​This Teacher Tuesdays is a nod to a 2018 Safety Educator of the Year Finalist: Matthew Weber. Weber teaches a three-tiered Construction Management Pathway program at Jefferson High School in Greeley, CO, that is all about effecting change -- change within his students, their lives and their community."Generally speaking, students focus on getting a job done, however, they do not consider the risks involved in the project," Weber explained."The OSHA safety course brings and awareness and education that promotes safety." Matthew Weber has been a teacher for 12 years, although his professional career didn't start there."I majored in Microbiology, but quickly realized that I needed relations...

Summer is so close I can feel it. Honestly though, in Texas, it's already reaching 90 degrees and it feels like a full-fledged summer. While some enjoy the time off, hang out with friends, take big trips, many teens stay at home and work summer jobs. There are a plethora of motives behind them working but one thing unites them all: the need for safety. Teens have the highest accident and death rate than any other working demographic. They're frequently undertaught, undermined or over utilized – all of which have catastrophic ramifications for our students. On the flipside… Teens also have the highest usage of social media than any other demographic. That is why CareerSafe was proud to join O...

On March 27, 2019, the CareerSafe team, along with Josh S. Flesher and Judy Stevenson-Ortiz from OSHA Region 6 traveled to Garland, Texas, home to the Gilbreath-Reed Career and Technical Center to take a look inside one of the best CTE programs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Upon arrival, there was instant amazement at both the size and caliber of the school but also the opportunities available for the students. Everywhere you looked you could find students working together and collaborating as if it were a professional environment. The classrooms are filled with state-of-the-art technology which every student has access to. An immeasurable asset in the classrooms is their educators. Nearly ...

In 2019, K2Share, LLC; including its wholly owned subsidiary, CareerSafe, LLC was named the #1 best small-sized business to work for in the state of Texas as a part of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in Texas." Every year, Texas Monthly, the Texas Association of Business (TAB), the Texas State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (TSC-SHRM) and the Best Companies Group, host the "100 Best Companies to Work for in Texas" program and a competition is held to recognize the best employers in the state; those who make workplaces more than just an office to sit in 9-5 but a thriving community of like-minded individuals. This is the 14 th year that K2Share has been honored as su...

Flowing grain is the number one cause of fatalities for grain handlers. When in large or unstable quantities, grain can flow like water. I mentioned earlier this week how the grain death of my mother's childhood friend scarred her for life. I knew I wasn't allowed to play on dirt/sand piles but never fully knew why. As I got older, I started to understand the gravity of it all. It only takes 15-60 seconds to be buried in a grain flow. Unlike water, there is no swimming in grain and unless rescue comes within a few seconds of entrapment, you typically suffocate or "drown" in it. Often when we hear about someone drowning in water, we also hear about there is fluid in their nasal cavities, thro...

Growing up, my parents were never "helicopter parents." We had an unwritten rule in our house that after school, we had to commit an hour to something academic – reading a book, playing math games, doing homework, or anything of the like. Then, we were promptly kicked out of the house to play outdoors until the street lights came on. We only had one hard and fast rule – no playing on dirt/sand piles. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I learned that when my mom was in middle school, a good friend of hers was buried alive while working on a pile of grain in a grain bin. His death haunted my mom for years. Grain processing, handling, and storage are not new safety hazards. For decades, gra...

Each year, FCCLA spends a week celebrating their CTSO and encouraging other young leaders to join in their leadership initiative. FCCLA loads their national celebration week with daily themes and enticing activities that remind members and onlookers to be spirited, confident, prepared, a friend and united in red. Today, February 11th, is Be Spirited day. FCCLA members are encouraged to kick off FCCLA week by encouraging classmates, friends and other young people to Go For the Red! Red is FCCLA's signature color and can be used today to show the FCCLA spirit and promote the organization in the members' community. FCCLA has a hashtag set up each day for the different themes. But if you're wear...

Each year, FBLA-PBL takes a week to promote their CTSO with loads of fun proclamations. FBLA-PBL encourages participating chapters to publicize their FBLA-PBL week activities, boost their membership and gear up for Spring events like Membership Madness, Chapter and State Recognition Awards and the FBLA-PBL National Leadership Conference. Yesterday, February 4th, was Share Your FBLA-PBL Story Day. Students across the nation shared their stories on various social media telling the world why they joined the organization, a favorite memory and even what the organization has done for them. Today is Each One Reach One Day. The goal is for members to talk with their peers and community members abou...

Every year, during the second week of February, one of our favorite national red-jacket student organizations celebrate SkillsUSA Week SkillsUSA week aims to give state associations, advisors, and student members the opportunity to promote their local and state level SkillsUSA programs on a national stage. During the week, celebrations take all kinds of forms. From field trips to local businesses to open houses for parents and industry partners to presenting about SkillsUSA to government leaders, SkillsUSA members mobilize and maximize the potential of the week. SkillsUSA has over 350,000 members nationwide which makes complete sense when you hear that career and technical education accounts...

Whew! Congratulations everybody, January was a tough year, but we made it. Haha, obviously we know that January isn't a year but, goodness, it sure felt like it. We are so excited to start a new month for a few different reasons. Warmer weather (hopefully) being one of them. Another reason is all of the great celebrations that take place in the coming months. This month, February, is National CTE month ® ! An entire month dedicated to raising public awareness of the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across the country. CTE is a pivotal piece of our country's infrastructure as CTE students are our next generation of skilled workers. To join in on the fun of...