The Parnell Tech Prep Awards of the American Association of Community Colleges support communities across the nation by honoring and promoting model tech prep programs involving high schools, community colleges, and employers. The awards are given annually to 3 community colleges and their consortium partners for outstanding achievements in the development and implementation of tech prep programs. Past and present winners come from South Carolina, Oregon, Florida, California, Arkansas, Ohio, Washington and Illinois.

In addition, each year, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education honors one of the consortia with the Excellence in Tech Prep Education Award. In 1998, the Department honored the Danville Area Community College District 507 Tech Prep Consortium in Danville, Illinois.

Winning programs must have been in operation for at least 3 years and must show: (1) implementation of a model tech prep program that has demonstrated impact on the high school and community college curricula and students; (2) a comprehensive approach to tech prep program development and implementation; (3) innovative secondary and postsecondary leadership in developing tech prep program initiatives that depart from the traditional; and (4) institutional progress and ongoing commitment applying the tech prep model.

The Parnell Tech Prep Awards Program is designed to: (1) stimulate an awareness of the variety and scope of tech prep and cooperative applied academic arrangements that exist among community colleges, secondary schools, and the employer community; (2) foster the development of new applied academic curriculum partnerships to support economic and human development in communities across the Nation; (3) promote sharing of information on employer/college/secondary school partnership building; and (4) honor community colleges and secondary schools whose joint efforts have resulted in significant collaborative curriculum efforts on behalf of developing quality applied academic programs and cooperative technical education efforts.

Applicants are judged against 6 criteria: partnerships (20 points), curriculum (40 points), marketing/communications (10 points), institutional commitment/staff development (10 points), guidance and student support (10 points), and evaluation (10 points).

1998 Parnell Tech Prep Award Winners

Danville Area Community College, Illinois

Lakeland Community College, Ohio

Trident Area Consortium for the Technologies, South Carolina