Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES New Visions: Health Professions coordinator/teacher and work-based learning coordinator Kimberly Petronella was recently announced as the recipient of the 2021 SkillsUSA Outstanding Career and Technical Educator Award.

This national award, one of SkillsUSA’s highest honors, recognizes Petronella’s service and dedication to career and technical education and SkillsUSA. Petronella will be honored by the Board of Directors of SkillsUSA Inc. during a livestreamed Virtual Recognition Session on Thursday, June 24, 2021.

“Ms. Petronella is a teacher leader on campus and is well known for her tireless advocacy for students both in the classroom and in their extracurricular participation,” said David Stayton, OHM BOCES Career and Technical Education Principal. “We are delighted that the SkillsUSA Board has recognized her for her dedication and efforts in CTE.”

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry professionals working together to offer leadership and citizenship development to complement students’ career and technical education (CTE) skills training. Chapters and their members are also able to participate in local, state and national SkillsUSA competitions.

Prior to joining the OHM BOCES as a Health Occupations teacher in 1997, Petronella worked as a charge nurse, nurse manager, nursing supervisor and floor nurse. During her nursing tenure, she worked in numerous specialty areas including medical-surgical nursing, long-term care, acute care, rehabilitation, critical care, urgent care and home-based health services. She attended the OHM BOCES LPN program while in high school, is a member of the Association for Career and Technical Education and was previously recognized as the Rotary Club Teacher of the Year and the 2020-2021 SkillsUSA Area II Advisor of the Year.

“Kim has been an integral part of SkillsUSA, wearing many hats as state officer advisor, board chair and secretary, judge and chapter advisor,” said NYS SkillsUSA Director Midge McCloskey. “Kim is always willing to step up and help in any way she can. She values leading our youth as they prepare for the world of work and helps all students grow through the SkillsUSA Framework. Kim truly deserves this recognition.”

SkillsUSA has named the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES as one of 24 SkillsUSA Models of Excellence (MOE) chapters for 2021. In its seventh year, Models of Excellence recognizes the exceptional integration of personal, workplace and technical skills into SkillsUSA chapter activities. This is the highest honor bestowed on chapters by SkillsUSA, which is among the largest student organizations for career and technical education.

“Our Models of Excellence represent the very best in chapter achievement and community involvement,” said Chelle Travis, executive director of SkillsUSA. “These students represent America’s future skilled workforce and are future leaders in their local communities. It is a tremendous honor for these chapters and the recognition validates these outstanding SkillsUSA programs.”

The top 24 SkillsUSA chapters selected as Models of Excellence will be evaluated in June for top honors. A panel of judges will evaluate each of these highest-level schools based on their goals, plan of action, results, evaluation and SkillsUSA Framework integration. Business and industry partners will conduct finalist interviews with students and advisors, and then help select the top three schools to be recognized on June 24 during the National Leadership and Skills Conference Virtual Recognition Session.

“Our SkillsUSA chapter is honored to be recognized as a Model of Excellence,” said David Stayton, OHM BOCES Career and Technical Education Principal. “With advisors Kim Petronella (recipient of the 2021 SkillsUSA Outstanding Career and Technical Educator Award) and John Stratton (2021 SkillsUSA Region 1 Advisor of the Year) leading the way, our students have elevated their efforts of goodwill and responsibility to new levels and we are so proud of their accomplishments this year.”

The focus of Models of Excellence is student-led activation. These students learn and practice the skills that every employer seeks, including leadership, initiative, communication, teamwork and problem solving by taking the lead on all SkillsUSA activities. Their SkillsUSA instructors take the education of these students to the next level by guiding them, but never doing the work for them, elevating learning from classroom instruction to successful application of skills.

The Models of Excellence program promotes the intentional learning of personal, workplace and technical skills outlined in the SkillsUSA Framework for student development. Specific characteristics defined within each skill area provide tangible benchmarks for student achievement and chapter programming. Achievement is measured by student efforts in implementing essential workplace skills including personal responsibility, integrity, work ethic and organization in chapter activities. The hands-on approach of this program actualizes the SkillsUSA mission of empowering members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. The top three schools receive national recognition and the opportunity to share their stories through SkillsUSA in publications and trainings.

SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen our nation’s skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. This SkillsUSA Framework empowers every student to succeed at work and in life, while helping to close the skills gap in which millions of positions go unfilled. Through SkillsUSA’s championships program and curricula, employers have ensured schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA’s new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job. SkillsUSA has more than 372,000 annual members nationwide in high schools, middle schools and colleges, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education. With the addition of alumni, membership last year was 434,141. SkillsUSA has served more than 14 million members since 1965.