December 21, 2007

Greetings! I know this is a long-awaited day for most of you, although some of you will already have begun Winter Break by the time this is sent. I’m still amazed we’re nearly halfway through our school year and ready to begin 2008. Where has this decade gone?!? Remember all the Y2K hype?

It’s been fun to see and hear about all of the holiday activities going on throughout our programs (and with our staff!) I’m especially proud of our Student Advisory Council on Main Campus for organizing a food drive to benefit our local food banks. Alyssa Ziehm, a Council member and Architectural and Mechanical Design student, e-mailed me that the project wasn’t as successful as she had hoped. But she realized every little bit helps, and I assured her that she and the other members of the Council have started a tradition that will surely grow! Thanks to everyone who participated.

In spite of the holiday spirit, I haven’t been goofing off all week! On Monday, Darlene Chiles and I attended an Ohio Department of Development regional meeting to discuss the new focus of the Department under Governor Strickland’s administration and to evaluate various incentives which are offered to attract and retain business and industry in Ohio. We were the only educators present, thanks to Darlene’s membership in the Ohio Economic Development Association. The others in attendance were primarily business and industry representatives and economic development coordinators. One of the topics discussed in our breakout groups was the impact of economic incentives (such as tax abatements and tax-increment financing incentives) on schools. I was very glad to have an opportunity to share our perspective as a JVSD and describe the impact of these incentives and other state budget changes on our state funding. (In a nutshell, JVSD’s are not always invited to the table when incentives are discussed and we typically lose tax revenues.) But I also “switched hats” and recognized the importance of attracting and retaining business to strengthen economic development in our communities and stressed the important role career-technical education plays at both the high-school and adult levels in providing a well-trained workforce. The group was very receptive to what I had to say and agreed that they need to get behind a school funding system in Ohio that provides schools with progressive growth in funding without reliance on personal property taxes. The facilitator of the meeting indicated that he would next be working with “education representatives” to further discuss the school funding issue, and he was agreeable to including the Ohio Association of Career-Technical Superintendents. I look forward to continuing to work with the Ohio Department of Development on this important issue.

On Tuesday I visited our satellite programs at Riverside Schools—Career-Based Intervention and Teaching Professions Academy. What a treat! Brandie Roberts, CBI teacher, and her junior high students gave me a wonderful welcome and shared the work they’ve been doing in learning about careers and applying academics while learning the Microsoft Office Suite programs. I observed the group researching banks and credit unions and creating Venn diagrams to compare the two. I was also able to observe them charting data they collected about personal interests and hobbies in Excel. One of the surveys they asked me to respond to was which video games I like the best. I’m embarrassed to admit—I had never even heard of any of the games listed!! (I’m really beginning to realize my age.) So I just picked the names I liked best—I hope I didn’t skew the data! These students were great fun and were totally engaged in their work from beginning to end. They also presented me with thank-you letters to Ohio Hi-Point for our support of them and their program. The letters were a delight to read, and I wish I could share them all; but some excerpts include:

Thank you for supplying all the wonderful things. I love being able to work on the laptops. I really like the new plasma screen TV, it is any 15 year old’s dream to use one . . . Thank you for supplying the best teacher in the world.

Thank you for letting us come to the career center and showing us all the things you can do at Hi-Point.

Thank you for putting a program like this in Riverside. Now we will be able to know how to do things before we’re out of school that some of our parents don’t even know how to do.

The entire eighth grade went to Ohio Hi-Point and it was pretty cool . . . From what it looks like I plan on going to Ohio Hi-Point. I think it would be fun and educational to go. I would also like to say how good Ohio Hi-Point’s staff was. They are very polite.

First off I would like to thank you for CBI class. It is one of my favorite classes at school. Thank you for the opportunity to go to the symphony at Clark Sate. It was really fun . . . This class has given me a lot of new possibilities. I am really looking forward to the Knowledge Bowl contest later this year.

Thanks to Mrs. Roberts and her students for a great visit, and best wishes as you prepare for the Knowledge Bowl Contest!

I also visited Donna Jarzab and two of her Teaching Professions students (most of the students were out on their internships in classrooms). The group had been to Graham High School earlier that day recruiting for the program and were still so excited they could hardly sit still. I’ve always said our students are our best marketers, and these two young ladies were a shining example! They also shared with me their internship experiences and how they felt about working with the various age groups. Adding to the excitement was the fact that one of the girls, Brandy, learned while I was there that she had been elected to the Snowball Court for Riverside’s winter dance. Congratulations Brandy! And thank you to Mrs. Jarzab and her students for taking time to share with me.

Wednesday evening we held our December Board Meeting and our annual Christmas Board Dinner prepared and served by our Culinary Arts Students. They continue to out-do themselves every year! The menu was delightful, the Inn looked festive, and the students were articulate and mature in their presentation. I know our Board felt like very special guests and greatly appreciated the talents of our students. These students and staff were all here on their own time on a Wednesday evening to make this very special event possible. Many, many thanks to Donna Beale, Culinary Arts Instructor, her able assistant Tami Troyer, and our Culinary Arts Students for a fantastic job!

Thursday at lunchtime I visited our Adult Education Staff for their Christmas party which they sandwiched in during their Stephen Covey 7 Habits of Highly Effective People training (presented by our very own Eric Adelsberger). I appreciate the dedication of this group in pursuing professional development in the area of self management in order to be more effective in both their professional and personal lives. And I appreciate the invitation to join them for their festivities!

I’m noticing a theme here—most of my activities this week have involved eating! Speaking of food, our Staff Holiday Luncheon will be Friday from 10:30-12:30 in the Hi-Point Inn. Please stop in if you have an opportunity—we’ll have a delicious lunch and a very special visitor!

Finally, here’s wishing all of you and yours a joyful holiday season. I know many of you will be traveling—please be safe. Take some time to get rested, enjoy family and friends, and ring in a New Year full of new possibilities!