TPSA Advisors,

I hope that you have had a successful start to the 23-24 school year. I wanted to take a moment to update you on the progress our leadership team has been making in updating various aspects of our organization.

One key area of our focus has been ensuring that our competitive events provide the best possible experience for our students. To demonstrate our commitment to excellence, all competitive events have been intensively reviewed.

As you read through our event offerings, you will notice that some events, such as Team Fire Agility, Foot Pursuit, Job Interview, Fiber Analysis, and Crash Investigation, are no longer available. Some of these events will be back next competition season after an intensive overhaul, some have been melded into other events, and some will not return.

With the sunsetting of events, it became apparent that we needed to create new events to fill the gap. We are excited to announce the addition of Parliamentary Procedure, Hair Analysis, Fire Press Conference, and Job Exhibit.

In addition to updating our event offerings, all scoring rubrics have been rewritten. By updating the rubrics, we aim to align them with the most current industry standards and provide clearer guidance to participants. This will enable our students to gain a deeper understanding of the skills and knowledge required for success in the public safety sector. I am pleased to present a new scoring system for the rubrics. Each rubric now totals 100 points. This provides a standardized measure for evaluation and comparison across various competitions. The state advancement criterion has also been revised. Starting this year, only those competitors who score at least 60 points and place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd at their Regional Conference will be eligible to advance to the state-level competition. This threshold ensures that participants showcase a solid foundational understanding of the subject matter and have the necessary skills to excel further in their public safety journey.

As advisors and key stakeholders, we invite you to review the updated rubrics. Your valuable input and suggestions are crucial in ensuring that the rubrics are comprehensive, fair, and effectively measure the skills and abilities of our talented participants. We welcome any feedback or revisions that you believe would enhance the rubrics' clarity, accuracy, or relevance to real-world scenarios and industry expectations.

Should you have any questions or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out to our team or me via email at [email protected]. We will be more than happy to assist you.

We kindly ask that any suggested revisions or comments be submitted no later than September 15th, 2023 to allow us sufficient time for thorough consideration and implementation. Your input will play a vital role in bolstering the quality of our competitions and providing an enriching experience for our students. After the posted deadline, no changes will be made to the rubrics, and the event scoring guidelines will be finalized.

Thank you for your continuous support and dedication to TPSA's mission of preparing the next generation of public safety professionals. Your guidance and expertise are deeply valued, and we look forward to your contributions toward achieving excellence.

Sincerely,
Kira Hassler Newsom
Executive Director

Competitive Events for 2023-2024

Correctional Services

Fire Services

Forensic Science

Law Enforcement

Legal Studies