Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC), a career and technical education public school district, has been selected for distinction out of more than 1,600 certification centers from around the country.

West-MEC has two Glendale locations: a district office at 5487 N. 99th Ave., and a central campus at 6997 N. Glen Harbor Blvd.

NC3, or the National Coalition of Certification Centers, chose West-MEC as NC3’s July 2023 “NC3 School on the Rise.” NC3 is a value-driven organization that focuses on initiatives to drive success for education, industry, the national workforce, and students.

West-MEC has been partnered with NC3 for about a decade and has adopted its train-the-trainer philosophies.

“Our staff has benefited from several years of having NC3 on campus. Train-the-trainer has helped our educators build their resumes and skill sets,” said Northeast Campus Administrator David Svorinic.

Every month NC3 recognizes a school on the rise to highlight, and bases its decision on which school to highlight by a school’s increasingly good performance since joining the Coalition, dedication toward career and technical education, and how successfully a school has integrated NC3 certification curriculum into its classrooms.