CTSO 1 - FBLA, TSA, & SkillsUSA [OVERVIEW]

CTSO Leadership Overview 

Introduction

What is a CTSO? Watch the video below to learn more about Career and Technical Student Organizations. 

Students will be introduced to Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs); Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), SkillsUSA, and Technical Students Association (TSA). Through CTSOs, students learn leadership skills, and community service skills and have opportunities to participate in competitive events. 

CTSOs are an integral part of Career Technical Agricultural Education, see the Venn Diagram below that shows how they fit into the education of our students.

CTSO Venn Diagram showing Classroom Instruction, CTSO Participation, and Laboratory Instruction.

Career and Technical Student Organizations are a great way for participating students to enhance learning through active involvement in curriculum related to real world applications and projects. Students in CTSOs will select projects in their area of interest. Students will grow in technical skills and knowledge by completing projects in competitions and will be recognized for their accomplishments.

Career Technical Student Organizations have an emphasis on promoting, developing, and providing leadership opportunities for interested students. Students in CTSOs will develop leadership and problem-solving skills through competitive events and leadership activities associated with their CTSO.

Participation in a CTSO also offers students opportunities for community growth and care through recognizable service projects.

Overall, through CTSO activity participation, students have multiple forums to develop valuable presentation, leadership, work ethic, self-motivation, and teamwork skills. Experiences in these skills are vital to becoming a productive member of any industry. 

Membership in FBLA, SkillsUSA, and TSA as of 2022:

FBLA_SKILLS_TSA_Membership

List of Lessons

  • FBLA Overview
  • TSA Overview
  • Skills USA Overview
  • Leadership

Essential Questions

  1. What is a CTSO?
  2. Why are CTSOs cocurricular and not extracurricular?
  3. How do FBLA, SkillsUSA, and TSA bring business and education together in a positive working relationship?
  4. How do FBLA, SkillsUSA, and TSA develop leadership skills?
  5. How does participation in CTSOs promote lifelong responsibility for community service and professional development?

Key Terms

CTSO | Career Technical Student Organization that is co-curricular with Career Technical Agricultural Education classes. CTSOs are an integral part of the CTAE instructional program and teach students leadership skills.

Cocurricular | Activities that are integral to the instruction of the classroom. These activities are both inside the classroom and outside the classroom.

Extracurricular | Activities that are outside the normal course of study and outside the normal school day.

TSA | Technical Student Association – a CTSO primarily for engineering and STEM students.

FBLA | Future Business Leaders of America – a CTSO primarily for business and computer science students.

SkillsUSA | A CTSO that partners with students, teachers, and industry to ensure America has a skilled workforce.

Advisor | The teacher/leader of the CTSO who leads and advises the student leaders to help develop their leadership skills.

Program of Work | A formal document that has a plan of activities the CTSO will participate in for the school year.

Professional Development | Programs that teach employability skills, including communications skills, ethics, conflict resolution, time management, goal setting, and more.

Employability | Activities to help students learn how to be good employees, and how to get and keep their jobs.

Community Service | Projects and activities the CTSO members do to help or benefit people or organizations in the community. 

Fundraising | Activities CTSOs use to raise money to fund their activities during the school year.

Leadership | The ability to influence and guide others to advance the goals of the organization.

Public Relations | Activities the CTSO participates in to make the public aware of the organization and the importance of CTAE education.

Integral | An important part of the whole, necessary to complete.

Entrepreneurship | The ability to conceive of a new idea, develop the idea, and organize and run an enterprise based on the idea.

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