I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and that the time off recharged your batteries a bit. It seems as if it’s been a marathon of activities since we started school, and it’s hard to believe we’re past Thanksgiving and on our way to Winter Break! But the results of all that activity have been very positive, so take time to stop, look back, and appreciate all you’ve accomplished.
I’ve had the opportunity these past couple of weeks to get out and visit some of our programs “afar” in our various satellite locations. It’s exciting to see all the developments in program growth and the outstanding work our students are doing. An overriding theme is their appreciation for the programs and the support OHP provides to them. I know that this positive perception of our school spills over to all of the students in our partner schools and is helping to raise interest in our Main Campus programs as well. Thanks to all of our satellite teachers for the quality programs you deliver!
We held our annual Perkins Stakeholders Meeting (an advisory group for our federal performance measures) last week, and I was so pleased with the turnout representing all of our counties and the feedback from the group. They fully support our efforts to “raise the bar” with our academics, are excited about industry-based skills assessments for our programs, and confirmed that we’re on the right track with our program offerings. Jack Reeser, currently Logan County Commissioner and possibly our next State Representative, specifically commended the positive direction Ohio Hi-Point has taken in increasing programs and aligning them closely with workforce needs. While I realize we’ve all lived through a lot of change the past several years and fully understand that change is just plain hard work, kudos to all of you for the tremendous strides you’ve made in providing a quality product to our students! People are noticing!
On Monday, I was given the opportunity to present to the Bellefontaine Rotary Club and share the DVD of testimonials from our students, parents, employers, and higher-education representatives. They really enjoyed the personal stories and had a lot of great questions about “what’s new” at Ohio Hi-Point. They were particularly impressed by our percentage of students going on to higher education, the partnerships with higher education that we’ve established, and the variety of career-tech and academic programs we offer. Little by little, we’re getting the word out and dispelling some of those “myths” about career-technical education! Thanks to Shane Haggerty and JoEtta Spain (Rotary members) for helping me field some of the questions.
Tuesday I visited our ProjectSEARCH program at Logan Acres nursing home and also heard a presentation on the program at our Board Meeting on Wednesday. This is our program for young adults with disabilities who have completed graduation requirements and are transitioning into competitive employment. I never cease to be amazed at what these young people can accomplish and how much they are appreciated by their co-workers! And they just beam with pride when telling me about their duties. It’s also so gratifying to see the social bonds they’re forming with one another in the class. Two graduates of the program presented at the Board Meeting and I wasn’t sure who was more proud—the graduates or their parents! Both of these young ladies are now employed in the community and have matured so much since I met them when they started the program. Mary Jo Alstaetter, program instructor, has brought this program from a dream to reality; and I’d encourage you all to arrange a visit with her and to help spread the word about the very valuable employees this program is producing!
On Wednesday, Nila Marquard, Deb Wortman, Shelly Swaney, Lynne Hall, Bob Lawrence, and I attended the West Central Ohio Tech Prep Consortium Administrator/Counselor Luncheon hosted by Honda of America Manufacturing. In addition to touring the plant that builds the Accord (which was absolutely amazing—1,800 Accords a day!!), we heard from their staffing department about the critical need for manufacturing maintenance employees. They described a partnership they’ve formed with several community colleges and OHP’s Adult Education division (the only career center in the group!), and they’ve also committed to assisting us in recruiting for our high-school programs which train students in this career pathway. We know we have the training they need; it’s a matter of getting the word out to students and parents that manufacturing is not a “dead end” job and the opportunities are tremendous. We’re happy to have Honda partner with us in this initiative. Special thanks to Bob Lawrence for driving the bus and transporting staff from several surrounding school districts to Honda—we were in good hands!
I hope you’ll all participate in the “Let It Snow” contest and take a guess at the date of our first snow day. I received special permission to participate, so I may be calling a snow day when it’s 50 degrees and sunny if that happens to be the day I picked!
Have a great weekend and stay warm!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Friday, November 16, 2007
November 16, 2007
Welcome to Friday—again! It’s good to see the sunshine after yesterday’s sloppy weather!
I know it’s been an extremely busy, exciting, and probably exhausting week for all of you! Our Career Preview/Open House event last evening was absolutely wonderful—I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many parents and potential students visit to learn more about our programs! The weather certainly didn’t keep people away, which shows how much you truly piqued their interest in our programs. As I did a “fly-by” through all of our labs, I was so proud of our current students and Student Ambassadors for the part they played in making the evening a success. Their pride in their programs and our school just “oozed” from every pore—and they truly are our best salespeople! No doubt the success of last evening’s event was due largely to the tremendous effort that went into our Career Days visits for 10th graders and the committee of high-school and adult staff who worked to organize Career Preview. So, many thanks to all for a great job—I hope you’re as pleased with the results as I am! The data will soon be compiled as to the number of visitors, number of applications received, and other information we collected—I can’t wait to see the results! Be sure to check www.ohiohipoint.com for photos of the evening.
Speaking of Career Days and 10th grade visits, we received a lot of positive feedback from our partner schools on their visits here. Jon Comer, Guidance Counselor at Graham High School, e-mailed the following:
Just a brief note to let y'all know how much our students and chaperones enjoyed their day on the Hi-Point campus yesterday. The activities and hospitality were beyond expectations, as usual! Thanks again for your last-minute flexibility in light of our transportation difficulties. I have already taken a number of completed applications just this morning.
It must be working!!
Jon, Mindy and the GHS staff
JoEtta Spain, Recruiting and Placement Specialist, also coordinates visits to some of our middle schools. Janet Dunn, Marysville Middle School, recently wrote to JoEtta:
Thank you so much for visiting MMS yesterday. My students had very positive comments to share today. They enjoyed hearing the information you share. Several had questions about the application process. I encouraged them to keep in contact with their guidance counselors at the HS level and to take advantage of opportunities to visit the campus.
Breanne is a wonderful ambassador. She brought a great message. The students appreciated her comments.
JoEtta tells me the student Janet is talking about is Lead Ambassador Breanne Gamble, in our Administrative Office Specialist Program and a post-secondary student.
On Monday and Tuesday, I attended the Ohio School Boards Association annual conference, which includes a breakfast for career-tech board members and superintendents. At the breakfast Tuesday morning, Eric Fingerhut, the new Chancellor for the Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in Ohio, spoke to the group and emphasized the critical role career-technical education plays in workforce development. He stated that the ultimate measure of success for our adult education system in Ohio is not the number of degrees earned or the number of students enrolled; the measure for success is the improvement of the quality of economic life for everyone in Ohio. He also stated the direct need in Ohio is a skilled, technical workforce; and he acknowledged that our Adult Workforce Education system can best provide that.
As of January 1, 2009, all of our Adult Workforce Education programs, including ABLE, will be moved to the Board of Regents for governance (as opposed to the Ohio Department of Education.) While the details of administration and funding have not all been worked out, career-tech administrators are an integral part of the Transition Team which will put the new system into place. We see this as an opportunity to strengthen our programs and simplify the system of higher education in Ohio to make it more user-friendly for students.
Tuesday evening OHP hosted the first (and we hope annual) Transition Fair for special needs students and their families in Logan County. I had a chance to talk to representatives from several of the agencies represented, and I was really impressed with the scope of services available to these young people. Mary Jo Alstaetter, our ProjectSEARCH teacher, coordinated the event and did a super job! Her program is one of those opportunities for special needs young adults in our District, and I’ve heard many expressions of appreciation for the tremendous job she does. Thanks, Mary Jo!
I stopped by to see our evening Practical Nursing class in action on Wednesday evening and to welcome that group of students. These are adults who typically also work full time and have family responsibilities in addition to completing the very challenging curriculum of our PN program. They appeared very eager to learn and up to the challenge, and I know they have the best PN faculty in the State to support them! I had to chuckle—after I let myself into the building and stood at the doorway of the classroom, several of the students looked at their instructor, Tara Rhodes, and said “There’s a stranger here!” Tara explained to me that they had been notified their lockdown drill is coming soon, and the students are somewhat on “high alert.” Good for them for being so aware! (And I explained I wasn’t the intruder they’ve been waiting for!) Mostly, I hope not to be a “stranger” next time I see them. Best wishes to all of them in their studies!
I understand there’s some big football game going on in Columbus tomorrow? Hope it turns out as everyone hopes! Have a great weekend!
I know it’s been an extremely busy, exciting, and probably exhausting week for all of you! Our Career Preview/Open House event last evening was absolutely wonderful—I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many parents and potential students visit to learn more about our programs! The weather certainly didn’t keep people away, which shows how much you truly piqued their interest in our programs. As I did a “fly-by” through all of our labs, I was so proud of our current students and Student Ambassadors for the part they played in making the evening a success. Their pride in their programs and our school just “oozed” from every pore—and they truly are our best salespeople! No doubt the success of last evening’s event was due largely to the tremendous effort that went into our Career Days visits for 10th graders and the committee of high-school and adult staff who worked to organize Career Preview. So, many thanks to all for a great job—I hope you’re as pleased with the results as I am! The data will soon be compiled as to the number of visitors, number of applications received, and other information we collected—I can’t wait to see the results! Be sure to check www.ohiohipoint.com for photos of the evening.
Speaking of Career Days and 10th grade visits, we received a lot of positive feedback from our partner schools on their visits here. Jon Comer, Guidance Counselor at Graham High School, e-mailed the following:
Just a brief note to let y'all know how much our students and chaperones enjoyed their day on the Hi-Point campus yesterday. The activities and hospitality were beyond expectations, as usual! Thanks again for your last-minute flexibility in light of our transportation difficulties. I have already taken a number of completed applications just this morning.
It must be working!!
Jon, Mindy and the GHS staff
JoEtta Spain, Recruiting and Placement Specialist, also coordinates visits to some of our middle schools. Janet Dunn, Marysville Middle School, recently wrote to JoEtta:
Thank you so much for visiting MMS yesterday. My students had very positive comments to share today. They enjoyed hearing the information you share. Several had questions about the application process. I encouraged them to keep in contact with their guidance counselors at the HS level and to take advantage of opportunities to visit the campus.
Breanne is a wonderful ambassador. She brought a great message. The students appreciated her comments.
JoEtta tells me the student Janet is talking about is Lead Ambassador Breanne Gamble, in our Administrative Office Specialist Program and a post-secondary student.
On Monday and Tuesday, I attended the Ohio School Boards Association annual conference, which includes a breakfast for career-tech board members and superintendents. At the breakfast Tuesday morning, Eric Fingerhut, the new Chancellor for the Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in Ohio, spoke to the group and emphasized the critical role career-technical education plays in workforce development. He stated that the ultimate measure of success for our adult education system in Ohio is not the number of degrees earned or the number of students enrolled; the measure for success is the improvement of the quality of economic life for everyone in Ohio. He also stated the direct need in Ohio is a skilled, technical workforce; and he acknowledged that our Adult Workforce Education system can best provide that.
As of January 1, 2009, all of our Adult Workforce Education programs, including ABLE, will be moved to the Board of Regents for governance (as opposed to the Ohio Department of Education.) While the details of administration and funding have not all been worked out, career-tech administrators are an integral part of the Transition Team which will put the new system into place. We see this as an opportunity to strengthen our programs and simplify the system of higher education in Ohio to make it more user-friendly for students.
Tuesday evening OHP hosted the first (and we hope annual) Transition Fair for special needs students and their families in Logan County. I had a chance to talk to representatives from several of the agencies represented, and I was really impressed with the scope of services available to these young people. Mary Jo Alstaetter, our ProjectSEARCH teacher, coordinated the event and did a super job! Her program is one of those opportunities for special needs young adults in our District, and I’ve heard many expressions of appreciation for the tremendous job she does. Thanks, Mary Jo!
I stopped by to see our evening Practical Nursing class in action on Wednesday evening and to welcome that group of students. These are adults who typically also work full time and have family responsibilities in addition to completing the very challenging curriculum of our PN program. They appeared very eager to learn and up to the challenge, and I know they have the best PN faculty in the State to support them! I had to chuckle—after I let myself into the building and stood at the doorway of the classroom, several of the students looked at their instructor, Tara Rhodes, and said “There’s a stranger here!” Tara explained to me that they had been notified their lockdown drill is coming soon, and the students are somewhat on “high alert.” Good for them for being so aware! (And I explained I wasn’t the intruder they’ve been waiting for!) Mostly, I hope not to be a “stranger” next time I see them. Best wishes to all of them in their studies!
I understand there’s some big football game going on in Columbus tomorrow? Hope it turns out as everyone hopes! Have a great weekend!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
November 9, 2007
Well, the snowflakes have been flying here at the Peak of Ohio this week!! And to think that just one month ago it was 94 degrees. Only in Ohio!
We’ve had a busy, active week with a lot of great energy and activities in our programs! Last Friday, I visited the Supply Chain Management Program at Urbana High School to participate in a visit from Toledo Public Schools. Toledo is considering starting a SCM program, and the Department of Education recommended our program as the model in the state to take a look at! (You may have caught the article about this event on the front page of the Urbana Daily Citizen on Saturday.) The presentation was student-driven, and I was so proud of the way our students represented themselves and our program. They were very appreciative of the technology and learning experiences they’ve been exposed to, and they repeatedly stated how much they admire the industry experience their teacher, Annette Bertke, brings to the classroom. (I know this is a feeling shared by many of our students in all of our programs!) Congratulations to Annette and her students for a fantastic presentation!
Once our teachers are in the classroom, I know you work hard to keep your skills sharp. Bob Newland, Auto Collision Technology teacher, recently shared a professional development experience with Nila Marquard, our Career-Technical Director:
Nila, I wanted to thank you for your part in making it possible for me to go to the NACE conference. It was something I'd always wanted to do. I went to some excellent classes on waterborne paint. This is cutting edge technology in automotive refinish and something I can pass along to my students. While I was there I made contact with a representative from Mitchell Estimating Software who assured me he would set my program up with a computer estimating software program free of charge to the school. This normally is $300 a year, so I was very excited about this. I also talked to a lady from American Honda of California who happened to be from St. Mary’s, Ohio. She got my information and told me she would set my class up with a tour of the Marysville Honda Plant. During the opening session, they introduced a speaker by the name of Chris Gardner. This is the man the movie The Pursuit of Happiness was written about which starred Will Smith. I haven't seen the movie, but after listening to his story of triumph in the face of overwhelming odds, I really would like to see it. His story was such an inspiration, it was unbelievable. To top it off, I got to see the SkillsUSA auto collision national winner get his gold medal award. That was cool!
Bob, thank you for your commitment to professional development and to bringing the very best in learning experiences to your students!
These past two weeks have seemed to be my “meeting weeks”—I’ve been off campus more than I would prefer! But I realize it’s an important part of my position to represent Ohio Hi-Point in all of our communities and to “be at the table” when strategic decisions are being made that position us as the premier choice for career-technical training. One such meeting was the Logan County Chamber Board of Directors strategic planning session on Wednesday. It was an all-day, intense session of evaluating the needs of business/commerce in Logan County and outlining a strategy for meeting those needs. Without my prompting, education and workforce development rose to the top as a critical need; and Ohio Hi-Point’s high-school and adult programs were cited as an extremely valuable resource for meeting those needs. Specific goals included in this part of the plan include educator and student internships for all schools in the County as well as working to develop and support programs that connect academics to the workplace. I realize this sounds so familiar and natural to us; but it’s gratifying for our school to be seen as the leader in these initiatives!
Thursday morning, I attended the Logan County Convention and Tourism Bureau Annual Meeting and had even more reason to be proud of our school and our students! As most of you know, the Honda Homecoming Vendor Fair was held on our campus this past July; and the committee couldn’t say enough about the excellent facility and wonderful volunteers from our staff. Also, the current Welcome Center project, which is a structure to hold materials welcoming people as they drive into Logan County, was featured. Our Building Maintenance, Carpentry, and Masonry programs are working on the Welcome Center as we speak, and it’s expected to be completed by the end of December. Watch for it to be erected at the Park-and-Ride just west of State Routes 33 and 540 soon!
Wednesday evening, I sat in on an Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) monthly staff meeting. Wow, what a difference these dedicated staff members make in the lives of adult learners! I was so impressed with the enthusiasm of the instructors about resources they’ve used, success stories they’ve experienced, numbers of adults served at a wide range of locations, and plans they have for assisting adults in gaining literacy skills and/or passing the GED exam. Thanks to all of our ABLE staff for your tireless work!
It struck me as I sat there that Ohio Hi-Point staff members really do provide for the needs of learners from “cradle to grave.” With our Early Childhood Education daycare center caring for infants and toddlers all the way up to adults learning for new or renewed careers or just personal enrichment—think about the impact you’re having as a staff on so many lives!!
Thursday and Friday have brought over 1,200 10th graders to our campus for our annual Career Days. Thursday I was able to get around to all of our labs and see our students in action demonstrating skills to the visitors, assisting them with hands-on activities, and proudly promoting their programs! The labs looked terrific, and the students and teachers had obviously worked very hard to incorporate a “WOW” factor into their presentations! Thanks to everyone involved in making this a hugely successful event—the payoff will be in the excited students we have coming to our campus next fall. Be sure to check out our website at www.ohiohipoint.com to view photos of this event and many others!
This Sunday is Veteran’s Day—please take time to thank anyone you know who has served our country and played a part in protecting the freedoms we enjoy. Have a terrific weekend!
We’ve had a busy, active week with a lot of great energy and activities in our programs! Last Friday, I visited the Supply Chain Management Program at Urbana High School to participate in a visit from Toledo Public Schools. Toledo is considering starting a SCM program, and the Department of Education recommended our program as the model in the state to take a look at! (You may have caught the article about this event on the front page of the Urbana Daily Citizen on Saturday.) The presentation was student-driven, and I was so proud of the way our students represented themselves and our program. They were very appreciative of the technology and learning experiences they’ve been exposed to, and they repeatedly stated how much they admire the industry experience their teacher, Annette Bertke, brings to the classroom. (I know this is a feeling shared by many of our students in all of our programs!) Congratulations to Annette and her students for a fantastic presentation!
Once our teachers are in the classroom, I know you work hard to keep your skills sharp. Bob Newland, Auto Collision Technology teacher, recently shared a professional development experience with Nila Marquard, our Career-Technical Director:
Nila, I wanted to thank you for your part in making it possible for me to go to the NACE conference. It was something I'd always wanted to do. I went to some excellent classes on waterborne paint. This is cutting edge technology in automotive refinish and something I can pass along to my students. While I was there I made contact with a representative from Mitchell Estimating Software who assured me he would set my program up with a computer estimating software program free of charge to the school. This normally is $300 a year, so I was very excited about this. I also talked to a lady from American Honda of California who happened to be from St. Mary’s, Ohio. She got my information and told me she would set my class up with a tour of the Marysville Honda Plant. During the opening session, they introduced a speaker by the name of Chris Gardner. This is the man the movie The Pursuit of Happiness was written about which starred Will Smith. I haven't seen the movie, but after listening to his story of triumph in the face of overwhelming odds, I really would like to see it. His story was such an inspiration, it was unbelievable. To top it off, I got to see the SkillsUSA auto collision national winner get his gold medal award. That was cool!
Bob, thank you for your commitment to professional development and to bringing the very best in learning experiences to your students!
These past two weeks have seemed to be my “meeting weeks”—I’ve been off campus more than I would prefer! But I realize it’s an important part of my position to represent Ohio Hi-Point in all of our communities and to “be at the table” when strategic decisions are being made that position us as the premier choice for career-technical training. One such meeting was the Logan County Chamber Board of Directors strategic planning session on Wednesday. It was an all-day, intense session of evaluating the needs of business/commerce in Logan County and outlining a strategy for meeting those needs. Without my prompting, education and workforce development rose to the top as a critical need; and Ohio Hi-Point’s high-school and adult programs were cited as an extremely valuable resource for meeting those needs. Specific goals included in this part of the plan include educator and student internships for all schools in the County as well as working to develop and support programs that connect academics to the workplace. I realize this sounds so familiar and natural to us; but it’s gratifying for our school to be seen as the leader in these initiatives!
Thursday morning, I attended the Logan County Convention and Tourism Bureau Annual Meeting and had even more reason to be proud of our school and our students! As most of you know, the Honda Homecoming Vendor Fair was held on our campus this past July; and the committee couldn’t say enough about the excellent facility and wonderful volunteers from our staff. Also, the current Welcome Center project, which is a structure to hold materials welcoming people as they drive into Logan County, was featured. Our Building Maintenance, Carpentry, and Masonry programs are working on the Welcome Center as we speak, and it’s expected to be completed by the end of December. Watch for it to be erected at the Park-and-Ride just west of State Routes 33 and 540 soon!
Wednesday evening, I sat in on an Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) monthly staff meeting. Wow, what a difference these dedicated staff members make in the lives of adult learners! I was so impressed with the enthusiasm of the instructors about resources they’ve used, success stories they’ve experienced, numbers of adults served at a wide range of locations, and plans they have for assisting adults in gaining literacy skills and/or passing the GED exam. Thanks to all of our ABLE staff for your tireless work!
It struck me as I sat there that Ohio Hi-Point staff members really do provide for the needs of learners from “cradle to grave.” With our Early Childhood Education daycare center caring for infants and toddlers all the way up to adults learning for new or renewed careers or just personal enrichment—think about the impact you’re having as a staff on so many lives!!
Thursday and Friday have brought over 1,200 10th graders to our campus for our annual Career Days. Thursday I was able to get around to all of our labs and see our students in action demonstrating skills to the visitors, assisting them with hands-on activities, and proudly promoting their programs! The labs looked terrific, and the students and teachers had obviously worked very hard to incorporate a “WOW” factor into their presentations! Thanks to everyone involved in making this a hugely successful event—the payoff will be in the excited students we have coming to our campus next fall. Be sure to check out our website at www.ohiohipoint.com to view photos of this event and many others!
This Sunday is Veteran’s Day—please take time to thank anyone you know who has served our country and played a part in protecting the freedoms we enjoy. Have a terrific weekend!
Friday, November 2, 2007
November 2, 2007
We’ve made it to Friday again! I hope you’ve all had a great week. I occurred to me as I was getting ready to come to work today that we’ve been extremely fortunate not to have fog issues this fall. I know—some of you may be missing those delays! But I don’t miss making all those phone calls! We’ve really had some beautiful fall weekend weather, and it looks like this weekend will be no exception.
Monday I visited the Construction Trades Academy project house in Huntsville and really enjoyed watching all the students in action. They had just finished setting trusses and were starting on the plywood for the roof. It’s amazing what these students can accomplish in just 10 weeks of school! They were obviously proud of their work (as they should be) and seemed to be anxious to tell me all about it. There was certainly a lot of teamwork and cooperative learning going on, and they looked like little “worker bees” all over the place! Thanks to Mr. Hedges, Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Limes, and Mr. Marsteller for guiding our students through this major undertaking! We’ll look forward to seeing the finished product in the spring.
As we work to become a more data-driven district, we’ve made efforts in many areas to collect and analyze more data. Shane Haggerty, Communications Coordinator, shared with me some data from a recent student survey he conducted to determine the effectiveness of various marketing strategies. He had 148 students respond, and there were some interesting results:
· They most prefer to receive communication via their cell phones (as opposed to e-mail), and 84 percent have a cell phone.
· They spend far more time on the Internet than watching TV, listening to radio, or reading.
· 40 percent visit our website more than 5 times a week, and 88 percent visit at least once a week.
· They want to see video, podcasts, and blogs on our website.
· The biggest factor in their deciding to attend OHP (37 percent) was Career Days and other visits!
I know we have Career Days coming up soon, and this data underscores the importance of your hard work in getting ready for those student visitors. I know they’ll experience the “WOW” factor, just as our new students did this fall!
Darlene Roll, Intervention and Testing Aide, shared some data related to our recent OGT testing:
· Total tests proctored – 576
· Total staff members (and subs) who at one point or another helped with OGT during the first week – 41.
· We needed to employ a Russian translator for the first time!
This testing is a huge effort on the part of many, and we’re faced with higher numbers of students needing to pass the OGT when they come to us each year. But I know you’re all committed to helping them be successful, and I thank you for your tremendous effort!
While I’m on a “data kick,” I wanted to share that the statewide 2006/2007 Secondary CTE performance data was recently released. Two measures we can be very proud of are the number of students we reach for follow-up (Status Known), and OCTCA test results (Technical Skill Attainment)—we are above the state average on both and also made significant gains over the previous year. We still have some work to do in other areas, but the data shows we’re moving in the right direction. We haven’t received the Adult Workforce Education performance measures yet, but we’ll be sharing those as we get them. Nila Marquard, Darlene Chiles, Julia Barton, Lisa McCullough and I have recently attended Ohio Department of Education updates on the new Perkins IV legislation and requirements, and one thing is certain—we will be seeing significant changes in the performance measures themselves and the way they are calculated. As the new requirements are finalized, we will share the information with you and begin to formulate our strategy for helping our students be successful. I’m confident we can meet the challenge!
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Monday I visited the Construction Trades Academy project house in Huntsville and really enjoyed watching all the students in action. They had just finished setting trusses and were starting on the plywood for the roof. It’s amazing what these students can accomplish in just 10 weeks of school! They were obviously proud of their work (as they should be) and seemed to be anxious to tell me all about it. There was certainly a lot of teamwork and cooperative learning going on, and they looked like little “worker bees” all over the place! Thanks to Mr. Hedges, Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Limes, and Mr. Marsteller for guiding our students through this major undertaking! We’ll look forward to seeing the finished product in the spring.
As we work to become a more data-driven district, we’ve made efforts in many areas to collect and analyze more data. Shane Haggerty, Communications Coordinator, shared with me some data from a recent student survey he conducted to determine the effectiveness of various marketing strategies. He had 148 students respond, and there were some interesting results:
· They most prefer to receive communication via their cell phones (as opposed to e-mail), and 84 percent have a cell phone.
· They spend far more time on the Internet than watching TV, listening to radio, or reading.
· 40 percent visit our website more than 5 times a week, and 88 percent visit at least once a week.
· They want to see video, podcasts, and blogs on our website.
· The biggest factor in their deciding to attend OHP (37 percent) was Career Days and other visits!
I know we have Career Days coming up soon, and this data underscores the importance of your hard work in getting ready for those student visitors. I know they’ll experience the “WOW” factor, just as our new students did this fall!
Darlene Roll, Intervention and Testing Aide, shared some data related to our recent OGT testing:
· Total tests proctored – 576
· Total staff members (and subs) who at one point or another helped with OGT during the first week – 41.
· We needed to employ a Russian translator for the first time!
This testing is a huge effort on the part of many, and we’re faced with higher numbers of students needing to pass the OGT when they come to us each year. But I know you’re all committed to helping them be successful, and I thank you for your tremendous effort!
While I’m on a “data kick,” I wanted to share that the statewide 2006/2007 Secondary CTE performance data was recently released. Two measures we can be very proud of are the number of students we reach for follow-up (Status Known), and OCTCA test results (Technical Skill Attainment)—we are above the state average on both and also made significant gains over the previous year. We still have some work to do in other areas, but the data shows we’re moving in the right direction. We haven’t received the Adult Workforce Education performance measures yet, but we’ll be sharing those as we get them. Nila Marquard, Darlene Chiles, Julia Barton, Lisa McCullough and I have recently attended Ohio Department of Education updates on the new Perkins IV legislation and requirements, and one thing is certain—we will be seeing significant changes in the performance measures themselves and the way they are calculated. As the new requirements are finalized, we will share the information with you and begin to formulate our strategy for helping our students be successful. I’m confident we can meet the challenge!
I hope you all have a great weekend!
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