Virginia Beach City Public Schools Tech Center's Computer Network Administrator (CNA) Program Garners National Award The Computer Network Administrator (CNA) Program offered at the division's Technical and Career Education Center was recently awarded the designation of "Exemplary Program," one of only three such awards granted nationally. This award is part of a recognition project conducted by the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education at The Ohio State University and sponsored by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education. The Exemplary Program Award granted to the Tech Center's CNA Program is extremely prestigious. State directors of education must first nominate programs as being exemplary or promising in order for them to be eligible for the national award. More than 100 secondary and post-secondary programs across the country were nominated. Of these, only four were identified as being potentially "exemplary" while three were identified as "promising." Part of the evaluation process for the award includes a site visit by a panel of university-level researchers, practitioners, and state-level administrators. The panel came to Virginia Beach and interviewed former and current students in the Tech Center's CNA program, observed the class in action, and discussed the program with the instructor and administrators. The project staff then used evaluation components based on the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OER) criteria for effectiveness and success to determine the CNA program's educational significance, program quality, and replicability/usefulness to others. After a review of documentation and the above-mentioned site visit, the project staff rated the Virginia Beach schools' CNA Program in the "excellent" range for all evaluation components, both in the application submitted and the on-site review process. This rating earned the "Exemplary" designation for the program, which will stand for three years. Linda Lavender, CNA program instructor, was honored at the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Annual Convention on December 15, 2001, in New Orleans. Lavender also participated in an information-sharing program - "Sharing What Works in Career-Technical Education: Exemplary and Promising CTE Programs" - during the convention. The Computer Network Administrator course was created in Virginia Beach City Public Schools in 1994 thanks to a school-business partnership with Compaq Computers, which donated the 10 computers used by the students and Novell, which supplied the software for the program. Virginia Beach schools made educational history with the class since it was the first and only one of its kind nationally as well as internationally. What made the program unique was its cutting edge mission to train high school students in all aspects of the Novell network operating system so they would be prepared to take the test in industry certification to become Computer Network Administrators. Prior to the course's inception, this advanced training was available only to college students or adults. The two-year CNA program trains students in all aspects of the Novell network operating system and Microsoft Windows 2000 Administration. Students also attain computer software and hardware knowledge and focus on computer management and troubleshooting. Students may test in industry certifications as a Novell Computer Network Administrator (CAN) and/or Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). Since its inception, 72 students have attained their certification as Computer Network Administrators. Virtually all of the program completers are enrolled in 2- or 4-year IT university programs, working in the IT industry, or in the military working in an IT area. Jason W. is a case in point. He was hired by Mantech, a contract technical service company, as a part time worker during his senior year in high school. Because of his outstanding skills and CNA certification, Mantech employed him as a full-time network administrator upon his graduation. Jason is still with the company and remarks, "If it weren't for Mrs. Lavender and the CNA course I took, I certainly wouldn't have been hired right out of high school, and I certainly wouldn't have had the opportunity to join such a great company. In fact, after seeing my success, my sister decided to enroll in the course and follow my example." Lavender concurs. "Jason W. was an excellent student with great skills," she said. "I am delighted we were able to develop such a comprehensive program that not only meets the needs of our students but also those of the business community. The recognition afforded us by this award provides a vehicle through which we can share curricula and best practices with other school districts across the nation. We are extremely proud to be in this position." For more information about the award or about Virginia Beach schools CNA program, please contact Dr. Patrick Konopnicki, director of the Office of Technical and Career Education at 473-5671, or Linda Lavender, CNA program instructor, at the Technical and Career Education Center at 427-5300. ###