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!