2005 VALPAR Outstanding Special Needs Program Awards

VALPAR is pleased to be a 2005 sponsor of the ACTE - Association for Career and Technical Education Conference

Valpar International annually presents this award at the ACTE Special Needs luncheon to outstanding programs in the nation, and congratulates this years awardee.

Laura Kitchens, Project Success Coordinator

We are very proud to announce that the Special Needs Division VALPAR Outstanding Program Award for 2005 is the Lee County High School Project Success from Leesburg, Georgia.This program was nominated by Virginia Turner.

Project Success is a career technical elective for approved ninth and tenth graders at Lee County High School.Project Success seeks to prepare students for postsecondary education, further learning, and careers.  It works toward improving student performance and raising expectations in academic and career technical courses.  It provides appropriate transitional services for all students and additional assistance in problem areas.

Project Success serves approximately sixty students each year. Students who exhibit the capabilities to succeed, but may have poor academic performance, high rates of absenteeism, or other at-risk behaviors are among those who have participated and benefited.Students receive academic as well as career and technical classes each day.

The Project Success Coordinator, Laura Kitchens, provides academic career and technical instruction, assists in interest and aptitude assessment. She also prepares a Technology Academic Plan (TAP), which includes instructional objectives, instructional modifications and intervention strategies, test scores, parental contacts and discipline and attendance information.

Project Success operates through a team of interdisciplinary developmental and core academic teachers.An advisory committee serves to facilitate communication between the Project Success Coordinator and representatives from the local community.

The Lee County High School principal wrote, “Project Success has proven to be a dramatic help for a special group of students with which we are all very much interested: the potential dropout.Through the creativity and enthusiasm of its leader, Mrs. Laura Kitchens, this program has given challenged students hope, a sense of belonging and a foundation of success.”

The Lee County High School Vocational Supervisor wrote, “The students have a keen awareness of what community involvement and pride is all about. They do ‘real’ community projects that make a difference in the lives of their neighbors and they take pride in doing so. They’ve done projects from collecting for March of Dimes, can drives for Habitat to signing up senior citizens and classmates for library cards. The Program has allowed the students to ‘connect’ to high school and find a place for themselves that will lead to completion and success!”

A current student who is now a junior at Lee County High School wrote, “When I first came to high school I had no plans to get involved in anything but after being in Project Success that all changed! Mrs. Kitchens encouraged me and all of my classmates to join VOCA (a Career and Technical Student Organization) and through VOCA and the Success class I ended up participating in job shadowing, leadership training, competitive events, and community projects…..I never thought I would have the chance to go to Jekyll Island or would want to study hard and work on my health occupations skills enough to complete but I did and I did well!  I also never thought a lot about careers or what I wanted to do in the future but the program not only helped me to make some career decisions but because of those decisions my classes have more meaning because I know that I’ll need the knowledge to make my career goals become real. …I love what the program has helped me to achieve and I love Mrs. Kitchens!”

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