org
Puget Sound Skills Center | Burien | Reba Gillman | reba.gillman@highlineschools.org
SEA-Tech Skills Center | Walla Walla | Jerry Maher | jmaher@wwps.org
Seattle Skills Center | Seattle | Dan Golosman | dpgolosman@seattleschools.org
Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center | Everett | Wes Allen | allenwr@mukilteo.wednet.edu
Spokane Valley Tech | Spokane Valley | Katie Louie | klouie@cvsd.org
Tri-Tech Skills Center | Kennewick | Paul Randall | Paul.randall@ksd.org
Twin Harbors Skills Center | Aberdeen | Lynn Green | lgreen@asd5.org
Washington Network for Innovative Careers (WANIC) | Kirkland | Kari Schuh | kschuh@lwsd.org
Wenatchee Valley Technical Skills Center | Wenatchee | Pete Jelsing | Jelsing.p@wenatcheeschools.org
West Sound Technical Skills Center | Bremerton | Shani Watkins | shani.watkins@westsoundtech.org
Yakima Valley Technical Skills Center | Yakima | Dennis Matson | Matson.dennis@ysd7.org

Contact Information

Kari Schuh
WANIC Skills Center, Director
kschuh@lwsd.org
425 739-8400

Lynette Brower
Washington State Skills Center Directors Association, President
Northwest Career & Technical Academy, Director
lbrower@nwtech.k12.wa.us
360 848-0706 (office) 360 503-1005 (direct)

Charles Brown
Cascade Government Affairs
charlie@cascadegovt.com
253-906-6685 (direct)

Students who engage in career and technical education programs such as skills centers are more likely to graduate high school ... and are more prepared for a career and/or college.