January 18, 2008

Here we are with another cold, snowy Friday—but we’ll take it! No matter the weather, the pace of activity never slows us down around here. (Well, except for maybe an ice storm that knocks out power for a week—but I won’t dredge up those memories!) Hope it’s been a great week for all of you.

On Monday I attended a second meeting with the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD), this one intended for educators. I joined several other career-technical superintendents as well as K-12 superintendents and representatives from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) and the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA). It was an open discussion during which we were invited to give the ODOD specific examples as to how tax-reduction incentives designed to attract and retain businesses impact schools negatively. (I’ve got a great example of the beauty of technology. I didn’t have a financial figure I needed, so I e-mailed Eric Adelsberger from my Blackberry and he had it back to me in seconds. How cool is that?!?) Anyway, I was really pleased with the support that representatives from BASA and OSBA voiced for career-tech. They clearly recognize the added value we bring to public education in Ohio and want to assure that our interests are protected. Yet we all realized the need to attract and retain business to strengthen our economy. The end result was a better understanding of how incentives impact schools, and assurance from ODOD that they will support a new funding structure in Ohio that rewards rather than penalizes schools in high-growth areas. We have a new biennium state budget coming up this year, so stay tuned!

Wednesday evening we held our annual All Boards Banquet to recognize board members, superintendents, and treasurers from our 14 partner schools and 3 partner educational service centers during School Board Recognition Month. What a great evening—and possible only through a great team effort! We had four student ambassadors who conducted tours prior to dinner: Andrew Lemmon, Cory Calland, Brittany Godfrey, and Spencer Wolfe. They did a terrific job (as always) and made us so proud. Thanks to JoEtta Spain for arranging to have them help! Programs were printed by Printing and Graphic Arts and looked terrific—thanks to Tom Carrig and his students! And Cole Carpenter and his Professional Turf and Landscaping students had the planters in the Commons looking beautiful! Thanks also to my administrative team for being there and representing us well, and to Don Jaunzemis, Robert Walker and the Facilities & Grounds crews for having everything in tip-top shape. Finally, thanks to Shane Haggerty and Darryl Hanger for arranging dinner, taking RSVP’s, and making everyone feel welcome at registration. I had several compliments that evening (and several by e-mail since) thanking us for such a nice banquet and commenting on our wonderful facilities and students. In all ways, it was a job well done!

Dr. Robert Head, President of Urbana University, was our keynote speaker, and he encouraged us to “fly above the clouds” where the sun always shines when the going gets tough by remembering that we who work in education have a very special calling. Good advice—and I think we at OHP have weathered some tough transitional times but are breaking through the clouds to see the payoff—better student achievement, growth in enrollment, and expanded programs. We’ve got a lot to be proud of.

I wanted to share a communication that we received from the parent of a former Supply Chain Management Program student. This young man, Christopher Rittenhouse, secured employment at Wright Patterson Air Force Base while still in the program and is currently attending Clark State Community College in their Supply Chain Management Program:

Last Friday the DAU and Clark State Green Campus had a signing and Christopher had been invited to attend. I went with him and was able to meet a lot of them. They truly are great people, and I know their words of encouragement means a lot to Christopher. The president of Clark State was very impressed that Christopher was there. . . and she was able to witness the closeness and wonderful comments that the people of DAU were giving to him. I was also bursting with pride!

I thought I'd just let you know, he is still making a good example of how the Hi-Point/Urbana High/Clark State/Wright Patterson connections are working. The students in your class who are willing to take the leap of faith and continue to study and work hard there is a great future waiting for them. There are wonderful and encouraging people along the way that are willing and waiting to give a helping hand. I and the whole family are so pleased to see Christopher growing and gaining wonderful experiences under his belt, to make him an asset for any employer.

This made me think of how all of our students take a leap of faith to leave their high schools and enroll in our programs, or to be pioneers and enroll in our satellite programs in their schools, or to enroll in adult education programs later in life. And you are the “wonderful and encouraging people” that this parent speaks of who help these students along the way. I wish we could collect all stories such as this one—I know there are thousands!

It’s going to be really, really cold this weekend!! Stay warm, be careful if you have to be out, take care of your outdoor critters, and enjoy your extra day!