Welcome to another Friday! It’s amazing that we’re looking at Thanksgiving just around the corner (and don’t even ask me how many shopping days there are until Christmas!) This is my second week putting my TGIF message into a blog, and I thank you for taking time to read it. Shane Haggerty, Communications Coordinator, told me that when he started his blog and told staff no one showed much interest; but I launched my blog and now everyone wants to blog. I told him not to take it personally—it’s most likely that people thought, “If Kim can do it, how hard can it be?!?”
This past summer, I attended a technology conference in Boston with several of our staff members and it was excellent. One of the ideas I brought back (OK, I stole it) from another district was the concept of an Administrative Technology Academy. I really felt convicted that if our administrators are going to be the “lead learners” in integrating technology into our classrooms and district work processes, we needed to become fluent in today’s technology. Tracy Franck, Assistant Technology Coordinator, very graciously worked with me to put together a syllabus of monthly sessions from October through May including such topics as virtual conferences, 21st Century digital literacy, anytime/anywhere learning, digital imagery, podcasting, social networking, and effective web searching. Our sessions will include hands-on activities, reading assignments, and homework!! (I’m sure some of our students would consider that poetic justice!) We had our first session this past Tuesday and Tracy had us visit the virtual K-12 Online Conference. We’re excited about the skills we’ll be mastering and look forward to demonstrating and using them in our work!
Nila Marquard, High-School Director, Julia Chiles, Adult Ed. Supervisor, and I attended a hearing with the Ohio Department of Education on Thursday to learn about the latest draft of the Perkins IV State Plan (which will drive our federal funding). The plan is not in its final draft, but the Department is seeking input from people in the field as they finalize our state plan. It’s too soon to say exactly how the plan will be written or implemented, but I can tell you that there is a very concerted emphasis on higher standards for all students, all programs being held to Tech Prep outcomes (not entrance requirements), guiding more students to postsecondary education, and reduction in remedial coursework at the postsecondary level. Positive Post-Program Placement at both the high school and adult levels is also still a key performance measure. In addition, at the high school level, OGT passage and technical skill assessment passage (currently OCTCA) will be measures which will result in financial sanctions if unmet for three years. I don’t tell you this to worry you—we’re doing a terrific job on our performance measures and will continue with our targeted improvement efforts. But we need to stay mindful of the importance of our performance data and the impact on our district and students. Keep up the good work!
Mike Kouse, Electronics Technology teacher, shared with me on Thursday an invitation he received to attend a former student’s graduation from DeVry University with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Mike told me this is a student who was told that he wouldn’t be able to go to college if he attended Ohio Hi-Point. Our numbers of alumni completing two- and four-year degrees is growing, as well as those completing other post-secondary training, and we’re happy to debunk the myth that career-technical students can’t or don’t go on to higher education. Thanks, Mike, for sharing!
Earlier this week, Mary Jo Alstaetter, ProjectSEARCH teacher, shared with me the following update on her students and their job rotations at Logan Acres:
Today, the students begin their second rotation. They have mixed emotions about leaving the security of the support group each developed in the first rotation . . . I've learned you can't make someone accept our students. The students are usually the ones who win the staff members over. It's all about transition. Yesterday, I took the opportunity to thank a staff member for working with one of our students . . . She said, "Once I started to accept the fact that this student would be here for two months, my attitude changed. I will never look at people with disabilities with such a negative attitude. Being around this group of students has changed the way I look at life." Now, who am I teaching--the Project SEARCH students or the staff? Just don't ask me to write lesson plans for teaching the staff!!!
Mary Jo, I’d say you and your students are teaching a lot of people valuable lessons about the abilities and value that every person has, and I thank you for the work you’ve done in launching and growing this tremendous program!
Are you checking out our website lately? Shane Haggerty, Communications Coordinator, is doing an awesome job of keeping information up to date and sharing the latest happenings at Ohio Hi-Point. There’s new content nearly every day—so make it a habit to visit www.ohiohipoint.com!
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
TGIF October 18, 2007
Welcome to my first blog posting! Thank you for visiting, and thanks to Shane Haggerty, Communications Coordinator, for getting me started on my first blogging experience. It really was a piece of cake!
I’ve been playing “catch up” ever since I got back from vacation, and there’s been a lot of good news to catch up on. From reading volumes of e-mails and snail mail upon my return, I can see that I missed a lot!
I’m told we had over 100 grandparents here for our Grandparents Day on October 3—what a great turnout! And this event got terrific coverage in the Bellefontaine Examiner with a really nice front-page photo! Thanks to Darlene Roll, JoEtta Spain, and Amanda Blackburn for all their efforts in organizing this very worthwhile event. Not only did we honor our students’ grandparents, but we enlisted a whole new group of “ambassadors” to spread the good word about Ohio Hi-Point!
I was also gone during Spirit Week; but I could tell from the e-mails outlining the week’s activities that it was surely a lot of fun! What a shame I couldn’t be here—I’m just sure I could have won that “Worst School Photo” contest! (How could my mother ever have let me leave the house looking like that?!?) I know a lot of you worked hard to make it a special week for our students, and I’m sure they had a great time.
I have to share a really cute story. I walked into the Main Building one morning just before I left on vacation and saw a student learning through the window at the front counter giving Joyce Furlong, our Attendance Secretary, a hug. I asked Joyce later what she had done to deserve such an honor, and she said the student was thanking her because she got ahold of his grandparents so quickly. I’m not sure what all the circumstances were, but I thought it was just great that a student took time to express his gratitude so sincerely. You made a difference for that young man, Joyce!
JoEtta Spain, our Recruiting and Placement Coordinator, has been busy taking students out to our partner schools to share their experiences with their students. She wrote to me after her visit to Marysville:
Kim, as I was watching our students present today at Marysville, I thought to myself how proud I was of them. The students do such an outstanding job. They believe in their programs and have a love for the Career Center. Each year I see the quality of our students grow and this year it really shows. I wanted to thank you for allowing me to be their advisor. It has truly been an honor to work with such fine young adults. They are our voice for recruitment. When we went to Marysville, they cautioned us that they were not going to bring all the students as they had in the past and we would not have many sign up to attend. We have been there for two days and did four sessions. After the students and I were finished, we brought back 215 registrations for Career Days out of 310 students we talked with. I think that is really great and says a lot about the recruitment job done by the students.
That does say a lot about our students, JoEtta, and we should all be proud of them! Thanks for working with them and giving them this opportunity.
Ben Stahler, our former Board President, stopped by last week to have lunch with me in the Inn. He thoroughly enjoyed the food and service provided by our Culinary Arts Students, and he expressed several times how good it was to be back at OHP. He stated how much he appreciates everyone going out of their way to greet him when he’s in the building and taking time to tell him about what’s going on. He said this isn’t something he necessarily experiences in all schools. It was obvious to him that we take a lot of pride in what we do! Thanks to everyone for making him feel welcome.
It’s election time, and I’m sure a lot of you have been following the candidates for various positions. Annette Bertke, Supply Chain Management Teacher in Urbana, shared with me a clipping from the Urbana Daily Citizen in which Al Evans, candidate for City Council, was quoted in answering a question about how to bring good-paying jobs to Urbana:
Currently, we’re working with Ohio Hi-Point to bring some workforce development to the area, utilizing the old armory. Hopefully, with a trained work force, we’ll be able to attract high-tech, high-paying jobs to the area. . . Individuals trained at Ohio Hi-Point’s local satellite can be ready for a high-tech employer that wants to come to town.
How about that?!? We’re now considered “clout” by the candidates as they campaign! On the same topic, I attended the Champaign Co. Community Improvement Corporation Economic Development Summit on Wednesday evening. At least five (I lost count after a while!) local leaders approached me to express their support of our adult education and high-school programs both at the new satellites and Main Campus. They really do “get it” when it comes to understanding the impact our programs have on the local economy. I hope you all puff up with pride at this recognition of the important role you play every day—I know I do!
I’d like to share a new website which has been developed to provide labor market information for Ohio. It’s really an improvement on other sites we’ve relied on in the past. This site focuses on high-skill, high-demand, high-wage jobs, it’s up to date, and it’s easy to navigate. You can “slice and dice” the statistics related to future labor market demand in hundreds of occupations as well as training programs available in each career field. Ohio is one of only three states featured on the website. The URL is www.occsupplydemand.org Take a look!
Have a great weekend and enjoy this beautiful fall weather—the snow will be flying soon enough!
I’ve been playing “catch up” ever since I got back from vacation, and there’s been a lot of good news to catch up on. From reading volumes of e-mails and snail mail upon my return, I can see that I missed a lot!
I’m told we had over 100 grandparents here for our Grandparents Day on October 3—what a great turnout! And this event got terrific coverage in the Bellefontaine Examiner with a really nice front-page photo! Thanks to Darlene Roll, JoEtta Spain, and Amanda Blackburn for all their efforts in organizing this very worthwhile event. Not only did we honor our students’ grandparents, but we enlisted a whole new group of “ambassadors” to spread the good word about Ohio Hi-Point!
I was also gone during Spirit Week; but I could tell from the e-mails outlining the week’s activities that it was surely a lot of fun! What a shame I couldn’t be here—I’m just sure I could have won that “Worst School Photo” contest! (How could my mother ever have let me leave the house looking like that?!?) I know a lot of you worked hard to make it a special week for our students, and I’m sure they had a great time.
I have to share a really cute story. I walked into the Main Building one morning just before I left on vacation and saw a student learning through the window at the front counter giving Joyce Furlong, our Attendance Secretary, a hug. I asked Joyce later what she had done to deserve such an honor, and she said the student was thanking her because she got ahold of his grandparents so quickly. I’m not sure what all the circumstances were, but I thought it was just great that a student took time to express his gratitude so sincerely. You made a difference for that young man, Joyce!
JoEtta Spain, our Recruiting and Placement Coordinator, has been busy taking students out to our partner schools to share their experiences with their students. She wrote to me after her visit to Marysville:
Kim, as I was watching our students present today at Marysville, I thought to myself how proud I was of them. The students do such an outstanding job. They believe in their programs and have a love for the Career Center. Each year I see the quality of our students grow and this year it really shows. I wanted to thank you for allowing me to be their advisor. It has truly been an honor to work with such fine young adults. They are our voice for recruitment. When we went to Marysville, they cautioned us that they were not going to bring all the students as they had in the past and we would not have many sign up to attend. We have been there for two days and did four sessions. After the students and I were finished, we brought back 215 registrations for Career Days out of 310 students we talked with. I think that is really great and says a lot about the recruitment job done by the students.
That does say a lot about our students, JoEtta, and we should all be proud of them! Thanks for working with them and giving them this opportunity.
Ben Stahler, our former Board President, stopped by last week to have lunch with me in the Inn. He thoroughly enjoyed the food and service provided by our Culinary Arts Students, and he expressed several times how good it was to be back at OHP. He stated how much he appreciates everyone going out of their way to greet him when he’s in the building and taking time to tell him about what’s going on. He said this isn’t something he necessarily experiences in all schools. It was obvious to him that we take a lot of pride in what we do! Thanks to everyone for making him feel welcome.
It’s election time, and I’m sure a lot of you have been following the candidates for various positions. Annette Bertke, Supply Chain Management Teacher in Urbana, shared with me a clipping from the Urbana Daily Citizen in which Al Evans, candidate for City Council, was quoted in answering a question about how to bring good-paying jobs to Urbana:
Currently, we’re working with Ohio Hi-Point to bring some workforce development to the area, utilizing the old armory. Hopefully, with a trained work force, we’ll be able to attract high-tech, high-paying jobs to the area. . . Individuals trained at Ohio Hi-Point’s local satellite can be ready for a high-tech employer that wants to come to town.
How about that?!? We’re now considered “clout” by the candidates as they campaign! On the same topic, I attended the Champaign Co. Community Improvement Corporation Economic Development Summit on Wednesday evening. At least five (I lost count after a while!) local leaders approached me to express their support of our adult education and high-school programs both at the new satellites and Main Campus. They really do “get it” when it comes to understanding the impact our programs have on the local economy. I hope you all puff up with pride at this recognition of the important role you play every day—I know I do!
I’d like to share a new website which has been developed to provide labor market information for Ohio. It’s really an improvement on other sites we’ve relied on in the past. This site focuses on high-skill, high-demand, high-wage jobs, it’s up to date, and it’s easy to navigate. You can “slice and dice” the statistics related to future labor market demand in hundreds of occupations as well as training programs available in each career field. Ohio is one of only three states featured on the website. The URL is www.occsupplydemand.org Take a look!
Have a great weekend and enjoy this beautiful fall weather—the snow will be flying soon enough!
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