January 15, 2010

Well, this has been a sad week. We’ve seen massive loss of life overseas and the loss of one very special life closer to home. As Shelly Swaney put it so well during her invocation at our All-Boards Banquet, “Our hearts are heavy.” The loss of a young life is always so heartbreaking. But if anything positive came of the loss of our student, Ryan Reynolds, in an auto accident on Wednesday afternoon, it gave us a chance to demonstrate how important it is to come together at a time like this. I am so very proud of our staff and students for the way you handled this tragedy. Upon receiving the news, the “machine” of my administrative team went into action to arrange support for students and staff alike. And when you all came together on Thursday morning, it was obvious you cared deeply for those who were hurting, wrapping yourselves around students (and each other)--both figuratively and literally.

I also want to express my deep appreciation for all the support and offers for assistance from our partner school staff and local clergy in providing grief counseling for those who were in need. I was touched that they offered without being asked. I even received offers of assistance from other nearby career centers if needed. It’s a good reminder that, in the educational community, we really are family. Our hearts go out to Ryan’s family and the families of the other boys who were injured. Please continue to lift them up.

On a positive note, we have a new addition to the OHP family—sort of. The construction of the new paint booth in our Auto Collision Technology Program is finally underway! (See photo at right). Bob Newland, instructor, and his students have been very patient as we’ve worked through the lengthy process of obtaining permits, contracting out work, and retro-fitting this new, state-of-the-art booth into an older building. We’re very privileged to have been able to purchase this booth through Sloan Foundation Funds to give our current and future students access to the very best technology in the field. Looks like it’s going to be a beauty—and I know Bob and his students will be anxious to demonstrate once it’s up and running!

The work of the Ohio School Funding Advisory Council is underway to determine how career-technical education will be funded in the next biennium. The Ohio Association of Career-Technical Superintendents has formed a Steering Committee of superintendents and treasurers, and we have begun meeting to draft a funding model, based on the Governor’s evidence-based model, that we feel will serve career-tech adequately and fairly. It’s going to be an arduous task; but we feel it’s important to propose a model based on the expertise of the group rather than having one imposed on us by those with no in-depth knowledge of career-technical programming or operations. I’ll keep you posted on our progress!

January is School Board Recognition Month, and Wednesday evening we held our annual All-Boards Banquet to thank the board members from our 14 partner school districts and 3 county ESC’s. We had a great turnout and good fellowship. Keynote speaker Rick Lewis, Executive Director of the Ohio School Boards Association, gave us an entertaining and enlightening presentation on the many reasons we should be thankful to our school boards. If you have an opportunity to contact a school board member, either from our board or the board where you live, please take a moment to thank them for their service to education.

Speaking of school board members, Ohio Hi-Point welcomes seven new school board members this month:

* Doug Lassiter, Marysville
* Robert White, Ridgemont
* Brian Wright, Riverside
* William McDaniel, Tirad
* Brian Moots, Upper Scioto Valley
* Tom Brookhart, Waynesfield-Goshen
* Chuck Buck, West Liberty-Salem

We thank these members for the extra time they have committed to serving our district, and we look forward to having them learn about the many wonderful opportunities we make available to students of all ages!

Have a great extended weekend, enjoy the warm(er) weather and sunshine, and be good to yourselves.