Technology Student Association
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The Technology Student Association (TSA) is an international organization made up of technology education students from different schools and their advisors. Forty-eight of the U.S. states and a handful of other countries are members of the organization. A notable absence is California (home of Silicon Valley) because the California legislature has continually rejected efforts to allow Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) such as TSA, FBLA, HOSA, and others into the state. In addition to the states, Germany has an active chapter and Puerto Rico, Canada, Scotland, and more recently Peru have all made appearances at one or more national conferences.
The largest delegations are generally Virginia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Florida. Both middle schools and high schools compete in many events (different for each level), competing against the other schools. The word "technology" in the name pertains not only to computers, as many would assume - instead, the term is much more inclusive, including such events as digital photography, aerodynamics (balsa wood planes and CO2-powered cars), and desktop publishing. However, website design, computer-aided drafting and design, and other computer-related events are also some of the organization's competitive events. Competitions also include such events as public speaking, parliamentary procedure, and general technology trivia; with the main focus on "learning to live in a technical world," TSA's official motto.
TSA is the "only student organization devoted exclusively to the needs of technology education students and teachers." It is also largely student-run, with students campaigning to be elected to offices at the chapter, state, and national levels (with national office being the highest position; other countries are considered "states" because of their very small numbers).
The TSA website is almost yearly redone. The newly-changed forums have caught on wildly with the middle school and younger high school crowds, including many irrelevant threads in the Students, General Discussion area. The Advisor and Alumni sections of these forums have almost never been used.
Many individual chapters have their own websites. Performing a search on the web may reveal there is a local chapter in your area.
Major national decisions, especially of financial nature, are made by the TSA, Inc. Board of Directors. Students are represented on the Board by the National TSA President. The TSA national office also runs a great deal of the day-to-day activities and is headed by Executive Director Dr. Rosanne White.
External links
- Official TSA Website (http://www.tsaweb.org)
- Office of Vocational and Adult Education (USDOE) (http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cte/vso.html)