Chinle High FBLA qualifiers earn spots at national leadership conferences

Chinle High School is sending students from its career and technical education program onto one of the biggest stages in school business competition, with Jacob Mann earning a spot at the Future Business Leaders of America national leadership conference after standout results at state.

Mann, a sophomore in Ms. Yazzie’s Business Management class, placed in multiple events at the FBLA State Leadership Conference and will compete in Supply Chain Management at the national conference in San Antonio, Texas. The school said Mann will travel with Ms. Yazzie from June 30 to July 3, 2026, and the national conference itself is scheduled for June 29 to July 2 at the Henry B. González Convention Center.

FBLA describes itself as the largest student business organization, and its competitive events are built around a broad range of business and career-related skills. For Chinle students, that means more than a trophy case. It means practice in public speaking, problem-solving, accounting, management and decision-making, all skills that can translate into college programs, jobs and leadership roles after graduation.

The opportunity carries extra weight in Chinle, where the district says Chinle Unified School District #24 is the largest school district in the Navajo Nation by student count and geographic area. The district also says Chinle High School is the largest primarily Native American public high school in the United States, a distinction that helps explain why a national FBLA berth resonates beyond campus.

The school’s message to Mann underscored that broader significance, encouraging him to represent himself, his family, his school, the Navajo Nation, his peers and Arizona. That kind of support reflects how Chinle’s CTE and FBLA pipeline is turning classroom instruction into visible achievement and giving local students a chance to compete against peers from much larger programs across the country.

Chinle students are building that experience across more than one national forum. The high school recently sent students to the National American Indian Science and Engineering Society conference in San Antonio as well, reinforcing a pattern of exposure to professional and academic networks that reach far beyond Apache County.