100 LOCAL STUDENTS SET TO ADVANCE TO REGIONAL SkillsUSA 48th ANNUAL STATE LEADERSHIP & SKILL CONFERENCE IN SAN DIEGO
By Edward L Prichard III
The recent 2015 California Region 6 SkillsUSA leadership and skill competition blasted off to new heights this year representing 100 local Cathedral City students including 15 from Nellie Coffman Middle School and one from the HEAL program. The students earned 16 Gold, 12 Silver, and 12 Bronze medals in 22 different competitive events. The upcoming state competition runs April 9th through the 12th at the Town & Country Resort in San Diego.
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers, and community working together to ensure students learn skills and reach their potential. SkillsUSA is an integrated part of the Cathedral City High School’s (CCHS) Digital Arts Tech Academy (DATA). The DATA program is also an Apple Distinguished Program that also threads art, technology, and career-based learning with creativity and community collaboration by allowing students a multi-year opportunity to develop skills learned in the classroom while showcasing these invaluable skills at regional, state, and national level competitions. The program is led by advisor, Matt Cauthron, an Apple Distinguished Educator, Adobe Education Leader, and CUE / ISTE Outstanding Teacher, assistant advisor, Tom Buck and chapter coordinator, Debbie Applebaum.
“The program continues to grow leaps and bounds this year,” quipped Mr. Cauthron. “We are extremely lucky to have such a strong program within the school district. We would not be where we are today without the dedication and hard work of all the teachers involved along with the collaboration of the California Partnership Lighthouse Academy.” added Mr. Cauthron.
Also known as DATA Di, this career technical education program provides students with a range of technology-based visual arts projects which integrate digital photography, Photoshop, graphics, and 3d animation in a cutting edge high school studio environment. Students are continuously encouraged to apply the creative skills learned in class to exciting interactions with local professionals, build dynamic art and media content, and submit award winning works to local, regional, and global competitions and collaborations.
“The program Rocks!” exuberantly stated CCHS senior, Samuel Oropeza. Another CCHS senior, Kenia Meza added “the DATA program has allowed me to expand my horizons and even develop a personal sense of self-leadership that I never knew existed within me. I was basically a shy person my whole life and now I am not!”
For more information about the DATA program and the SkillsUSA upcoming competition dates and results, log onto digitalartstechacademy.us & dataskillsusa.org.
Mr. Prichard is a mentor for the CCHS DATA year-long program while also serving as the local Director of Community Outreach & Education Programming for Film4Change & the AMFM ’15 Festival. He is currently launching a ground-breaking youth global leadership education program, Worldview Explorations, through his continued work with the Boys & Girls Club of America. www.facebook.com/worldviewexplorations.
edward@coachellavalleyweekly.com
