President's Message Hello Everyone! Like everyone this time of year, NOCTI is preparing for the holidays!  We want to start by thanking all of our customers and friends for a great year!  As you may remember, this fall quarter we changed the name of our sister company from “The Whitener Group” to “Nocti Business Solutions” (NBS).  NBS works solely with the private sector, designing customized solutions for employers and certification entities. I mention this because NBS had a great year, which means that employers are hiring and advancing employees.  From our perspective, that translates to a modestly improving national employment picture. This newsletter follows the conclusion of the ACTE Annual Convention and Expo and as usual, NOCTI was a very active collaborator.  We had an opportunity to sponsor a number of the assessment and accountability strand presentations for ACTE.  If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend ACTE, we have posted these sessions on our website at http://www.nocti.org/news.cfm#12. We also had the opportunity to present a “jump start” session at ACTE for the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) on data-driven instructional improvement in CTE.  The full-day session went very well and seven states enthusiastically participated.  If your state, college, or school is interested in participating in the upcoming school year, please contact laferr03@louisville.edu or nocti@nocti.org. We are planning two national trainings in April and August of 2012. During our annual reception/consortium meeting at ACTE, Christopher Tully from Pennsylvania was recognized as the 2011 Olivo Award recipient.  Chris is an outstanding supporter of CTE and NOCTI; you can read more about him in this newsletter.  We also showcased our new website and appreciate all of the positive comments we received.  We put the website through its paces with beta testing and focus groups, but we still consider it a work in progress.  If you find a link that doesn’t work or have suggestions to make it even better, please let us know by sending an email to nocti@nocti.org.  Be sure to take a look at the November/December 2011 Techniques Magazine from our partners at ACTE.  You’ll find a great article about NOCTI’s collaboration with an organization in the state of Illinois regarding “soft skill” assessment to help displaced employees begin their journey to meaningful employment. As I mentioned in last quarter’s newsletter, we are actively working with a number of new industry certification partners.  We believe this work will be of significant benefit to the CTE community. If you represent an industry certification association involved with the CTE community and we haven’t talked to you about this initiative, please contact me directly at john.foster@nocti.org. If you are an administrator or teacher and have information about an industry certification that your state uses widely, please pass the contact information along and we’ll try to get them involved. On behalf of the NOCTI staff, our Board, and our Consortium of States, I sincerely hope you have the opportunity to enjoy the holiday season with family and friends and that you start the new year invigorated and ready to continue the great work we do in CTE.   John Foster President/CEO NOCTI and Nocti Business Solutions Measuring What Matters As always, thank you for trusting NOCTI to deliver the quality assessments, comprehensive test data, and professional development needed to help improve your programs!  We look forward to continued service to the CTE community and are anxious to show you how we can meet your needs!

 

Christopher Tully Named C. Thomas Olivo Award Recipient for 2011

BIG RAPIDS, MI - The NOCTI Board of Trustees proudly awards the 2011 C. Thomas Olivo Outstanding Service Award to Christopher Tully of Pennsylvania.

The Olivo Award, established in 1980, is NOCTI’s highest honor and is reserved for those individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the areas of career and technical education (CTE) and occupational competency assessment.  Criteria for the award include credibility, expertise, dedication, leadership qualities, knowledge of NOCTI programs and services and participation and contributions to professional associations.  

For the past ten years, Chris has taught Multimedia Technology at Middle Bucks Institute of Technology in Jamison, Pennsylvania.  During this time, he has taught over 400 students the skills needed to excel in the multimedia field.  In addition to teaching at Middle Bucks, Chris is also an adjunct professor for Temple University and Moore College of Art.  He provides professional development programs and presents at conferences on the effective use of technology and classroom management.  Chris has served on several NOCTI assessment development teams and finds the experience to be rewarding.

Stephanie Gregory, Chris’ colleague, commented, “I have witnessed first-hand the passion Chris has for CTE.  He is an articulate and extroverted, yet humble, individual whose energy and enthusiasm for teaching is evident the second you step into his classroom.”
As an innovator, Chris developed unique instructional strategies that integrate 21st century learning skills in order to prepare students for the workforce.  He is passionate about changing the current public perception of CTE and highlighting the positive impact that CTE has on today’s youth.  This passion led to the development of a website (www.cteduonline.com) which was designed to assist his fellow educators in creating learning environments that promote CTE as well as academic excellence.  Chris and his students have also posted many videos to YouTube on their “Multimedia Channel” (http://www.youtube.com/user/mmtmbit).

Chris has received numerous awards over the past several years, but he refuses to accept sole responsibility for the recognition.  Instead, he believes they are a representation of the hard work and success of his students.  The awards Chris has received include Exemplary Program (Apple, Inc.), National Trade and Industrial Education Outstanding Teacher Award (ACTE), Tree of Life Award (Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce), Apple Distinguished Educator (Apple, Inc.), and Outstanding Career and Technical Education Program (Pennsylvania Department of Education).

Chris has been, and will continue to be a champion for CTE.  On behalf of the NOCTI Board of Trustees and staff, congratulations to Chris on receiving this national honor!

 

Message from the Board

I've had the privilege of chairing the NOCTI Board of Trustees for the past two years, and this is my chance to reflect on all that has happened in that time.  For example, the election of Trustees is now held at the National Association of State Directors of Career-Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) meeting.  We are pleased, because this connection with the state directors is vital to meeting the needs of states and school districts for CTE accountability.

In the past two years NOCTI has experienced extraordinary growth in products and services. Originally a national source for occupational teacher assessments, NOCTI has evolved into a full-service provider of quality technical assessments for secondary and post-secondary students, teacher candidates, and business and industry, the latter through its subsidiary Nocti Business Solutions.  NOCTI continues to customize assessments for states and provide other requested assessment-related services. 

Last year NOCTI developed and/or revised 22 assessments including pathway assessments.   Pathway assessments, which are broader in scope than NOCTI's Job Ready assessments, are available for most of the career clusters.  NOCTI study guides, another product requested by customers, provide a study checklist for each major topic on the written assessment and for all the jobs of the performance assessment.  Yet another exciting happening is the new user-friendly NOCTI website that launched this fall.  All of the information you need is just a click away.

Yes, it has been a dynamic two years for NOCTI.  I give heartfelt thanks to the visionary leadership of CEO John Foster, to a competent and customer-friendly NOCTI staff, and to my colleagues on the Board of Trustees for their guidance in providing direction to the organization.

 

    NOCTI Board of Trustees Chairperson, Joanna Kister, Ph.D.

 

Board Election Update

 

Mr. Mark Williams, the newest member of the NOCTI Board, will begin his Trustee term on January 1, 2012.  Mark is the Illinois State Director of Career and Technical Education. 

 

 

 

Dr. Deena Allen, who leaves the Board this year, received a plaque honoring her years of service.  The plaque was presented by NOCTI CEO, Dr. John Foster.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Robin White (right) was elected Chair of the NOCTI Board at the November 2011 meeting and begins her term on January 1, 2012.  Dr.  Joanna Kister (left), outgoing Chair, continues her term on the Board and will serve as Immediate Past Chair in 2012.

 

 

In addition to Dr. White and Dr. Kister, the 2012 Board of Trustees officers are: 

• Vice Chair, Clyde Hornberger, Lehigh Career & Technical Institute, PA
• Secretary, Gregory Belcher, Pittsburg State University, KS
• Treasurer, Lena Trujillo-Chavez, Pecos Valley Regional Education Cooperative 8, NM