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!