FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE               CONTACT: Tina L. Pugliese, APR
October 30, 2002                         (703) 683-9377; tpugliese@acteonline.org

ALEXANDRIA, VA?Drag racing is becoming a powerful learning tool in classrooms across the United States as educators incorporate the innovative programs offered by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Youth & Education Services (Y.E.S.) into their lesson plans.

The Y.E.S. program, presented by the U.S. Army, will be featured at the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo, December 12-15, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Y.E.S. is motorsports? first and only full-time program devoted exclusively to educational programming. Through this program, thousands of high school, junior college and career tech students receive the opportunity to attend NHRA events and learn how career planning and concepts in math and science are applied outside of the classroom. The Program consists of 22 events along the NHRA national race schedule. U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster driver Tony ?The Sarge? Schumacher is the keynote speaker. He discusses the wide array of careers found at an NHRA event, mechanics of the vehicle, and the choices he made in his personal career path.

New to the Y.E.S. program this year is the ?Get On The Fast Track? (GOTFT) component. This piece of the program includes lesson plans, exercises, resources, reproducible materials, as well as an informative career-guidance video. Like the overall Y.E.S. program, the goal of GOTFT is to encourage students to think about their futures and realize the importance a quality education plays in the search for a career.

Also featured at the ACTE Convention will be the Army Rock Wall. The 24 foot high climbing wall will be located in the exhibit hall and will be available to convention attendees who would like to experience the sport of rock climbing. The exhibit promotes physical fitness, confidence building, personal courage, and conquering fear. The climbing wall consists of three levels of difficulty?easy, medium and hard?so anyone who would like to give it a try can test their skills.

For further information on the ACTE Convention, visit www.acteonline.org.

The Association for Career and Technical Education is the national professional association for the field of career and technical education. Now in its 76th year, ACTE?s membership numbers more than 30,000 teachers, counselors and administrators at the middle school, high school and postsecondary levels.

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October 30, 2002                                 NR#02-015