Here at Certiport, we're privileged to work with many state education representatives who know and understand the power of career and technical education. The impact of these state leaders is substantial, as they have power to decide what educators can teach in their classroom.

One state who has caught the vision of CTE and the power of certification is Idaho. They've been running a statewide certification program since 2015, starting first with Microsoft certifications (https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/Microsoft) and later adding in Adobe Certified Professional (https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/Adobe/ACP/Overview) as well.

In this episode, we got to sit down with two Idaho educators who have been through the statewide process: Janet Webb and Lyndy Higgins. This dynamic duo comes from a small southwestern Air Force town in Idaho, with limited opportunities. Together they have grown a program that offers students opportunities to not only certify but also receive credits in some of the basic business and technology college courses. As co-advisors for the local BPA chapter, these teachers have gone above and beyond in offering students more than just a high school diploma.

Janet Webb has been teaching business and technology for 24 years. She taught for six years in California and the last 18 at Mountain Home High School in Idaho. When Idaho offered the opportunity to start certifying students in Microsoft, she jumped on board. She feels so lucky that Idaho supports the CTE programs and students and hopes to continue working together to provide students in Idaho great opportunities.

Lyndy Higgins comes from the corporate world, where she worked as a Project Manager. She's been an educator for seven years in Mountain Home, Idaho and a Region Facilitator for the Idaho Department of Education for a year, mentoring teachers as they navigate their way through Imagine Academy, BrainBuffet, and Certiport certifications. Her industry work has empowered her to teach her students the workplace ready skills needed to pave the way for each student to be successful in with Microsoft and Adobe certifications.

Janet and Lyndy gave us the full history of certifications in Idaho schools. We talked about the challenges they faced, and how the state offered support to help make the program successful. They even gave some practical ideas for how they promote the programs in their schools and districts, to get students engaged and excited about certification from day one. If you're a part of a statewide certification program, or hoping to be, this episode is for you.

Janet and Lyndy talked about some fabulous resources they use in their program. Here are the links for those interested:

1. Idaho's Statewide certification coordinator has graciously offered to chat with anyone interested in launching their own program. You can contact her here: Kaylene Hoyt, [email protected].

2. Discover the value of certification: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/About/The-value-of-certification.

3. Get students excited about MOS and Adobe certifications with Certiport's Championships. Visit https://www.moschampionship.com/ for details on MOS and Adobe at https://acpchampionship.certiport.com/.

Learn more about curriculum options, like Brain Buffet here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/Adobe/ACP/Learn.