Kofa teacher Eric Frost named SkillsUSA Arizona Advisor of the Year

Kofa High School teacher Eric Frost is being recognized for helping turn a classroom program into a proven path toward certifications, competition success and public-safety careers. The Yuma Union High School District announced April 16 that Frost was selected as SkillsUSA Arizona Advisor of the Year, a statewide honor that spotlights career and technical education instructors who advise SkillsUSA chapters.

Frost teaches Law and Public Safety at Kofa, and he was nominated by his students and by Instructional Leader Kylie Mackell, who submitted details on his work with the program. District leaders said Frost has spent six years as the Law and Public Safety SkillsUSA advisor, building a culture where students can train hard and see a future in the field. Yuma Union High School District Executive Director of Career and Technical Education Lorie Honeycutt described him as committed, student-centered and willing to go above and beyond to open doors for students.

The numbers behind Kofa’s program help explain why the honor matters in Yuma County. Under Frost’s guidance, the Law and Public Safety program has won three consecutive national championships, earned multiple top-five national finishes and top-ten national placements, and brought home a bronze medal for a third-place national finish. It also has captured six straight Arizona State Championships in SkillsUSA and collected more than 200 medals from Arizona SkillsUSA competitions. For Yuma families looking at job-ready training close to home, that record shows a pathway from high school coursework to real credentials and public-safety careers.

SkillsUSA Arizona says the Advisor of the Year award recognizes dedicated career and technical education instructors who serve as SkillsUSA advisors, with the winner announced at the Arizona State Leadership and Skills Conference. Frost’s selection also puts Kofa back in a familiar place: the last Yuma Union High School District advisor to earn the state honor was Norm Champagne in 2019.

Frost also serves on the SkillsUSA Arizona Board of Directors as the Region 1 representative, extending his influence beyond Kofa and into the statewide network that connects students, teachers and industry. For a district that has built one of Arizona’s most decorated career-and-technical programs, the recognition underscores something larger than one trophy: a local teacher helping Yuma students leave high school ready for work, competition and service.