Nashville, TN – Tri-Tech Skills Center in Kennewick, Washington, is the winner of a 2024 Gene Bottoms Pacesetter School Award from the Southern Regional Education Board.

The school was honored July 9 at SREB’s Making Schools Work Conference in Nashville.

Pacesetter Awards recognize schools that are implementing one of SREB’s Making Schools Work school improvement frameworks and are achieving success in meeting bold goals related to graduation rates, readiness for college and careers, and credential attainment.

Tri-Tech implements SREB’s school improvement design for technology centers. The school recently completed a comprehensive curriculum review process. The initiative involved 87 classroom observations and survey data from advisory committees and stakeholder focus groups, which helped the center refine its instructional practices and assessment strategies.

The center also has established a learning opportunity center, which provides support to students earning less than a grade of C. Collaboration between center staff and program instructors has provided tailored assistance, resulting in a less-than 0.5% failure rate over the last three semesters.

SREB’s Making Schools Work Conference is held annually and provides educators with opportunities to participate in professional development, network with colleagues from across the country and build school and district leadership capacity.

Contact: Janita Poe, SREB News Manager, at Janita.Poe@sreb.org or 404-879-5516, ext. 216

The Southern Regional Education Board works with states, districts and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. An interstate compact and a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region.