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Skills USA
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WA Skills Centers

Puget Sound Skills Center (PSSC) is one of Highline School District’s most unique and specialized secondary programs.  Founded in 1966, it was the first of what now number ten regional Skills Centers funded by the Washington State Legislature.  For forty years, PSSC has been a school of choice for students from Mount Rainer, Evergreen, Tyee, and Highline High Schools, as well as for students from adjacent school districts, home schoolers, and students enrolled in private schools.

Students do not withdraw from their enrolled high school in order to attend PSSC. The PSSC experience becomes a part of a student’s four year high school experience in a joint partnership agreement.  Classes at PSSC are “half day” and the 10th, 11th and 12th grade student spends half of each day at PSSC in the chosen program and half of each day at the enrolled high school.  Transportation is provided between the two schools.

PSSC serves junior and senior students from five public school districts with eighteen feeder high schools plus home schooled and private school students.  Each program features multiple pathways helping students in their next educational steps, whether it is a four year college/university, community or technical college, military or work. As a public “school of choice,” PSSC features nineteen career and technical education (formerly called vocational, now CTE) programs.  Our mission is to prepare students for successful careers and lifelong learning. Besides a focus on specific program skills, “soft skills” are integrated into the curriculum:  excellence, integrity, respect, teamwork, humor and work.

PSSC’s school improvement goals are to increase the number of college Tech Prep credits and National Certifications available to students in all nineteen programs:  Auto Body, Automotive, Aviation Careers, Computer Network Systems, Construction Technology, Criminal Justice, Culinary Arts, Dental Assisting, DigiPen Video Game Animation/Programming, Engineering Design Technology, Electronics Engineering, Fashion Design and Marketing, Fire Services, Leadership in Business and Management, Marine Technology, Medical Careers, Multimedia and Information Technology, Translation/Interpretation and Veterinary Careers.

Thanks to a series of current articulation agreements with local community colleges, college credit can be earned in many PSSC programs.  The advantage of this opportunity is that the student remains on a safe high school campus and does not leave high school and join a Running Start program to earn college credits.  It is typical and quite possible for a student to complete a CTE program at PSSC and continue training on this career path at a community college with several of the introductory classes already completed.  This saves the tuition-paying student thousands of dollars.

            PSSC strengths are: 

1. Staff who have completed a minimum of 6000 hours in their business/industry.
2. Active CTE program Advisory Committees who meet four times per year to help keep programs up-to-date and provide industry connections.
3. A school of choice based on business/industry standards.
4. A strong Portfolio System with six years of documentation, including a pilot program with The National Pearson Foundation on digital portfolios.
5. A respectful relationship between community, students and staff in a business-like environment.
6. Equivalency credits can be earned in each program assisting the student in academic coursework while in a CTE program.
7. Opportunities for students to be tutored for the National Advanced Placement exams in Computer Science and Statistics.

 PSSC’s continuous plan for serving struggling and special needs students provides Para educators/mentor/tutors on a need basis to meet their individual goals in a career oriented program.  They continue to be introduced to skills needed to get a job in the field they choose.  Personal development with measures of personal, social, service and leadership skills are focus areas. Good communication with the home high school will continue as we try to find the right student in the right program for the right fit. PSSC’s goal for special needs students is to flourish in an environment where they develop the skills necessary to prepare for the work place or college.

Staff commitment to academic integration is evident by the agenda at each monthly in-service/staff meeting.  Topics include personalizing the content, collaboration with area Smaller Learning Community schools, WASL EALR integration in each program, High Schools That Work goals and Successful Practices characteristics.

Four quarterly newsletters (student written/published) are sent electronically and via mail to all student homes. A multitude of marketing mailers are sent to all homes in the five feeder districts include the PSSC curriculum guide, Summer School information/application and Camp PSSC (after school program for 8th graders).