December 22, 2009

This will be a short blog, but I wanted to take an opportunity to wish you all a wonderful holiday season!

This is our first full day of winter, and we had some slick roads this morning. Glad to see everyone made it in safely. And, the good news is, yesterday was the shortest day of the year and now the days are getting longer!

Do you remember wondering as a child how Santa and his reindeer made it to everyone’s house on Christmas Eve? Reportedly the top speed of a reindeer is 32 miles per hour; and at that speed, it would take one 778 hours to fly around the globe. So OK, if you do the math, it just doesn’t work. So just accept it with the awe and wonder of a child and believe anyway!

Enjoy some restful time with family and friends, and travel safely. See you in the New Year!

December 18, 2009

These weeks are going by so quickly—I let one get away from me last week without blogging. So there’s a lot to share!

First, I want to update you on the school funding front. I received the following communication from State Superintendent Delisle just this morning:

As I am certain you have heard by now, Governor Ted Strickland and the General Assembly have come to an agreement on how to address the $851 million dollar shortfall that has been talked and written about so much during the last few weeks. The final language of the legislation, House Bill 318, is still being crafted, but we do know certain aspects of the bill that are not expected to change.

House Bill 318 addresses the shortfall by freezing state income tax rates at the 2008 level, postponing the final 4.2 percent reduction. The tax revenues made available through this postponement will allow the state to avoid any cuts to education funding.

Good news, of course. Hopefully we’re not dodging this bullet only to have a bigger one come at us later! As to career-tech funding within the current budget, various groups are meeting (which is taking me to Columbus quite a bit) as we work to influence the legislative process of the next biennium. As you know, our state funding is essentially flat-funded for this year and next. During that time, career-tech funding will be studied by a School Funding Advisory Council. The Ohio Association of Career-Technical Superintendents has joined forces with the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA--representing all districts in Ohio) to formulate our “talking points” on the value of career-tech and the need to provide adequate funding. Also, we are working with the Board of Regents, which governs higher education and since January 1 of this year has governed our Adult Education programs.

While we still have no representation on the School Funding Study Council, we are working along with BASA with those who have been appointed to the committee to inform them of the unique structure and costs associated with CTE. We are also joining together with the Ohio Association of Career-Technical Education (the professional organization which represents all CTE staff in Ohio) to secure joint legal representation so that we can take a strong, unified voice to our legislators. And finally, we continue to work with our liaison to the Board of Regents to clarify our position related to adult education teacher licensure, program structure, and funding. These are challenging, interesting times—and we’re going to need your help with grassroots efforts to inform the decision makers. Please be prepared to provide those wonderful student success stories as needed to substantiate the importance of the work you all do daily!

Now, closer to home! Last Wednesday afternoon we hosted the regular meeting of the Champaign Co. Community Improvement Corporation at our South Campus. A good part of the meeting was spent on the importance of community partners working together to strengthen the community during these difficult times. And so, it was very gratifying when I gave the group a tour after the meeting to be able to point out several specific examples of how our partnerships with higher education, community health care, local business owners, and other K-12 educational partners have made our satellite programs in Champaign County possible. They were extremely impressed and grateful to see the educational opportunities being made available to high-school students and adults close to home in their community.

You have probably noticed the Workforce Transition Center located in the house to the right as you pull in our front drive on Main Campus. This center is run by the Logan Co. Department of Jobs and Family Services and provides transition services to displaced workers in the county. It has been a tremendous win-win partnership for us to have them on our campus—DJFS reports that they have had 2,634 visits since they opened this past June! As they work with adults who are obviously very anxious to move forward with their employment, DJFS is able to literally walk them across the street to our Adult Basic Literacy Education office and/or our Adult Education office for the specific next level of training they need. We’ve seen many success stories come out of this partnership, and we’re thrilled that the Department of Jobs & Family Services has received an additional grant to extend their services on our campus through next June. We look forward to many more happy endings for our citizens!

Our annual Board Christmas Dinner was held this past Wednesday preceding the Board Meeting, and our Culinary Arts students outdid themselves again with a fabulous 5-course dinner! And our Professional Turf and Landscaping students assisted with cutting greens for decorations. This has been a great tradition which spoils our board members a bit to show them how much we appreciate them and also gives our students a chance to showcase their skills. Many thanks to the Culinary students who gave up their Wednesday evening to give us such a treat! I also want to publicly express our thanks to our out-going board members for their many years of service to our students. You have made our progress possible!

* Mark Chiles, Waynesfield-Goshen, 4 Years of Service
* Bill Cook, Upper Scioto Valley, 4 Years of Service
* Scott Johnson, Marysville, 4 Years of Service
* Steve Lapp, West Liberty-Salem, 2 Years of Service
* Dean McCullough, Ridgemont, 2 Years of Service
* Bob Sanford, Riverside, 12 Years of Service
* Pat Wagner, Graham, 2 Years of Service
* Brad Wallace, Triad, 3 Years of Service

Thursday evening I had the privilege of attending the Adult Education Health Information Technology winter graduation. Hearing of the accomplishments of these graduates made me realize how rigorous this program is. Graduating students must pass the Microsoft Certified Application Specialist exam (which requires advanced skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint) and certification exams in medical transcription, medical coding & billing, and advanced medical office procedures. I sat in admiration of these adults who embarked on this challenge a little later in life than most. I’m sure there were times when it was difficult to keep going and have faith that their efforts would pay off. But as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” These graduates can now look back at the “whole staircase” they’ve climbed and be very proud; and they can look forward to the future confident that their new skills will lead to rewarding careers.

Let me brag a little more on our students—first Animal Technology. As Robin Curly, instructor, shared with staff a couple of weeks ago, the Humane Society Serving Logan County had an strep infection outbreak which was really stretching their resources to the limits. Our students quickly organized a fund-raiser and animal-supplies drive and asked staff and students for donations. Robin shared with me that the students collected $450 as well as a van full of supplies to deliver this past Tuesday! What a great project and a great way for all of us to give back.

Our student Lead Ambassadors are involved in so many great projects, it’s hard to keep up with all of them. But I do want to share with you some photos from one of their recent ventures—Christmas at the North Pole in downtown Bellefontaine on (at right). The following Student Ambassadors volunteered their time Friday evening, December 4, to make this community event a success: Christine Samples, McKay Young, Mikki Pickering, Daniel McCulley, and Shelby Shafer. Many thanks to them for representing us so well and for the joy they brought to many children’s lives!

Several other groups of students have been involved in wonderful community-service projects this holiday season. Please watch for Shane's news releases to read about them and see photos!

Our students are apparently gaining quite a reputation within our Tech Prep consortia (a good reputation, that is!) Deb Wortman, Satellite Director, shared with me:

“I attended the Tech Prep Executive Committee meeting at Clark State this morning. Mary helped with the Health program there yesterday and sought me out to tell me about our students. OHP was one of three schools attending, and Mary said there was a distinct difference between OHP students and the other students attending. She said the OHP students were so professional and well behaved. She was very impressed.”

Thanks for sharing that, Deb. We’re impressed also—and we need to let our students know that their “difference” is noticed!


Have a wonderful weekend!

December 4, 2009

Another busy week under our belts! (And in many cases probably some extra weight under our belts from all the Thanksgiving feasting—but well worth it!)

On Tuesday at our Staff Breakfast, we recognized our latest group of staff “super achievers”—those who have gained the status of Master Teacher. Through a rigorous professional development process, the following teachers have achieved this designation:

• Judy Fletcher (Teaching Professions Academy)


• Lynne Hall (Guidance Counselor)


• Melissa Sizemore (Math)


• Shannon Donnelly (Special Education)


• Donna Jarzab (Teaching Professions Academy)


• Carrie Preston (Special Education)


• Melissa Rofe (Language Arts)


• Angie Walls (Early Childhood Education).

Congratulations to all of these outstanding educators, and thank you for the example you set for our students in pursuing excellence!

Wednesday evening I was privileged to attend the annual Adult Basic Literacy Education Christmas Celebration (and staff meeting—they did take care of quite a bit of business!) What a treat to hear the “good news” from our ABLE teachers who work with adults to build literacy skills (and, in some cases, to pass the GED). I heard of adults who faced seemingly insurmountable odds in returning to school to achieve a literacy goal, the progress they made little by little, and the ultimate thrill of success. Hearing these stories reminded me of why I originally chose education as a career. I told Sharon Halter, ABLE Coordinator, I think I’ve decided what I want to do in retirement—become an ABLE instructor! Many thanks to the ABLE staff for the invitation and for sharing their “professional hearts” with me.


On Thursday morning, we held our Annual Secondary Perkins Stakeholders Meeting to review with our stakeholders where we have been and where we are going with our high-school programs. We also ask for their input as to how we can position our programs to best prepare our students for the current workforce. One of our stakeholders, Shelly Gamble-Baker, is the parent of one of our students (Brandon Gamble, Electronics Engineering Technology II). I wish you all could have been there to hear her heartfelt gratitude for all that the staff at Ohio Hi-Point has done for her son. She described us as his “family” and she couldn’t say enough about how comfortable and welcome he feels here because of the committed staff and the beautiful facility. She also praised the curriculum Brandon has had the opportunity to master and the real-world, practical experience he has gained. I heard a mother who was extremely confident in her son’s future because of the education he’s received here, and I know she’s only one of many who feel that way. That’s what it’s all about—great job to all of you!

For the past several years, our Printing & Graphics Program has printed holiday cards for us to send to our business associates. This year, I asked Tom Carrig (PTG teacher) to somehow showcase the unique heritage of our campus. What his students came up with is just fantastic—the photo from the front of the card is at right. Tom explained to me that one of his students, Sam Collins, took the photo of Ohio's highest point during a heavy snowstorm, so the historical marker was actually obscured by snow. So Sam took another photo of the marker in clear weather and overlaid it onto the marker in the original photo. Isn’t that amazing?!? I am so proud to be sending these cards out to showcase the beauty of our campus, its rich history, and the wonderful talents of our students. Many thanks to Tom, students Sam Collins, Cleva Rumer, and Brooke Hughes, and the PTG class of 2010 for producing and printing these cards. Wonder how they’ll top this next year?

Our students who qualify for our TAD (Tardies, Attendance, Discipline) incentive program (for not having tardies and discipline issues, and having good attendance) get to take part in a fun activity each quarter. On November 24, this quarter’s eligible students took a trip to TP Bowling Lanes in Bellefontaine. A photo of some of the group is at the right. What a photogenic group! Congratulations to these students and the others who qualified this quarter.

Speaking of the holidays, how many shopping days left before Christmas? Oh forget it, I really don’t want to know. I just hope you all take some time to relax this weekend and enjoy the true spirit of the season.

Have a great one!

November 20, 2009

This has been such a busy week here at Ohio Hi-Point! We really got off to a roll late last week as 10th graders from our partner schools visited for Sophomore Career Days. We had some make-up days this week for 10th graders who couldn’t visit last week due to fog. And last evening we invited them all back, along with parents and other community members, for our annual Career Preview/Taste of the Future open house. WOW is all I can say! The turnout was fantastic (we’re waiting for final estimates), the labs were full of visitors, the media coverage was terrific, and the food for Taste of the Future was yummy! I know we had many, many students make the decision to enroll as a result of this event. The teamwork in pulling off such a successful event was obvious—thanks to all of you for the extra time and effort you put in!

Seeing our potential students (of all ages) visiting and selecting one of our programs (or thinking about it) reminds me of the courage it takes to take this major step. Adults choose to go back to school to improve skills or take a totally new direction in life, on top of the challenges of families, work, and life. And high-school students leave their comfort zones and venture off, many to an entirely different facility, to take advantage of our career-tech programs. Reminds me of a quote I saw recently: “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” (J.K. Rowling) The choices these students are making will impact both their abilities and their quality of life for a lifetime!

I held my quarterly Superintendents Meeting on Tuesday; and for our “Spotlight on Students” segment, several students from our Electronics Engineering Technology Program spoke to the superintendents about their current lab projects, their involvement in SkillsUSA, and their plans for the future. They did a great job sharing their enthusiasm for engineering and their excitement about entering the field! Many thanks to LaRanda (Mikki) Pickering, Taylor Allen, Brandon Gamble, and Robert Smayda for taking time to share with us—and thanks to Mike Kouse, their instructor, for allowing them to do so!

We had some of our alumni from North Carolina stop in for a visit a week or so ago (a married couple who met at OHP), and they each wrote us a note requesting to be included in our Alumni & Friends Association. Thought you’d be interested in seeing some of their comments:

In June 1979 after graduating I entered the Army as an Electronics Technician and retired in 1998. My current position is Assistant IT Manager for an herb company. I am responsible for 8 servers, 70 desktops, 20 laptops, network switches, and the phone system. I have fond memories of Hi-Point and the people here. I see many additions!
Doug Myers
Printing & Graphics, 1979

The school has changed so much! I notice the curriculum has changed. When I came here, English and Government were the only extra classes. Hi-Point “JVS” as it was called started my career in office management. After attending JVS, I went to Clark Tech for a year and then transferred to Edison State Community College where I earned an Associate’s of Data Processing.
Tami (Saul) Myers
Office Machines, 1979

Well, you’re at it again showing your generosity for a worthwhile cause! Darlene Roll, our Intervention Coordinator, shared the following this past week:

My husband is delivering 11,513 pairs of eyeglasses to the Lions International Eyeglass Recycling Center in Upland, Indiana today. About 100 pairs of those glasses have come from Ohio Hi-Point Career Center employees and students. It’s just another example of how wonderful and giving our staff and students are!

Great job in supporting this project!

We have a mid-year retirement coming up, and I’d like to close by wishing Nancy Decker, GRADS Instructor, many happy, healthy years of retirement. Thank you, Nancy, for your 16½ years of caring and service to our students at Ohio Hi-Point. You will be missed—and know that you’re always welcome to visit!

Enjoy your weekend!

November 13, 2009

We end another week with some great activities on campus! Not being prone to superstition, I think this Friday the 13th is shaping up to be a beautiful one.

Our Sophomore Career Days have taken place Thursday and Friday, and it’s been really fun to have 10th graders from our partner schools here to visit our programs. The fog on Thursday morning threw a couple of wrenches into the schedule, but as always we regrouped and went on with the show!

I had the chance to get into most of the labs and see what our current students had cooked up for the visitors. They did a terrific job! Charlie in Building Maintenance oversaw the “Cookie Challenge” quiz on basic tool identification. I won a cookie for identifying the bonus tool—a socket wrench. But identifying some of the other tools took a little help from instructor Doug Limes! (See photo at right—recognize all those?)

I also got to see the new Bobcat in Professional Turf and Landscaping being demonstrated—I had no idea that thing had heat and windshield wipers! (See a 10th grader checking it out at left.) And a student in Cosmetology very graciously offered to give me some hair extensions (in hot pink). I told her I didn’t think I could pull it off quite as well as she does. But the wax hand dip was heavenly!

Finally, I got to witness along with the 10th graders visiting Auto Services what happens when jumper cables aren't hooked up properly. Mr. Lindsey and his students had a very entertaining (and memorable) presentation! It certainly stressed the importance of getting it right. (See photo at right)

What a pleasure it was to see our students in action sharing their enthusiasm about their programs! Thanks to all teachers and other staff who made our Sophomore Career Days such a great success. We hope to see all of those 10th graders back for our Career Preview/Taste of the Future on the evening of November 19!

Monday and Tuesday I attended the Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference for Board Members and Superintendents. On Tuesday morning, the Ohio Association of Career-Technical Superintendents hosted a breakfast meeting for board members, and we had over 181 career-technical board members in attendance representing 42 career centers! I think that demonstrates the tremendous support we have from our board members to assure that our programs remain strong. We appreciate that they took time out of their busy conference schedules to hear state and national updates on career-technical education.

Thursday evening I attended the annual Union County “Salute to Leaders” Dinner. I love that this community takes time each year to formally recognize leaders in several areas, including health care, culture & arts, environmental, military/patriotic, and education. This year’s winner in the education category was Jim Kaufman, who taught science at both West Liberty-Salem and Marysville for a total of 38 years. I thought some of you might know him. He also coached multiple sports and remains active in his community in retirement. What an inspiration!

A belated Happy Veterans Day to all of you who have served our country in the armed forces. We’ve been reminded through recent events how our soldiers put themselves at risk every day, and sometimes danger comes from the most unlikely and unthinkable sources. We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to all who have served and are serving—take time to thank a veteran every chance you get!

Have a great weekend!

November 6, 2009

Was that the “solid stuff” I saw falling from the sky Wednesday morning!? We had such a nice fall without any serious fog, I guess I had been lulled into a sense of immunity from weather woes. I’m sure the upcoming winter will have some challenges for us, but we’ll get through it as we always do at the Peak of Ohio!

I want to share with you two examples of public acknowledgement of the fine work you’re all doing with our students. Monday I attended a lunch of local leaders and heard a presentation from our State Representative Dave Burke as he gave us an update on the current “state of the state” from his perspective. In addition to budget shortfalls at the state level, he expressed a real concern for workforce development. He motioned to me and asked the group, “Why aren’t we sending more people to Ohio Hi-Point to get the training that will get them ready for the jobs that are available?”

Wednesday morning the Logan County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors met to set our course for the coming year. As we worked through our strategic planning, we focused on the areas of member services, communication, data-driven decisions—but the conversation kept coming back to workforce development and the importance of a well-trained workforce to attract and retain businesses. Ohio Hi-Point, and in particular our partnerships with higher education, was mentioned repeatedly as an underutilized asset that is positioned to provide the skills training needed for our community. I always sit a little bit taller when our school is recognized in groups like these—and I do it on behalf of all of you who make great opportunities happen for our students! Know that your hard work is recognized and acknowledged in our community.

Wednesday at lunchtime I was able to briefly join our OHP Student Bloggers at lunch at Bob Evans (a well-deserved reward for them!) It was fun to sit with them and hear their perspectives on technology today and how kids prefer to communicate. (I’ve included photos of the group at the right--you'll have to forgive me, I don't know how to rotate them!) If you haven’t taken time to read our student blogs on our website, you’re missing a treat! They’re doing a terrific job of journaling their experiences as OHP students.

Thursday morning I ran into the right person (Earl LeVan, Adult Education Diversified Industrial Trainer) at the right time in the front lobby. He shared with me that DIT’s from around the state were on our campus for a meeting and invited me to join them for lunch in the Inn. He didn’t have to twist my arm! I really enjoyed hearing about the training they do with adult students in a variety of areas, including manufacturing maintenance, HVAC, and power line maintenance. I don’t remember the exact figures, but Duke Energy reports that about 75 percent of their line maintenance employees will be retiring within the next few years—which points to huge training needs in this area! We also heard an interesting story from one of the visitors about how he, as a young bachelors-trained engineer, was given a complex project to work on early in his career that became a 30-day valuable learning experience. It made me think of the problem-based learning we challenge our students with regularly. I think it’s the best way to learn, because students use critical thinking and apply knowledge to real-world problems as opposed to textbook simulations. And it’s more fun!

Thursday afternoon as I was walking into the Main Building for a meeting, two students were on the benches out front after school working intently on their laptops. I told them “Good for you—working on homework while you wait for your ride! That is what you’re doing isn’t it?” One of them looked up sheepishly and said, “Uh . . . yeah.” (Not very convincingly.) The other one said without missing a beat, “I’m not!” I told him at least he’s honest. Those kids sure are tuned into the technology; and even though it would be foolish to think they’re always engaged in their studies, at least they’re engaged!

This afternoon, Doug Cox from Bruner Corporation, Robert Walker, and I had the honor of receiving a rebate check for just over $34,000 from Dayton Power and Light as a result of our energy-saving projects on campus. A nice chunk of change to offset some of the costs! And the savings we’re realizing from these energy updates will continue for many years to come—a great investment in the future, I think!

I don’t know how many of you realize, but we have many visitors from all over the country to Campbell Hill (Ohio’s highest point) every month. We provide a log at the landmark for them to sign and make any comments they’d like. This past month we’ve had visitors from Massachusetts, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington, New York, Minnesota, California, and even the Czech Republic! Occasionally someone brings the logs to me to read, and we get some funny comments. A couple from Kansas said, “Glad we found it! Hurray for the GPS.” A visitor from California wrote, “Here for USC vs. Ohio State. Decided to visit this unassuming and obscure state high point, but it is rather nice in its own way.” And a clown who didn’t identify his origins wrote, “Wow! Aspen King! Get me down!” OK, so we’re not Mt. McKinley—but I am proud of the beauty of our campus and the fine manner in which our highest point is maintained!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and stay healthy!

October 30, 2009

October 30, 2009


I read a quote this week that is very timely: “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” (Mahatma Gandhi) Probably those who appreciate that quote the most right now are those who are suffering with the flu! Our student attendance is actually running just slightly below normal, but seems more staff are being hit themselves or are taking care of family members who have the flu. Please continue to take good care of yourselves!

I spent all of Wednesday morning in the Allen/Hardin County area in preparation for the opening of our Adult Education Practical Nursing Program in Hardin County. Amy Main, Adult Ed. Health Occupations Coordinator, and I visited a medical/dental clinic in Lima which will hopefully be replicated in Hardin County. They’re excited about partnering with us for clinical sites for students. Amy and I also looked at some potential sites for the nursing program, which will open its doors in January. (And then Amy and Lori Ludwig continued to look at sites all afternoon!) We’re really excited to be able to take this training opportunity to residents in the north end of our District!

Our Board Meeting Wednesday night was really a fun one. In addition to our Students of the Month and regular reports from administration, Shelly Swaney made a presentation to Donna Beale, who has earned culinary ProStart certification both individually and for her program. I don’t know all of the details of the certification, but I know it has required a lot of training and testing on Donna’s part and a lot of additional hours on the part of her students. Congratulations to Donna and her students—this will certainly open many new doors for them as they move into their culinary careers!

We also heard from Richard Johnson, Adult Ed. Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning instructor at South Campus, and one of his students (also Richard). I wish you all could have heard the comments this student made! He’s a 38-year-old displaced worker who expressed his gratitude for the training opportunity, told us how he’s already using the skills he’s learning in a part-time job, and also told us how his young son thinks it’s really neat that his dad is in school and asks him every day if he “earned any A’s today”. This gentleman embodied what, to me, lifelong learning is all about. Life throws us curveballs, but we can readjust. And when we do, we teach all of those who are watching us, especially those with young, impressionable eyes, the tremendous value of learning and gaining skills. I wish Richard the very, very best of success.

It’s going to be an eventful weekend! We’ll have a holiday (Happy Halloween!), a time change (don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour—and enjoy that extra hour!), and a new month. Here’s a useless but interesting bit of trivia—according to the National Confectioners Association, $2.225 billion dollars will be spent on Halloween candy this year. Parents, brace yourselves!

Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to vote next Tuesday!

October 23, 2009

Welcome to another Friday—I hope you’re all staying healthy! I read a scary statistic the other day—apparently the flu virus can live on a dollar bill (or probably most surfaces) for up to 17 days! Yuk. All the more reason to follow Nurse Amy’s advice and wash, wash, wash those hands!

On Tuesday morning I had the privilege of seeing some of our Lead Ambassadors present to sophomores at Waynesfield-Goshen High School to prepare them for our upcoming Sophomore Career Days. What a great job they did! I think kids listen most to their peers, and these young people were so articulate in sharing their experiences at OHP and telling about our programs. I overheard one young lady saying very emphatically that she just had to get into her first-choice program because “this is what I’ve wanted to do for my whole entire life!” It was neat to see the excitement among those kids—our future students! Thanks to our ambassadors for representing us so well.

On Tuesday I also met with our Student Advisory Council, and as always it was a lively discussion. In addition to talking about technology issues, t-shirts (they’ll be getting them), a graduation party on campus (that won’t be happening), and other issues on their minds, they also talked about their overall OHP experience. I thought you should know that one student shared (and the rest concurred) that he definitely feels our teachers care about students and that they really know their stuff. So go ahead and break your arm patting yourselves on the back!

Wednesday I attended the annual meeting of the Educational Tax Policy Institute. I just became aware of this organization last year, and I was really impressed with the publications they put out. They are a non-profit group made up of representatives from Buckeye Association of School Administrators, Ohio School Boards Association, Ohio Association of School Business Officials, Ohio Education Association, Ohio Federation of Teachers, and school district around the state. Their purpose is to educate state policy-makers and the public about the implications of proposed changes to state and local tax policies in Ohio’s public school districts. Through the services of an economist, this group is able to positively impact policy for schools. One recent example was the adjustment to the average teacher salary used in the Ohio Evidence Based Model for funding. I was pleased to hear that they are very aware of the current flat-funding model for career-tech and the fact that we do not have representation on the School Funding Study Council (although it’s hopeful we’ll have representation on the subcommittee where the work will really get done.) ETPI is also collecting and distributing information about the real impact on education of bringing gambling to Ohio. Interesting stuff—you can check it out on their website at www.etpi-ohio.org.

I visited WPKO/WBLL Thursday afternoon, along with Mike Minnich from NetGain Information Systems on behalf of United Way of Logan County. In order to get the employees’ attention and hopefully add some entertainment to our request to support United Way, we donned “Vote for Louie” buttons and t-shirts and danced in to the two-step. I don’t put on a goofy t-shirt and dance for just any cause—but United Way is one that is near and dear to my heart. I hope you will all give whatever you can to support our community in this time when needs are greater than ever.

I’ll end with a neat experience I had this past weekend. I decided I’d better get on the ball and buy some pumpkins. There’s a roadside stand at the end of a driveway around the corner from our house which has had pumpkins for several weeks. It was curious to me that I never saw anyone out there to make sales. I stopped to see what they had, and there was a money can (with several dollars in it) and a sign that read, “Take what you need, leave what you can.” What a great philosophy in this time of struggle for so many. Actually I think that’s a great philosophy for life—think what a difference it would make if everyone took only what they needed from the world and left far more for those that will follow.

Enjoy your weekend!

October 16, 2009

First and foremost, I want to thank you all for a terrific job with our evacuation drill this morning! In planning the drill, we had hoped for one of those cool, crisp, sunny fall days. Instead we got fog, mist, and COLD! (We all have a good excuse for a bad hair day.) We always learn from these drills (that’s the point!) We’re pleased with the way the drill went, and we take comfort in knowing that in a real evacuation situation we would have a clear procedure and a safe place to relocate our students. We hope the hot cider and hot chocolate waiting for you when you got back were just reward for your efforts!

Monday I attended a Logan County Families and Children First Council committee meeting. The Council is embarking on a data-collection process whereby they identify community needs and set a specific plan to address those needs. I’ve been asked to serve on the “Young People Succeeding” Committee, which will gather data to determine success rates of our youth in various school and community programs. We were asked what data we could provide about our students’ success, and I was very proud to share that we do collect a significant amount of data on our students. Of course we have our Performance Measures data which is required for both the State and U.S. Departments of Education. But they were also impressed with the amount of internal data we’re collecting to determine how we can better serve our students. I’ll look forward to having our data included as part of the report. While it will certainly identify our challenges, I know it will also tell a great story about our student successes!

Monday evening I attended the Champaign County FFA Administrator’s Dinner as a guest of our Agriculture Education programs at Graham. What a nice evening! The students “ran the show” and had clearly done a good job of planning. It was nice to see so many administrators and other school personnel from across the County show up in support. The keynote speaker was from the Ohio Farm Bureau and his topic was current ballot Issue 2. I learned a lot about this issue and agriculture in Ohio in general. I won’t try to influence your vote, but I hope you’ll read up on both sides of the issue if you’re not familiar with it—and talk to some local farmers—before you vote.

I serve on the Logan County United Way Board, and this year I’ve been ask to contact small businesses to encourage them to support a campaign within their businesses. I’ve been doing so (along with other Board members), and I can’t tell you how many times the door has been opened for me because these businesses are aware of our programs, have hired one of our students, have had employees trained here, or have employees serving on advisory committees. It’s good to experience this evidence of the “circle of influence” of our District and the quality programs we offer!

Robin Curley, Animal Management Technology teacher, shared an e-mail with me that she had received this week from a former student. It read, in part (and I’ve not corrected for grammar):

I was in your animal care class in 92 and 94.I hope you remember me because wow I can't forget about you. You was a awesome teacher. You don't know how much you mean to me. I was abused in every way you can think of at home it was hard but you always put a smile on my face each day and made me feel like I was someone.
Also when I was in school I wanted to learn better and my parents just thought I was dumb. They would not try to help me get better. You always try to help me. You made me feel like the other kids. Thank you.

I can remember as a teacher that hearing from a former student and knowing I’d made an impact was the truest compensation for teaching. I’ve said before and I’ll say again—never underestimate the impact you can have on a student with the smallest acts of concern and kindness. Thanks for sharing, Robin!

I’ve gotten my flu shot, have you? It was pretty painless, actually. We were fortunate enough to have a flu-shot clinic for our staff here at the Bellefontaine Campus on Tuesday. Many thanks to Amy McCarthy, Health & Safety Coordinator, for organizing this clinic!

On that note, have a great weekend—stay warm, dry, and healthy!

October 9, 2009

Welcome to another (foggy) Friday! Hope it’s been a productive week for all of you.

I want to start with a great student story. Early last Friday morning I was walking into the Airport Café in Urbana for a breakfast meeting. I saw some high-school-age students walking out, and I asked them if they were students in our Aviation Occupations Programs. Sure enough they were, and they shared with me that they meet for breakfast every Friday morning before class. While we were eating breakfast, the waitress asked us if those students were ours. We claimed them (of course), and she went on to tell us they were the most polite students she had ever seen. She said even one of the other customers had made a point of telling the students how well-behaved they were. I think we could put just about any of our students in a similar situation and they’d make us just as proud! Be sure to tell them so when they do.

Wednesday evening I attended the Logan County Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting. This is always a great event at which some of our local leaders are recognized. The theme was “Your Story is Our Story,” and local businesses and other organizations were invited to put a plaque about their businesses at the tables (we were well represented!) One of the neat things mentioned was that there are nine companies that have been in business in Logan County for over 100 years. Can you name any? This year, the Chamber Ambassador of the Year Award went to Carrie Reynolds with Alan Galvez Insurance, the Integrity in Business Award went to Alan Galvez Insurance, and the Richard J. Rupp Leadership Award went to Rick Gildow, President of Transportation Research Center. Communities are only as strong as their leaders, and we’re fortunate to have citizens of this caliber giving of their time and talents to Logan County!

Thursday morning I attended a “Community Conversation on Workforce” in Dublin which brought local businesses and education leaders together to talk about how to bridge the gap between the two groups in preparing our future workforce. One of the business representatives was from a software development company, and she talked about how much difficulty she had navigating the K-12 educational system to facilitate high school internships at her company. My ears perked up, of course, and I spoke to her afterward about how we in career-tech are well positioned to have our students participate in internships (and you can bet I got her contact information!) We also heard a really good speaker (Mark Milliron with Catalyze Learning International) who described several projects around the country which have helped companies to work with schools to prepare the young workforce for the road ahead. As he said (and we all know), in the United States we have an industrial age school system model on an agrarian calendar attempting to prepare students for an information age. That presents a lot of challenges! We work hard in career-tech to be sure our students are prepared for the rapidly changing workplace they’ll work in, and this presentation challenged me to make sure we do an even better job at that!

A big part of Dr. Milliron’s presentation dealt with educational technology. We’re one of the few schools brave enough to give students e-mail accounts to use while at school. While I know this gives our Technology Department a fair amount of grief as they try to police the “over-users” of e-mail, it also provides a wonderful opportunity for us as staff to interact with students. I hear from students now that I know I never would have without e-mail. Recently, I received an e-mail from a senior in Animal Management telling me she wants to do her senior project on attracting wildlife by enhancing their habitat. She is specifically interested in attracting birds, and she asked if there was an area on campus she could do her research. (And she thanked me for my time!) What a neat project. I was happy to connect her with our Facilities & Grounds Department so that she could identify areas on campus to do research, and I was also happy to provide her with a resource through Adult Education (a gentleman who has taught ornithology). I’m so glad she included me, and I wish her the best!

Standing in line for lunch one day this week, I saw a young lady use the hand sanitizer we have available at the beginning of the lunch line (and it prompted me to do the same). I asked her if she’d had her flu shot, and she said she wasn’t sure she wanted to. She asked me if I’d ever had one and if it hurt. I assured her if it hurt very much, I wouldn’t have gotten one! I know I sound like a broken record, but we all need to head Nurse Amy’s advice during this flu (and allergy and cold) season and get our flu shot, wash our hands frequently, keep our hands away from our faces, and get plenty of rest.

On that last note, hope you have a restful, enjoyable weekend!

October 2, 2009

Wow, it’s October already! Feels like it, too. I don’t like to rush things, but I sort of consider October the beginning of the holiday season. Seems like it’s a blur from now through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then we’ll be into the New Year! But let’s just enjoy the changing leaves for the here and now.

I know most of you are familiar with the Sloan Trust that provides us with a generous amount each year to purchase equipment for eligible programs. Last Friday as I was on my way to Columbus for a meeting, I got a call from Harold Marker, one of our local Sloan Trustees. He had a visitor from the Sloan Trust office in Boston (Kim Gluck), and he asked if Kim could possible take a tour of our building. Shelly Swaney quickly arranged a tour to show her some of the labs with recently purchased Sloan equipment. Shelly shared with me later how impressive our students and staff were in expressing their gratitude and excitement with Ms. Gluck about the opportunities the Sloan funds make possible. I want you all to know how proud I am that I can always contact you at the drop of a hat and know that guests will be well taken care of—that means a lot and reflects so well on the entire District!

This is the time of year that Lisa McCullough, EMIS Coordinator, tallies the Professional Development Points earned during the past school year. Thirty-two of our staff members earned the Professional Development stipend by accumulating required points (including technology points). Way to go to all of you who “made the grade,” and thank you for the time and effort you put into keeping your skills and knowledge current! (Thanks also to Lisa for the great job she does tracking these points for all of us every year.)

I don’t know what you’re hearing or reading about the state budget, but not much of it is good. I do want to share with you that I received an e-mail from State Superintendent Deb DeLisle this week describing some preliminary impact on schools if the video lottery issue doesn’t pass. I’m not advocating you vote one way or another—just wanted to clarify that the predictions were based on that issue.) Fortunately, her e-mail did state that career-technical funding could not be cut any further this year or the state would risk losing $44 million on federal career-tech dollars. So we’ll just hold on for the ride for now and plan for the worst but hope for the best!

Let’s end on a positive note (and we have lots of those!) Lynda Arehart, Guidance Counselor at Bellefontaine Campus, copied me into the following e-mail she sent to Heather Reed (Administrative Office Specialist teacher) about a phone conversation she had with a student’s parent:

I just received a phone call from Allison’s mother that I wanted to make you aware of. Her call was full of praise for you and your program. She said that Allison is so excited about OHP and everything that she is learning here, including the opportunities for college and the support that she has been given. I wish I could express her enthusiasm in my email, but since I can’t, I will tell you that I could sense her joy over the phone!!

That’s a great story and I’m so glad Lynda took the time to share with Heather. I had a similar experience myself this week. While I was having my “natural” hair color put back in one evening, the nail tech at the salon shared with me that her son (a senior) had decided somewhat late to enroll in our Aviation Occupations Program in Champaign Co. She was worried about him because he just hadn’t seemed to find his direction in life. She said he loves the program and she’s never seen him so excited about anything! She’s thrilled that he’s now considering the Air Force after high school. Did my heart good to hear that story!

Enjoy your weekend, and remember—in mid-January these temperatures will sound balmy!

September 18, 2009

Wow, what a quick week! September is slipping away—but you can’t beat this beautiful weather.

This week has been one of meetings, meetings, meetings for me. I’ve had a chance to get out and meet all the new superintendents in our career-technical planning district (CTPD). We’ve got a lot of new faces this year! (And some familiar faces in new positions.) I like to get out and meet them in their districts and give them a quick overview of Ohio Hi-Point’s programs and our relationship with their respective districts. And I look forward to giving them a tour of our facilities at my first CTPD Superintendents Meeting on September 29! One note of interest—Dr. Bobby Moore, the new Superintendent at Mechanicsburg Local Schools, is a graduate of the Precision Machining Program at Dayton Patterson High School. (I shared with him that I’m also a graduate of a career-tech program—although I think quite a few years before he was!) He clearly understands and values what career-technical programs can mean to students.

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to serve as a tour guide for the Union County Covered Bridge Festival. We went through training so that we could share information about the County’s many covered bridges with our bus-loads of tourists. It was a really fun experience and I learned so much! (I’d recommend taking the self-guided tour if you ever get the chance.) In one of my groups, there was a young man who looked to be about 10 or 11 who was absolutely fascinated with the architecture of the bridges. I asked him about his school, and in the course of our conversation and all the talk of bridges, it came up that his brother had attended Ohio Hi-Point in our Architectural Mechanical Design Program. He went on and on about the really cool bridge his brother had built for a competition, how lightweight it was, how strong it was (and why). I have to admit he pretty much lost me on the architectural details—but what wasn’t lost on me was his enthusiasm for the applied physics learning experience his brother had gotten at OHP! I told him I hoped he would be coming our way as an 11th grader—and I get the feeling he probably will be!

On Monday, I met with representatives from Honda’s Educational Outreach Program (at their request) to discuss how we can work more closely with Honda. With input from several staff members, we generated a lot of ideas for having them work with our students on employability and “soft” skills, possible internships, and of course our various advisory committees. And we also discussed several ways we might be able to help them with various projects within their vast organization. I’m looking forward to an even stronger relationship with this great corporate partner!

Wednesday at the Champaign County Community Improvement Corporation Meeting, Mary Lee Gecowetz, a member of the Grimes Field Airport Development Committee shared with the group that an aviator from another city who was in Urbana for the recent fly-in learned of our Aviation Occupations program and was absolutely astounded at the work our students are doing at such a young age. So astounded, as a matter of fact, that he’d like to replicate the program in his community! Shane recently shared a press release with all of you about three recent graduates from this program who are now attending college in aviation programs. It’s really great to see a new program develop and to see the “payoff” at the end of the road—students continuing their education in a career field they’ve found a passion for because of career-technical education!

Today you may see some “smaller” students on our campus. We have fourth graders visiting today and tomorrow as part of the Logan County Agriculture Tour. They are learning about our renewable energy and energy-saving projects on campus such as wind and solar energy, geothermal heating and cooling, and composting. We’re glad to be able to host this event, show off our campus, and hopefully be recruiting a few students for the incoming class of 2016! Thanks to all of you who have given of your time, talents, and lab space to make this project possible.

I’ll end with a kind of cute story about one of our students. I was in the lunch line this week and recognized the young man in front of me as one of our Culinary Arts students. I told him I heard his class was going on a field trip to Gordon Foods. He said very earnestly and without missing a beat, “It’s not a field trip. Field trips are just another excuse for getting out of school. It’s a study trip and we have a lesson planned that we’ll be studying on the trip.” I told him I was sure he’d learn a lot and have a great time as well! (And obviously someone has been teaching him the importance of making the most of “study” trips!)

Have a great weekend!

September 11, 2009

Today marks an anniversary many of us would rather forget. I’m sure many of you, like I, will pause each time you write or think about today’s date to reflect on the horrific events of eight years ago. It was a day that changed us as a country forever—and maybe even as individuals. I know I lost some sense of being invincible as an American and feeling immune from the terrors we heard about around the world. We’ve endured some of the inconveniences of additional security measures that other countries have lived with for decades. And yet it was also the beginning of a new era of patriotism and pride in knowing that we as Americans stood to lose so much because we have so much. I hope we never forget that. We all join together this Patriot Day to honor those who lost their lives and to remember the families and loved ones who miss them still.

Along the lines of being thankful, JoAnn Ventresco (English teacher at Bellefontaine Campus) has shared with me that her English students have been writing essays on what the “American Dream” means to them. JoAnn shared the following (and we did not correct for grammar or punctuation—she’s working on that!):

The more I read the more I am just blown away by the minds and talent I have in my classroom this year. I keep telling my juniors they are too quiet, but clearly they have a lot to say! Look at this one, written by AN ELEVENTH GRADER:

As Thomas Wolfe once said, "…to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity ….the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him...", I think this is the true "American Dream", The things in which people should focus on now in these times of life, Instead of just trying to have the best... Be happy with what’s given to you and make something of it on your own. When you have accomplished this task in life you will understand what the "American Dream" is and you will be able to say you felt something that no man nor woman could feel by just being rich or having the best house nor car...

Another student wrote:

Luckily living in America gives us the opportunity to follow through with a lot of the dreams that we have. Personally my dream is to work in the Health Care field. By living and growing up in the united states i have been handed multiple options to take advantage of in order to succeed in the Health Care Field. For example coming to Hi Point. I plan to continue on living my American dream until I feel content with my life.

Our students do great work—and they’re able to do so because of the great work out staff does with them. I’ve often said I hear great news about OHP from some of the most unlikely place! Carrie Preston, Special Education teacher on our Bellefontaine Campus, shared the following amazing story with me:

I just thought you'd like to know that OHP has a good reputation, all the way to Indiana! I recently caught up with a childhood friend of mine, who lives there. When I told her what I do for a living this was her response: "Some of my friends have kids going to Hi-Point. They are thrilled with it and felt like the move to Hi-Point was EXACTLY the right plan, and frankly, the better option. I mean, they are thrilled! So whatever you and your staff are doing...big props to you!"

Yep—big props to all of you! Thanks to JoAnn and Carrie for sharing so we can all enjoy.

We continued a tradition on Wednesday and recognized Dr. Earl Sloan’s birthday (which is actually September 8) by having our students and staff pay tribute to the contributions his trust has made to our labs through state-of-the-art equipment. Two of our high-school students and three adult education students shared their thanks with representatives of our Sloan Trustees. I know it’s been said that teenagers tend to be self-absorbed ingrates (and I was probably guilty of that at that age!) But I can honestly say that our high-school students were equally as sincere and eloquent in their words as the adult students as they thanked the Trustees. How neat it was to hear all those students describe the specific impact the Sloan-sponsored equipment has had on their training and their future plans. I want to thank the staff who were present to personally thank the Trustees and particularly those who spoke. I know Mr. Marker and Mrs. Reynolds very much enjoyed the birthday party! (A photo of the student speakers, Mr. Harold Marker, and Mrs. Connie Reynolds is shown at right.)

Have a great weekend and enjoy every bit of this wonderful, outdoor weather while we can!

September 4, 2009

We’re back in full swing, and how fun it has been to have our high-school students back and to see a group of our adult education students celebrate success! (It’s also great to have all of our staff back—we really do miss you in the summer!)

On the high-school side, the last three weeks have been busy, busy, busy with student orientation sessions, classes starting, and getting everyone settled in. I want to share a comment I heard at a recent Logan Co. Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting. One of the members, whose nephew is attending OHP this year, made a point to tell me how impressed her sister (the young man’s mother) was with our orientation/registration night. She appreciated how smoothly everything flowed and how helpful everyone was. I know many of our staff assisted with making those orientation/registration evenings as convenient and efficient for students and families as possible—and you were obviously successful!

On Thursday evening, our Adult Education Nancy J. Knight School of Nursing conducted its 27th graduation ceremony. The ceremony was moved to a new venue this year—Marysville High School—because we had outgrown our own facility. Good problem to have! Among our Bellefontaine daytime and evening programs, our Marysville satellite class, and our Urbana satellite class, we had 67 practical nursing students complete this rigorous nursing program and proudly accept diplomas. As I walked from the packed parking lot into Marysville’s Alumni Hall, I saw everything from little girls in frilly dresses and little boys in shirts and ties (which I’m sure weren’t their idea!) to the elderly on walkers filing in to support the graduates. One of the things that makes this ceremony so rewarding every year is the excitement and pride on the faces and in the voices of family members and loved ones. What a tremendous example these adult students set!

As we talk about “back to school,” I’m reminded of how many course approvals I’ve signed recently for staff members returning to school! I think it’s wonderful that so many of you are practicing what you preach—the importance of lifelong learning—and seeking to better your skills. I know it’s tough as an adult student to juggle family, job, and just life along with school. I wish you all the best and trust your classes will give you new perspectives and new skills!

I’ve been off campus for a day and a half this week working with the Ohio Association of Career-Technical Superintendents to prepare our proposal to legislators for corrections to career-technical education in the Corrections Bill for HB1 (state budget). It’s going to be a very time-consuming process. But, as we’ve discussed in our meetings thus far, the next biennium budget will likely set the career-technical funding formula for the next 15-20 years. So it’s time well invested. How can you help? Be prepared to have your students show off their skills and share their future plans as we have legislators visit us. Be prepared to share written “success stories” of your students past and present. Continue to hold yourself and your students to high standards of teaching and learning. And work diligently to utilize resources efficiently and effectively—always be analyzing the “return on investment.” The overall “pie” of the state budget has shrunken and needs to be sliced up among many state agencies. But I’m optimistic—I’m confident—we and our stakeholders will demonstrate the tremendous value we add to workforce development in Ohio.

Have a great, extended holiday weekend—and try to rest at least as much as you labor this Labor Day!

June 3, 2009

Hard to believe, but we’re wrapping up another year with our high school students, our GED students, and many of our adult education students. This is the fun part—seeing everyone’s hard work come to the end result we all look forward to!

The Administrative Team and I have been covering all of our partner school high-school graduation ceremonies over the past couple of weeks (with a few to go). On May 22, I attended Ridgemont’s graduation—what a nice ceremony! Small and very intimate. I especially appreciated that each Ohio Hi-Point student was asked to stand and his/her career-technical program was announced. (I’m told Upper Scioto Valley does the same thing.) We appreciate the special recognition our students are given “back home” for their career-technical achievements!

Our own Convocation was, as always, a beautiful ceremony. The weather didn’t exactly cooperate—in fact it teased us all day. But we decided better safe (and dry!) than sorry. I want to personally thank the “army” of people it took to move our Convocation from our campus to the Bellefontaine High School gymnasium. Our OHP team always does a terrific job putting together a memorable ceremony for our students. There are too many to mention—but you know who you are. Thanks so much! And I want to publicly thank the staff at Bellefontaine High School—they could not have been more helpful or accommodating. When schools work together, students win!

I’ve attended a lot of graduation ceremonies over the years; and, of course, the students are always happy. But I have to say our students last Wednesday just beamed as they came across the stage! That’s a tribute to all of you for the positive experience you create for our students at OHP and the excellent preparation you give them for their futures!

I’m sure you, like I, have heard many positive comments about the ceremony. I’d like to share two comments I had from our partners:

"Fantastic job with the ceremony last night! You can all be very proud. The student speakers were outstanding and the evening went very well. Thanks so much again for all you do to take care of our students after they leave USV."

Jon Cook
Upper Scioto Valley Schools


"Congratulations on a great convocation ceremony last evening. I enjoyed watching the excitement in the eyes of the graduates and the parents. You have much to be proud of at this time. I know (two students) would have probably dropped out of high school if it wasn't for Hi-Point and the great staff. Both students are going on to the Adult Education in Phlebotomy this summer."

Pete Yost
Champaign Co. Department of Jobs & Family Services

Last Tuesday evening, I and many of you attended the Construction Trades Academy open house at the project house. What a terrific turnout! This year’s house featured many energy-saving features, and Touchstone Energy partnered with us on our open house. It really was standing-room only. I appreciate the many staff members who took time to stop by—it means so much to those students to be able to show off their hard work over the past year. They built a beautiful house that will no doubt become a comfortable home for a lucky family. Congratulations to the students and teachers—Terry Hedges, Bob Lawrence, Doug Limes, and Dave Marsteller—for another successful year!

Our Administrative Team and I met with representatives from Urbana University last Friday about some potential new partnerships in both academics and career pathways. It’s too soon to have specifics for you. But just let me say that our team had partnered off with counterparts from UU and no one wanted to break up the discussion. That’s the sign of a good meeting! We’ll keep you posted as the details of these opportunities for our students come to fruition.

In parting for the summer, I want to wish you all a wonderful, safe, restful summer. Enjoy a slower pace to spend with family and friends. If you’re traveling, be safe. And take time to recharge your batteries and plan for another great year next year!

May 22, 2009

We’ve had quite a scare at the end of this week with the bus accident involving our Graham students, but things could have been much, much worse for our students. How ironic that we had our mock accident exercise on Thursday; and then on the way home, these students lived that experience. While none of our students was seriously injured, it had to have shaken them up quite a bit even to witness the accident. We’re so, so grateful that they’re all still with us. Please keep the families and loved ones of those who were killed in the van that collided with the bus in your thoughts and prayers.

On the topic of our mock accident, I want to thank Carol Siebeneck and the others who assisted for orchestrating this very powerful experience for our students. I never knew how many agencies were involved in making this happen! I can only hope that it will make our students stop and think during this graduation season and make good choices. If one life is saved (which we’ll never know), it’s well worth it.

I’ve had the opportunity to stop in and visit some classes in the past couple of weeks, and think our seniors, especially, are working fast and furious to complete senior projects, portfolios, exams, and the other demands of being a senior! But the ones I’ve gotten to speak with are also very excited about taking the next step and focused on where they’re going. And the common thread I hear in their comments is that they feel well prepared. To all of you—job well done for getting this next group of students ready to take on the world!

Last Thursday I accompanied the Professional Turf and Landscaping students on a field trip to Scotts-Miracle-Gro Company in Marysville. It’s typically difficult for student groups to get into Scotts, but a former Union County Leadership Institute classmate of mine facilitated the visit. It was really neat! The students actually participated in a class taught by one of their Training Institute instructors, receiving the same content he would present to landscapers and other lawn and garden professionals about Scott’s products. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of grasses, fertilizers, and weed killers! (Definitely gives me a complex about my yard.) We also received lollipops with (edible) bugs embedded in them. Kind of gross—but they were a hit! In addition, we visited one of their research greenhouses. I appreciated the behavior and mature, thoughtful questions our students had while on the tour. Hopefully this will spur them on to continue their education and perhaps someday take advantage of employment opportunities at Scotts!

Monday I attended the first meeting of the Champaign Co. Economic Development Advisory Council. As we worked through a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats), it occurred to me how much collaboration we have in Champaign Co. For example:
• Ohio Hi-Point has collaborated with Urbana University (and Clark State) to establish credit-articulation programs within the health careers pathway to encourage more adults into higher education.
• The Department of Jobs and Family Services is at the beginning of that pipeline to identify under-educated, under-employed adults and provide them with basic skills training (for which they collaborate with OHP for Adult Basic Literacy training).
• The City and County have been instrumental in helping OHP establish a South Campus (at the former Armory) to bring workforce training programs to Champaign Co. for high-school students and adults.
I really look forward to working with this committee of community leaders to strengthen those partnerships and our opportunities in Champaign County.

Thursday evening I attended our OHP FFA Annual Awards Banquet. This is always such a great evening and a class act! Robin Curly’s and Cole Carpenter’s students do a great job of running the show, and the students are so proud of their accomplishments (rightfully so!) I especially appreciate the number of staff members who attend this event every year—it’s a wonderful show of support for these students!

No doubt you’re all looking forwarded to this extended weekend as much as I am! It comes at a perfect time when we could all use a breather. I’ve kept a newspaper column by Regina Brett that I cut out of the Cleveland Plain Dealer when I was there for Memorial Day several years ago titled “45 Life Lessons and 5 to Grow On.” It’s a great mix of philosophical and practical advice. There are too many to list here, but some of my favorites are:
• Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
• When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
• Pay off your credit cards every month.
• Don’t compare your life to others; you have no idea what their journey is all about.
• It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
• If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
• Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.
• The best is yet to come.

Have a great weekend; and on this Memorial Day, take time to honor the memory of those who have served our country. And if you’re traveling, be safe!

May 8, 2009

Wow, what a week! There’ve been so many great recognition activities going on, it’s difficult to capture them all here. I’m a little late getting this out because I’ve been busy with some of these activities even today.

This past week, among others, we recognized our National Technical Honor Society inductees, our top 15 academic achievers who each selected their “Honored Educator,” our academic achievers at the Logan Co. Academic Achievement Recognition Breakfast, and our Project SEARCH interns. Please watch your e-mail for Shane’s press releases and photos and take time to read them—it reminds us why we’re all here! And congratulations to all of our student achievers for their outstanding performance this year.

This past weekend was chock-full with activities related to our 35th Anniversary celebration. Friday evening, we had an Alumni & Friends gathering, and several past students, staff, and supporters of OHP stopped by. It was a nice, casual evening to enjoy some refreshments and catch up with old friends. Saturday morning was our Top of Ohio 5K Run/Walk. The weather was a pleasant surprise, and we had a great time! One special team that walked and ran the race was our Project SEARCH team (see photo above right). They truly took the “team” approach and supported one another right up to the finish line!

Saturday evening was our third Showcase of Success Distinguished Alumni Induction. It was such a special evening. Our three inductees were Beth Brentlinger (Cosmetology, 1976), Carol DelGrosso (Drafting, 1978), and Aaron Wren (Plumbing/Pipefitting, 1979). Of course, we all love to hear the success stories of our alumni; but what I enjoy most is seeing our inductees reconnect with OHP in a significant way and truly appreciate the great start their teachers here gave them. Be watching our Showcase of Success wall for these three inductees to be added and take time to read their stories!

Monday I had the opportunity to attend the statewide Career-Based Intervention spring conference where our very own Deb Wortman was recognized as an Outstanding Partner for her work in starting CBI programs with partner schools. Very well deserved! These programs have made such an impact on students needing just a little extra guidance in middle school and high school in order to get on and stay on the right track. One of those students, Bryanna Baker at Upper Scioto Valley, was also recognized as the recipient of the Jeff Akers Scholarship at the state conference. She gave a beautiful and eloquent speech as she shared with us her plans to go on to become a nurse. Let me share with you some of her words:

My CBI class through Ohio Hi-Point has helped me develop this plan and taught me the process to moving through all of the steps. This scholarship and your belief in me have increased my self confidence, which adds to my personal drive to work towards my goals.

Best wishes to Bryanna—I have no doubt she’ll one day make a wonderful nurse!

You know, our students are some of the most grateful teenagers I’ve ever worked with (and you don’t often hear “grateful” and “teenager” in the same sentence!) One example I’d like to share with you is the following e-mail one of our students sent to Tracy Franck in our Technology Department:

Mrs. Franck, I just wanted to thank you again for helping with my senior video. We watched it in lab today and everyone loved it, it was very emotional. And thanks to you I was able to get everyone a copy of the video today. You don’t know how much that meant to me. I was unable to get my fellow classmates a graduation present and this made me feel a little bit better. It also gives each one of us something to look back on, we will all now have something to remember each other by and the time spent at Hi-Point. So thank you so much.

Amie' Hoffer

Culinary Arts 09'

I’m sure Tracy thought nothing of helping this young lady with her project, but what an impact it made! Even when we’re just “doing our jobs,” never underestimate the difference we can make.

It’s come to my attention that, if we had a “Safety Award of the Week,” it should go to Melissa Sizemore this week (Melissa is a math teacher on our Bellefontaine Campus). Apparently as Melissa and some students were setting up outside for field day today at about noon, the tornado siren went off. Melissa didn’t realize this was a weekly occurrence (to test the siren), and she had a real sense of urgency about getting her students back into the building to a safe location! Melissa, your friends and co-workers are having a little fun at your expense. But I’m glad you have that intuitive instinct to protect our kids. Hope it didn’t stress you out too much!

Finally, let me wish all of you a wonderful Mother’s Day. Treasure your mother if you still have her, treasure her memory if you don’t, treasure motherhood if you are a mother, and treasure the anticipation of motherhood if you’re a mother-to-be!

Have a great weekend!

May 1, 2009

Friday, May 1, 2009

Yikes, is anyone else hyperventilating over how fast time is going by?!? A typical spring in any school, I suppose. (By the way--welcome to May and happy May Day!)

The Administrative Team put our best culinary foot (feet?) forward on Monday and provided lunch for our office support staff. This is the very least we can do to thank them for the tremendous support they provide to all of us and, most importantly, our students! It was a lot of fun and such a treat to be able to sit down and have lunch with the whole gang. A photo of the festivities is at the right.

We recognized our 3rd-quarter Straight A students with “walking tacos” and special recognition on Monday afternoon. What a great group of kids! It was nice to spend some time with our achievers; but true to form, they didn’t stick around long—most of them wanted to get back to class to finish some assignment or project! So we sent them on their way and told them to “go get some more A’s!” Thanks to all of our teaching staff who work with these students to help them succeed.

Wednesday evening I attended the West-Central Ohio Tech Prep Consortium Recognition Dinner and had the privilege of seeing two of OHP’s finest receive recognition. Ashley Sprang, Health Technologies senior from Kenton, and Lance Salyer, Auto Technology senior from Triad, will both be receiving Tech Prep scholarships—Ashley for Rhodes State and Lance for University of Northwest Ohio. Congratulations to these two fine young people and best wishes in your college and career! We know you’ll make us proud and go on to much success.

I was off campus on Thursday attending an “Issues Forum” with the career-technical superintendents. On the topic of the next biennium budget, among other things we are working with the Senate Education Committee to assure:
· That career-tech leadership has representation on the committee that will study our funding over the next two years
· That open-enrolled students and weighted funding are included in the amount that the proposed 1.9 percent funding increase will be based upon
· That Adult Workforce Education is fully integrated into the University System of Ohio (now that we are under the Board of Regents)
We’re on voice among hundreds, no doubt, lobbying with Senate right now over this budget bill, but we are a united voice! I’ll keep you posted.

Thursday evening we hosted our annual Career Focus Dinner and invited those students who have applied to our programs to come in, have dinner with us, and spend some time in their future labs getting to know their instructors better. We had a great turnout and I was able to talk to many excited future students (and grateful parents!) I also heard comments from several of our staff that this seems like such a nice group of kids (not that that’s anything new). We look forward to working with them over the next two years!

We’ve had a lot of activities around our 35th Anniversary this week, with many more to come! I hope you’ll all come out and join us at our Top of Ohio 5K Run/Walk tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. It’s an exciting event which draws a bigger crowd of runners/walkers every year. And best of all, it raises money for our Scholarship Fund! Thanks to all of you who are volunteering your precious weekend time for this event.

Next week is one of celebrating special people! Tuesday is National Teacher Appreciation Day, and Wednesday is School Nurse’s Appreciation Day! Let me be the first to say we greatly appreciate the professionalism of all of our teachers/certified staff and all you do to help our students chase their dreams. And I know I’m not alone in saying that I always feel a little bit safer knowing we have “Nurse Amy” watching over us as our Health & Safety Coordinator. Thanks for all you do. We’ve got the best!

Have a great weekend!

April 24, 2009

TGIF April 23, 2009

Welcome to another Friday—and a beautiful one at that! I hope you’ve had a good week; and I can safely assume it’s been crazy busy for all of you. And we’re not even to “May Madness” yet!

The administrative team and I have been out and about the state this week at various teacher recruiting events. It’s a difficult time to be away from campus, but this is such an important opportunity to talk to and recruit the very best teachers for our students. (That’s how we’ve found many of you!) I always enjoy the chance to talk with young people (and some more “veteran”) who are seeking teaching positions and listening to their teaching philosophies and experiences. Takes me back to when I was seeking my first teaching job (too many years ago to mention!) I can sense their excitement, nervousness, and anticipation. How wonderful that we still have so many young people who consider teaching to be the ultimate career.

At both of the two recruiting events I attended (Ohio University and University of Findlay), I had candidates approach me (academic teachers) and tell me they had done or were doing their student teaching at career centers and they absolutely love it! They were specifically seeking opportunities to teach in a career center. This is a huge pat on the back to career-tech in Ohio because it’s obvious these young teachers have realized the value of relevant academic instruction tied to career pathways. Good for them for taking notice!

Speaking of outstanding teachers, I’m sure most of you have heard or read that our very own Deb Purcell, Health Technologies Teacher, was selected as a 2009 recipient of the Rotary Excellence in Teaching Award. Deb, who was nominated by a student, is one of three teachers selected from a very distinguished group of nominees. We’re proud of you, Deb; and thank you for the excellent work you do for students every day!

We held our final meeting of the year for the Student Advisory Council on Thursday and celebrated with ice cream. (Most of them said they’d never had Graeter’s Ice Cream before, and I just didn’t feel they could go through life without that experience!) This has been a great group of students to work with—they’ve brought us concerns of the student body, worked to solve problems within the school, and served as spokespersons for communicating administrative decisions to students. And, a little selfishly on my part, they give me an opportunity to connect with students, which is a rare treat in my position. I look forward to forming a new group and continuing the discussion next year.

Next week will be chock-full with activities for our 35th anniversary! I hope you’ve all taken notice of the promotion of scheduled events in the various media and through Shane’s communications. Please join us for as many events as you can to celebrate the tremendous contribution this school, and the many staff members over the years, have made to the region.

Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend, wear your sunscreen, and get some rest!

April 17, 2009

First, welcome back from spring break! I hope you all enjoyed some time away from work and were able to relax and renew. It was mighty quiet around here without staff and students—it’s good to have all the activity back! We certainly had a typical “Ohio smorgasbord” of weather during the break—snow, rain, sun, a little bit of everything. I hear some of you escaped to warmer climates—good for you!

Last Wednesday I met as part of an Ohio Association of Career-Technical Education task force to write a formal response to legislators regarding replacing the Ohio Graduation Test with the ACT as a measure of academic attainment for high-school graduation. The group discussed several pros and cons. What we came to agreement on is that:

· Ohio ACTE supports the four components of the proposed graduation requirements as a more representative and complete assessment of all students. Implementing graduation requirements that include a standardized test, community service, senior project and end-of-course exam is a better way to measure students’ attainment of 21st Century Skills and a more reliable indicator of future success, whether a student is entering college or the workforce.
Ohio ACTE recognizes the significance of a nationally standardized assessment, such as the ACT, as one part of an overall assessment for graduation.
· Career-technical education has a tradition of project-based learning and community service. Our students are well prepared to enter college or the workforce upon graduation and have a positive impact on Ohio’s economy.
· Many career technical programs have in place excellent models of project-based learning and senior projects, and we would be happy to share those with you and all members of the State School Board.
· We offered our assistance and support as legislators plan, design, and assess the four-part components for graduation requirements that are essential to the attainment of 21st Century skills.

Tuesday morning I had an opportunity to meet with Jeff Tomko, Vice President of Honda Transmission Manufacturing of America. I also had a chance to tour the plant at Russell’s Point. As I’m sure you’ve heard or read in the news, all of Honda’s production facilities are facing difficult times and making cutbacks in order to weather the current economic tough times. But the mood as I spoke with Mr. Tomko was optimistic. It’s amazing to me how complex organizations such as Honda are and yet how relatively quickly they can respond to changing economic conditions. I think they set a great example for those of us in education. I look forward to having Mr. Tomko tour our facilities to view our engineering/manufacturing programs and academic offerings.

Wednesday I had the absolute pleasure of judging the Business Department’s Etiquette Luncheon. (The luncheon, by the way, was a delicious meal prepared and served by Culinary Arts!) How fun it was to sit and have a “business lunch” with four students: Cody from Bellefontaine and Devon from Marysville (Information Technology students), and Chelsea from West Liberty-Salem and Ashley from Triad (Business Administrative Technology students). The time just flew by as we talked about why they chose to come to OHP, what their plans are for the future, what they like most about their career-tech programs, what their “dream job” would be—even what their favorite fast food is! These young people are well on their way to being successful in interviewing situations and on the job. Many thanks to Amanda Blackburn and Heather Reed for organizing this wonderful learning experience for these students and allowing me to participate.

The Logan County Chamber of Commerce Safety Committee meets monthly at our facility, and I had a chance to sit in on the meeting Thursday. The topic was identity theft, and Jim Ball from Fifth Third Bank was the presenter. Scary stuff—and something we all need to be concerned about. Long story short—check all your statements carefully every month; if you receive offers that seem too good to be true, they probably are; don’t open e-mails from sources you don’t know; and keep those passwords carefully protected!

This morning I had the privilege of welcoming secretaries from our 14 partner school who attended Ohio Hi-Point’s District Secretary’s Workshop. This is the fourth year we’ve extended an invitation to these office professionals to attend this event. It’s one very small way we can thank those who take care of us day in and day out for all they do to keep our schools running smoothly. Next Wednesday is Administrative Professionals Day—hint, hint! Don’t forget to recognize those who do so much to support you in your work.

Another income tax filing day has come and gone—I hope it wasn’t too unkind to you. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln signed the U.S. income tax into law in 1862 to help pay the expenses of the Civil War? Somehow the tax has stuck around long after that war ended! Old Abe did so much good for our country, I guess we have to forgive him this one slip-up.

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the sunshine!

April 3, 2009

We’ve finished another week and started a new month! I hope you escaped any April Fool’s pranks—and I’m glad that our computers escaped the “worm” that was supposed to hit on April 1. (I’m sure our Tech Department is happiest of all!)

There’s a lot in the news lately about the economic stimulus money, and I’m hearing about several local projects that have been submitted for this funding. One initiative which is underway is Connect Ohio, Governor Strickland’s plan to bring reliable high-speed connectivity to all of Ohio. Meetings are being held in each county, and I’ve recently attended meetings for Hardin and Logan Counties to give input on local needs. This project is on a “fast track” (as much of the stimulus money dictates), and I think we’ll see results pretty quickly. In order to give input as far as our needs and our students’ needs, I’ve called in the experts (John Case and Matt Heaston from our Tech Department) to represent us at future meetings. I know they’ll represent us well—and I appreciate their help!

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of transporting our March Students of the Month, Lindsey Kelly (Cosmetology, Bellefontaine) and Spencer Wolfe (Carpentry, Bellefontaine) to Kiwanis for their monthly recognition. What neat kids! They were pleasant, conversational, and a delight to have lunch with. I enjoyed hearing their plans for the future—Lindsey will be working for Charles Penzone’s Studio, and Spencer plans to start his own construction business. As I listened to the students from all over Logan County introduce themselves and share their plans for the future, I was so proud of how articulate and focused Lindsey and Spencer were. They both said to me, and they’re absolutely right—Ohio Hi-Point has prepared them so well for their futures and they’re excited about what lies ahead of them. I know we all wish them both the best!

I visited our Architectural & Mechanical Design lab last week to see the model the students built of a skate park which will be constructed in Urbana. The students did an amazing job! And this Thursday afternoon I saw them loading the model into a van to deliver to Urbana. The primary sponsor of the skate park (who wishes to remain anonymous) thought of our students when she needed a model built to show community members what they’re donating to when they donate to the skate park. Our AMD students can be very proud of the part they’ve played in inspiring the community and securing funds to make this project happen!

I met with our Student Advisory Council this past week, which is always a treat. One thing I can say about this group—they’re always thinking! They’ve made suggestions for everything from curbing computer viruses to eliminating restroom vandalism to providing a microwave for student use at lunchtime. I’ve been impressed all year with the maturity and passion of this group! They consider the needs and wishes of the entire student body rather than just their own, and they’re very thoughtful in working through problem solving. They’ve even designed their own Student Advisory Council t-shirts—so be watching for them soon so that you can identify our SAC members. (I’ll give you a hint—think “tie dye”!)

The administrative team and I have recently attended regional updates from the Office of Career-Technical and Academic Education. A lot of good information was shared—and we’ve definitely got our work cut out for us! On the adult education side, new performance measures have been established and targets are being set—all while resources are being cut. On the secondary (high-school) side, we’ve added several new performance measures for next year; and academics are definitely the primary focus. I liked what one ODE staff member said—“Decide what needle you want to move in your performance, and then focus resources on moving that needle.” It will be more important now than ever that, in times of limited resources, we focus our school improvement efforts not on activity but on results—or “moving the needle.” Your Director and Supervisors will be updating you on the new performance measures soon.

We received a letter a couple of weeks ago from Kim Wolverton, School Counselor at Urbana Junior High. Kim said:

Thank you so much for inviting Urbana Jr. High School students to your center. The students and staff really enjoyed visiting your site. I was very impressed with your campus and educational offerings. What a wonderful opportunity for juniors and seniors in high school! Our future 8th grade students look forward to visiting the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center next year!

I appreciate that Kim took time to write, and I’m so thankful that Urbana sends their junior high school students to visit. We send literature to students and make visits to their schools. But as Kim’s letter makes clear, seeing is believing; and when we can get prospective students (and partner school staff) onto our campus, we make believers out of them!

Hard to believe we’re into April already. The rest of this school year will be a blur with all the spring and year-end activities. But I know you’ve been long awaiting next week’s much-deserved Spring Break! As we get into the “Season of Marshmallow Peeps,” I ran across some facts I thought you might find interesting:

· It takes six minutes to make one Peeps chick.
· More than 5 million Peeps are produced each day.
· Peeps have been the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy in the United States for more than a decade.
· Original Peeps have a shelf life of two years. (Now that one’s a little scary! What are those things made of?!?)

Whatever you’ll be eating or doing over break--do your favorite things, get some rest, enjoy family and friends, and if you’re traveling--be safe!

March 19, 2009

Wow, fast week! I’m sure it’s been quick for all of you too, with altered schedules, OGT testing, day and evening classes—never a dull moment! Spring arrives tomorrow (hurray!), and my calendar tells me Saturday is the birthday of Benito Juarez. I have to admit—I had to Google him to find out why I would want to know this. But I’ll bet our Spanish teacher Rene Mejia can give us a lesson on this man’s importance!

Last Friday I attended the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) Ohio Spring Conference with Shane Haggerty and JoEtta Spain. Shane is an officer of the organization and helped plan the conference, and both he and JoEtta were recognized at the awards luncheon. JoEtta received the “Friend of Education” award for all the work she has done to recruit students into our programs, network with business & industry through our school-to-work program, and bring recognition to our school through her public relations efforts. Shane accepted the “Best of the Best” award for our website and “Mark of Excellence” award for our Hi-Lites newsletter. I was really proud to be there amongst representatives from school districts all over Ohio to celebrate this recognition (see photo at right). Thanks to both JoEtta and Shane for all you do to keep us in the public eye in such a positive way!

Monday evening I spoke at the Urbana Rotary Club at the invitation of Dr. Stephen Jones, Urbana University President. I shared with them some of the history of our current, updated them on our high-school and adult programs, and expressed that we are looking forward to expanding into our South Campus in Urbana. They had several questions about our programs as well as the alternative energy projects we’ve embarked upon. We have many, many supporters in Champaign County; and I especially appreciate our partnerships with Urbana University, the school districts in Champaign Co., Jobs and Family Services, the City of Urbana, and several businesses that have supported our workforce development offerings there. Our teachers in those programs have done an excellent job and paved the way for future growth!

Wednesday evening five of OHP’s finest competed in the American Association of University Women Trivia Bee fund-raiser held here at our facility. Ohio Hi-Point’s team—Caleb Lang, Doug Limes, Surena Neer, Melissa Sizemore, and JoAnn Ventresco—did a great job and had a lot of fun! (See the photo of our astute-looking team at right.) I hear from JoEtta Spain, who was also there serving as a judge, that we need to have our team bone up on Logan County history—but other than that they did great! Thanks to all of you for participating and representing Ohio Hi-Point so well!

I was not able to be at the Trivia Bee on Wednesday evening to cheer on our team because I was attending the Hardin County All-Boards Banquet. It was my privilege to be there to recognize and thank our Board Members from Hardin County (Dean McCullough from Ridgemont, Russ Blue from Kenton, Bill Cook from Upper Scioto Valley, and Larry Mouser from the Hardin Co. ESC). The speaker was John Thomas, a former school superintendent, who gave us several examples from around the state of collaboration among school districts and other agencies that have resulted in tremendous benefits to students and communities. The topic was very timely—as resources become more scarce, it will be even more important for us all to work together to leverage rather than duplicate resources and efforts to best serve our customers.

Recently I received an e-mail from Joyce Brown, wife of former U.S. Senator Clarence Brown, from Urbana. She shared with me that two of our Culinary Arts students, Jacob Park and Krysten Beckett, had presented to her Delta Kappa Gamma organization and demonstrated very ornate garnishes. This gave her the idea to have our students prepare centerpieces for the grand opening of the new Cedar Bog Education Center in Urbana on April 17. And so . . . our students will be doing just that—preparing nature-themed centerpieces out of fruits and vegetables! I suggested a frog since one of the themes of the Bog has been “A Frog in the Bog.” As their instructor Donna Beale said, you never know when opportunities will come along, and she’s taught her students to be prepared to take advantage of those opportunities. I will be attending the grand opening of the Educational Center, and I know the work of our Culinary students will be a hit and make us all proud!

Mary Jo Alstaetter, Project SEARCH instructor, shared with me recently that her interns present a traveling trophy monthly to a staff person or department for outstanding service to the Project SEARCH program. She forwarded a note they had received from a recipient in the Dietary Department at Logan Acres:

To all the young project SEARCH men and women, you make my day brighter when you walk in the door. You all do so much to make my job easier. Each year I can’t wait for a new group to come and miss each and everyone as you go. Thanks for the award trophy you gave us in Dietary. We have the Shining Star on our shelf in the kitchen as a reminder of all you are and will be in the future as you go out in the world, whatever it may be you do. Your teachers and leaders are fine also. Keep your heads up high and a smile on your faces!

Stephanie Dysert

What a great tribute! And isn’t that what it’s all about—teaching our students to give back and show appreciation to those who have helped them along the way. Thanks for sharing, Mary Jo!

Seems as if our students aren’t the only ones getting a little rambunctious with spring fever these days. I looked out my window Thursday afternoon and saw one of our Animal Tech students chasing one of her four-legged “clients” down the hill—must have had an escapee! I think we all just want to get outside and enjoy this weather. I hope you have a chance to do just that this weekend!