I’m posting to my blog today (Wednesday) because I was off campus last Friday and will be again this Friday. But there’s a lot to share about the past week and a half!
If you’ve been on our Main Campus lately, it would be hard not to notice the historical marker which has been placed at our entrance in honor of the 664th AWC—the Air Force group that was on our campus from 1951-1969. It’s a very fitting tribute to those who served here to protect our country during the Cold War. On October 20, several veterans of the 664th were on campus to dedicate the marker, and their pride in placing the marker was really touching. We are so very fortunate that this site was turned over to the Ohio Hi-Point JVSD so that this school could be built to serve thousands of students over the past 35 years. Please take a moment to read the historical marker—it tells a wonderful story!
On October 21, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown hosted a round-table discussion at OHP for representatives from a cross-section of Logan County: education, local government, retail, real estate, health care, agriculture, manufacturing, and banking. It was good discussion. I asked Senator Brown if he had visited other career centers, and he said a few. He called us a “jewel of the state”—a fitting description, I think! He commended us for the contribution we make to workforce development at the local and state level.
Tom Oates, V.P. for Academic Affairs at Urbana University, paid a visit last Wednesday to talk with me about how we and UU can partner better to provide additional pathways for our students. I was impressed by the message he relayed from President Steven Jones—that the University is ready to break through past barriers and work with us and our student population to provide relevant, affordable, and convenient degree programs. As we work toward formal agreements, I’ll keep you posted as to the new opportunities our students will have!
Thursday and Friday I attended the National Career Pathways Network Conference (formerly the Tech Prep Conference) in Cincinnati along with several other staff members. When national conferences come to Ohio, I think it’s great to take advantage of the opportunity. I attended some good sessions on partnerships with business & industry, retaining students in high school, and transitioning students to higher education. But the real highlight of the conference for me was attending a presentation made by Art Spragen and five of his Architectural and Mechanical Design students on inquiry-based learning. They were super! They presented a project they completed on streamlining the production process of an office chair and designing packaging for the chair—impressive stuff. But I was most impressed with how they fielded questions after the presentation. Their maturity level was amazing! The answer that struck me most was that through working as a team, they got to know each other better, learned each other’s strengths and limitations, and maximized each team members capabilities to work efficiently as a team. Wow! Those skills will serve them will in any career pathway they take! Congratulations to Art and his students (Jonathan, Scott, Zac, Daniel, and Brandon) for a terrific job, and thanks for representing OHP so admirably.
We host a lot of meetings here at OHP; and during one meeting I recently attended here, we decided about mid-way that we needed some snacks (in other words—we got the munchies!) It was about 5 p.m. on a Friday evening, so I had to use my magical master key to go snack-hunting in the kitchen. (And for the record, I made a list for Jann of what I took so she could bill us!) A gentleman who was also attending the meeting came into the kitchen to help me, and he looked around and said, “Wow! Who keeps this place so clean?” Those kinds of observations make me so proud of our facility—as you should be also. Certainly I don’t police the kitchen for cleanliness—there’s no need to. Our cafeteria staff does a super job of providing tasty, nutritious meals out of an immaculate kitchen, and I wanted to pass this compliment along so they know others are noticing. Nice job ladies!
Lisa McCullough, our EMIS Coordinator, prepared a report for me recently documenting the professional development points earned by our staff over the 2007-2008 school year. As I looked over the multiple professional development opportunities our staff took advantage of, I was amazed at the variety of topics related to so many different positions. As a staff, you earned a total of 2,418 PDP points! Thanks to all of you for your commitment to continuous improvement on a personal level so that you can better serve our students.
Have a great finish to the week, stay warm now that winter seems to have rolled in, and I’ll be back on my blog on November 7!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
October 17, 2008
The temperature is finally matching the color of the leaves and it feels like fall! Hope you’re enjoying this beautiful time of year.
Our District’s liability insurance is not one of the most exciting topics I deal with in my position, but this past Monday I did have the opportunity to have some fun with representatives from our insurance providers, Hill & Hamilton Insurance here in Bellefontaine and The Cincinnati Insurance Company. Five folks from Hill & Hamilton and two from Cincinnati Insurance spent an entire day touring a sampling of our Satellite and Main Campus programs to get a feel for what it is our students do. As you can imagine, they were amazed with the variety of programs we offer, the variety of school and community sites for our programs, and the wealth of educational opportunities our students are exposed to. Of course, they appreciated the culture of safety all of you have established in your labs, and they loved the enthusiasm! As one put it,
Thank you so much for the wonderful tour! We are so proud of your programs and of your students’ accomplishments! We saw the pride in both the teachers and students and that says a whole lot!
I love giving these tours. Thanks for all you do to make showing off our students, programs, and facilities such a pleasure!
Wednesday evening we held our fall Work Session with the Board to review our 5-year forecast and our district strategic plan. It always makes for good discussion as we look forward and take our best shot at predicting where we might be financially over the next five years. As Eric Adelsberger always says, these forecasts are “fiction” because it’s virtually impossible to anticipate all the forces that impact our financial picture. But it’s also exciting to estimate where we think we’re headed based on how far we’ve come! I think it would be fun to take our 5-year forecast from five years ago and see if this past year looks anything like what we predicted. I doubt it! On the positive side, we’ve grown more than we could have anticipated both on our Main Campus and particularly in our Satellite programs (since we were at zero then!) On the not-so-positive side, we’ve had some unpleasant surprises with funding cuts at the state level. But overall, we’re in solid financial shape and have every reason to believe we’ll continue to be so. Thank you for continuing to be good stewards of our public resources!
Thanks to all of you who attended our District In-Service this morning. We appreciate your suggestions and questions you raised during the security drill debrief. The Administrative Team and I were very pleased with the way the security drill went and we learned some things as well. We’ll just keep getting better at this! And as I said, I’d rather learn lessons during a drill than during the real thing.
I also appreciate your warm welcome for the family of Roy Angle. As we made the presentation, I thought about the many unsung heroes who must have worked behind the scenes to make Ohio Hi-Point “JVS” a reality. I didn’t realize until talking with Robert about Roy’s influence that the initial operating levy (which supports us to this day) didn’t pass the first time! So everyone involved worked double hard to put the issue back on the ballot to secure the funding for our school. Vocational schools were a new concept at that time, and I suppose the communities we serve had to warm up to the idea a bit. But I think you’d be hard pressed to find a member of our communities today who wouldn’t agree it was a great thing for our region! We hear it from parents, students, and employers all the time. (One great example is Steve Austin who spoke at our H.S. staff meeting in support of United Way this week. He went out of his way to thank us for the great job we do in preparing students for the automotive field!)
As I promised last week, at the right are the photos I took during the statewide Communicators Meeting here at OHP and the Culinary students preparing lunch for them. I think I’ve got this Blackberry transfer-of-photos thing down!
Have a great weekend and enjoy this beautiful fall weather. Remember--snowflakes are coming!
Our District’s liability insurance is not one of the most exciting topics I deal with in my position, but this past Monday I did have the opportunity to have some fun with representatives from our insurance providers, Hill & Hamilton Insurance here in Bellefontaine and The Cincinnati Insurance Company. Five folks from Hill & Hamilton and two from Cincinnati Insurance spent an entire day touring a sampling of our Satellite and Main Campus programs to get a feel for what it is our students do. As you can imagine, they were amazed with the variety of programs we offer, the variety of school and community sites for our programs, and the wealth of educational opportunities our students are exposed to. Of course, they appreciated the culture of safety all of you have established in your labs, and they loved the enthusiasm! As one put it,
Thank you so much for the wonderful tour! We are so proud of your programs and of your students’ accomplishments! We saw the pride in both the teachers and students and that says a whole lot!
I love giving these tours. Thanks for all you do to make showing off our students, programs, and facilities such a pleasure!
Wednesday evening we held our fall Work Session with the Board to review our 5-year forecast and our district strategic plan. It always makes for good discussion as we look forward and take our best shot at predicting where we might be financially over the next five years. As Eric Adelsberger always says, these forecasts are “fiction” because it’s virtually impossible to anticipate all the forces that impact our financial picture. But it’s also exciting to estimate where we think we’re headed based on how far we’ve come! I think it would be fun to take our 5-year forecast from five years ago and see if this past year looks anything like what we predicted. I doubt it! On the positive side, we’ve grown more than we could have anticipated both on our Main Campus and particularly in our Satellite programs (since we were at zero then!) On the not-so-positive side, we’ve had some unpleasant surprises with funding cuts at the state level. But overall, we’re in solid financial shape and have every reason to believe we’ll continue to be so. Thank you for continuing to be good stewards of our public resources!
Thanks to all of you who attended our District In-Service this morning. We appreciate your suggestions and questions you raised during the security drill debrief. The Administrative Team and I were very pleased with the way the security drill went and we learned some things as well. We’ll just keep getting better at this! And as I said, I’d rather learn lessons during a drill than during the real thing.
I also appreciate your warm welcome for the family of Roy Angle. As we made the presentation, I thought about the many unsung heroes who must have worked behind the scenes to make Ohio Hi-Point “JVS” a reality. I didn’t realize until talking with Robert about Roy’s influence that the initial operating levy (which supports us to this day) didn’t pass the first time! So everyone involved worked double hard to put the issue back on the ballot to secure the funding for our school. Vocational schools were a new concept at that time, and I suppose the communities we serve had to warm up to the idea a bit. But I think you’d be hard pressed to find a member of our communities today who wouldn’t agree it was a great thing for our region! We hear it from parents, students, and employers all the time. (One great example is Steve Austin who spoke at our H.S. staff meeting in support of United Way this week. He went out of his way to thank us for the great job we do in preparing students for the automotive field!)
As I promised last week, at the right are the photos I took during the statewide Communicators Meeting here at OHP and the Culinary students preparing lunch for them. I think I’ve got this Blackberry transfer-of-photos thing down!
Have a great weekend and enjoy this beautiful fall weather. Remember--snowflakes are coming!
Friday, October 10, 2008
October 10, 2008
Wow, is this a beautiful time of year or what?! I enjoyed the beautiful fall colors in Vermont last week and now get to enjoy them here at home.
I was reminded this week that I'm able to take a vacation and not have to worry about a thing here because we've got a great staff! As many of you have caught me up on last week’s activities, it’s comforting to know I could take on the challenge of biking those Vermont hills knowing that the district was in good hands and business was going on as usual (meaning our students were being taken care of). Thanks to all of you!
Tuesday we took part in a ribbon cutting for the Logan County Convention and Tourism Bureau Welcome Center, which our Building Maintenance students constructed last year. This is a great way for visitors coming off Rt. 33 at Rt. 540 to pick up information about the County. Our students did a great job and had reason to be proud! If you haven’t seen it, stop by the Park and Ride on Rt. 540 west of Rt. 33 and take a look. Thanks to Doug Limes and students for taking on this community service project!
Our Alumni and Friends Association met on Wednesday. I wasn’t able to make the meeting due to a commitment in Columbus; but from reading the minutes, I can see the committee officers are charging ahead with a lot of great plans and activities to build a strong network of alumni and provide resources to current students. It’s especially exciting that many of the events planned for this year revolve around our 35th anniversary. Stay tuned regarding specific activities—it’s going to be a busy year and we’ll need staff involvement!
On Thursday we hosted a statewide Career-Technical Communicators meeting at OHP. Shane Haggerty hosted his counterparts from both career centers and K-12 schools as well as ODE officials, and the topic was using social networking in public relations. I was able to welcome the group and sit in briefly on the discussion. I’m proud that OHP is seen as a leader in this area, and I applaud Shane’s efforts and all of you who are using Web 2.0 technologies to enhance instruction and spread the good word about our programs! I got a good photo of the group, but I can't figure out how to get it off of my Blackberry. That's my "technology challenge" for the coming week--I'll have it for you next week!
I slipped out of the meeting through the Culinary Arts kitchen where the students were busy at work preparing a wonderful lunch for the communicators group. (I also got some great photos of this group too, which I'll share next week!) The dessert was a wonderful baked-apple bread-pudding concoction which was almost too pretty to eat. But, of course, when asked to taste-test it, I felt I should. (It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!) Yum! Donna Beale and her students always do a terrific job taking care of our guests!
Thursday I sat in on a training session for our United Way Captains. I want to personally thank JoEtta Spain for agreeing to captain our Main Campus, Earl LeVan for taking charge of Adult Education, and Sally Andrews for stepping up for Satellite Programs. Jack Reser and Ilene Heaton of United Way really helped to clarify the impact we can have as a staff if we each give just a little bit. Ilene also mentioned the five students we have involved with United Way Youth Allocations and said, “You’ve got great kids!” She didn’t get any argument from us on that! I hope you’ll all consider doing what you can to support United Way in these difficult economic times. When times get tough, community needs become even more critical. Together we really can make a difference.
I always like to share when I run into former OHP students in the community. I tried a new venture this year and ordered half a pig through a local meat processor. When I went to pick it up, the young man saw my nametag and told me he had gone to OHP in the Machine Trades Program. While he never worked in that career field, he shared that he felt he'd learned a lot through his time here about how to be a good employee. He must have, because he certainly provided great customer service! He was polite and thorough in assuring the order was filled correctly. (He also assured me the pig met its end quickly and painlessly--that meant a lot to me!) Just another example of how we prepare students not just for careers but for success in life.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the beautiful fall colors!
I was reminded this week that I'm able to take a vacation and not have to worry about a thing here because we've got a great staff! As many of you have caught me up on last week’s activities, it’s comforting to know I could take on the challenge of biking those Vermont hills knowing that the district was in good hands and business was going on as usual (meaning our students were being taken care of). Thanks to all of you!
Tuesday we took part in a ribbon cutting for the Logan County Convention and Tourism Bureau Welcome Center, which our Building Maintenance students constructed last year. This is a great way for visitors coming off Rt. 33 at Rt. 540 to pick up information about the County. Our students did a great job and had reason to be proud! If you haven’t seen it, stop by the Park and Ride on Rt. 540 west of Rt. 33 and take a look. Thanks to Doug Limes and students for taking on this community service project!
Our Alumni and Friends Association met on Wednesday. I wasn’t able to make the meeting due to a commitment in Columbus; but from reading the minutes, I can see the committee officers are charging ahead with a lot of great plans and activities to build a strong network of alumni and provide resources to current students. It’s especially exciting that many of the events planned for this year revolve around our 35th anniversary. Stay tuned regarding specific activities—it’s going to be a busy year and we’ll need staff involvement!
On Thursday we hosted a statewide Career-Technical Communicators meeting at OHP. Shane Haggerty hosted his counterparts from both career centers and K-12 schools as well as ODE officials, and the topic was using social networking in public relations. I was able to welcome the group and sit in briefly on the discussion. I’m proud that OHP is seen as a leader in this area, and I applaud Shane’s efforts and all of you who are using Web 2.0 technologies to enhance instruction and spread the good word about our programs! I got a good photo of the group, but I can't figure out how to get it off of my Blackberry. That's my "technology challenge" for the coming week--I'll have it for you next week!
I slipped out of the meeting through the Culinary Arts kitchen where the students were busy at work preparing a wonderful lunch for the communicators group. (I also got some great photos of this group too, which I'll share next week!) The dessert was a wonderful baked-apple bread-pudding concoction which was almost too pretty to eat. But, of course, when asked to taste-test it, I felt I should. (It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!) Yum! Donna Beale and her students always do a terrific job taking care of our guests!
Thursday I sat in on a training session for our United Way Captains. I want to personally thank JoEtta Spain for agreeing to captain our Main Campus, Earl LeVan for taking charge of Adult Education, and Sally Andrews for stepping up for Satellite Programs. Jack Reser and Ilene Heaton of United Way really helped to clarify the impact we can have as a staff if we each give just a little bit. Ilene also mentioned the five students we have involved with United Way Youth Allocations and said, “You’ve got great kids!” She didn’t get any argument from us on that! I hope you’ll all consider doing what you can to support United Way in these difficult economic times. When times get tough, community needs become even more critical. Together we really can make a difference.
I always like to share when I run into former OHP students in the community. I tried a new venture this year and ordered half a pig through a local meat processor. When I went to pick it up, the young man saw my nametag and told me he had gone to OHP in the Machine Trades Program. While he never worked in that career field, he shared that he felt he'd learned a lot through his time here about how to be a good employee. He must have, because he certainly provided great customer service! He was polite and thorough in assuring the order was filled correctly. (He also assured me the pig met its end quickly and painlessly--that meant a lot to me!) Just another example of how we prepare students not just for careers but for success in life.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the beautiful fall colors!
Friday, September 26, 2008
September 26, 2008
Well, we’re wrapping up another week and another month! Hard to believe we’re almost into October. This past week has been a busy one with a lot of excitement around OHP.
Tuesday we hosted our first Staff Breakfast for the year, and I want to thank all of you who attended and all of you who signed up to serve on OHP Congress Committees. These committees are the “backbone” of a lot of the improvement efforts in our district, and the time you commit to the work of these committees really makes a difference! I also want to thank all of you for your consideration of supporting United Way. Together we can make such an impact in helping those in need in our community, which ultimately helps us all.
Wednesday I heard State Senator Karen Gilmore speak and was happy to hear what an advocate she is for young people in our region. She stated her beliefs about the value of assuring that all students complete high school and move on to higher education, and she recognizes that “higher education” takes many forms. She commented to me that she has attended several community events in our facilities and has been very impressed. I told her I’d love to have her visit while our students are here and assured her she’d be even more impressed!
Thursday I attended a meeting of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) Board of Regents Committee. I volunteered to serve on this committee in light of all that is happening with dual enrollment, CT2 articulated credits, and the transfer of Adult
Workforce Education to the Board of Regents. The committee is made up of several superintendents from both K-12 districts and career-technical districts. As the group talked about the importance of academic rigor, raising standardized test scores, and improving ACT and SAT scores in order to get students into college, I asked them not to lose sight of the fact that we want students to go on to college (which isn’t always a four-year college) for a reason. I think we in career-tech really have a handle on realizing that higher education is a means to an end and not an end in itself. Discussions such as this make me proud of the impact we have on students’ lives and the impact we have on economic development.
As I drove onto campus coming from a meeting Friday morning I saw a fire truck in our parking lot, which always makes me a little uneasy. But then I saw the preschoolers from our Early Childhood Education Program exploring the truck (with their teachers, of course!) What a great opportunity for them! It’s nice to see our community public safety services folks partnering with us to give these students the thrill of getting up close and personal with the “big red truck” and no doubt teaching them a lot in the process!
One of the added benefits of our student laptop program and student e-mail accounts is that I occasionally hear from our students. Friday (which happened to be the last day I could call myself “40-something”) a student e-mailed me:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! We share the same birthday. I thought it was cool that I share the same birthday with two of the OHP staff Members. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I am sorry if I have inconvenienced you with this email. Thank you for your time.
I’m not sure what little birdie told him it was my birthday (sure hope age wasn't discussed!) And I’ll keep the “other staff member” anonymous. But what a nice gesture! I thanked this young man and told him I was not only not inconvenienced by his e-mail but was delighted to receive it.
This week Robin Curley, Animal Technology teacher, shared with me an e-mail she had received from the father of one of her students:
Ruth and I are very excited and proud about (our daughter’s) opportunity to attend college and truly appreciate all the efforts you personally and the rest of the Marysville and Ohio Hi-Point staff have spent in support of (her). Without everyone's dedication and belief in her, this wouldn't have been possible. We know college will be a struggle for (her) but believe the Marysville schools and Ohio Hi-Point have provided (her) the best education for her needs and provided her a strong base on which to continue her education. It is difficult to say, but starting next year it is up to (her) to finish the journey we all helped her start. Thank you very much for your continued support of (our daughter) and please pass along our thanks to everyone else that has supported (her) over the past 12 years.
This is a perfect example of how we "partner" with our partner schools to help students achieve success, and we rely on the foundation they give these young people. Thanks for sharing, Robin!
We also have a lot of satisfied customers as a result of the customer service many of our programs provide. Diana Payne, English teacher, shared with me an e-mail she had sent to Rodney Peterson and his Auto Technology class:
Just wanted to thank you and your students again for such a FANTASTIC job on my mom's car. My mom is now in a nursing home, but I had to take her out Friday evening to see her car - it looks brand new! That car hasn't looked that good in YEARS! She was tickled, and I am amazed at the job your students could do in such a short amount of time! Thank you again! You guys are great!
Rodney and students—you made someone’s day!
I’ll be away on vacation next week cycling in Vermont. Right now the weather forecast looks cool and potentially rainy, but I’m sure it will be beautiful even still. For those of you familiar with the Stephen Covey principles, I’ll be doing some serious “saw sharpening”! But I know I’m leaving our students and district in good hands. Have a great week!
Tuesday we hosted our first Staff Breakfast for the year, and I want to thank all of you who attended and all of you who signed up to serve on OHP Congress Committees. These committees are the “backbone” of a lot of the improvement efforts in our district, and the time you commit to the work of these committees really makes a difference! I also want to thank all of you for your consideration of supporting United Way. Together we can make such an impact in helping those in need in our community, which ultimately helps us all.
Wednesday I heard State Senator Karen Gilmore speak and was happy to hear what an advocate she is for young people in our region. She stated her beliefs about the value of assuring that all students complete high school and move on to higher education, and she recognizes that “higher education” takes many forms. She commented to me that she has attended several community events in our facilities and has been very impressed. I told her I’d love to have her visit while our students are here and assured her she’d be even more impressed!
Thursday I attended a meeting of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) Board of Regents Committee. I volunteered to serve on this committee in light of all that is happening with dual enrollment, CT2 articulated credits, and the transfer of Adult
Workforce Education to the Board of Regents. The committee is made up of several superintendents from both K-12 districts and career-technical districts. As the group talked about the importance of academic rigor, raising standardized test scores, and improving ACT and SAT scores in order to get students into college, I asked them not to lose sight of the fact that we want students to go on to college (which isn’t always a four-year college) for a reason. I think we in career-tech really have a handle on realizing that higher education is a means to an end and not an end in itself. Discussions such as this make me proud of the impact we have on students’ lives and the impact we have on economic development.
As I drove onto campus coming from a meeting Friday morning I saw a fire truck in our parking lot, which always makes me a little uneasy. But then I saw the preschoolers from our Early Childhood Education Program exploring the truck (with their teachers, of course!) What a great opportunity for them! It’s nice to see our community public safety services folks partnering with us to give these students the thrill of getting up close and personal with the “big red truck” and no doubt teaching them a lot in the process!
One of the added benefits of our student laptop program and student e-mail accounts is that I occasionally hear from our students. Friday (which happened to be the last day I could call myself “40-something”) a student e-mailed me:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! We share the same birthday. I thought it was cool that I share the same birthday with two of the OHP staff Members. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I am sorry if I have inconvenienced you with this email. Thank you for your time.
I’m not sure what little birdie told him it was my birthday (sure hope age wasn't discussed!) And I’ll keep the “other staff member” anonymous. But what a nice gesture! I thanked this young man and told him I was not only not inconvenienced by his e-mail but was delighted to receive it.
This week Robin Curley, Animal Technology teacher, shared with me an e-mail she had received from the father of one of her students:
Ruth and I are very excited and proud about (our daughter’s) opportunity to attend college and truly appreciate all the efforts you personally and the rest of the Marysville and Ohio Hi-Point staff have spent in support of (her). Without everyone's dedication and belief in her, this wouldn't have been possible. We know college will be a struggle for (her) but believe the Marysville schools and Ohio Hi-Point have provided (her) the best education for her needs and provided her a strong base on which to continue her education. It is difficult to say, but starting next year it is up to (her) to finish the journey we all helped her start. Thank you very much for your continued support of (our daughter) and please pass along our thanks to everyone else that has supported (her) over the past 12 years.
This is a perfect example of how we "partner" with our partner schools to help students achieve success, and we rely on the foundation they give these young people. Thanks for sharing, Robin!
We also have a lot of satisfied customers as a result of the customer service many of our programs provide. Diana Payne, English teacher, shared with me an e-mail she had sent to Rodney Peterson and his Auto Technology class:
Just wanted to thank you and your students again for such a FANTASTIC job on my mom's car. My mom is now in a nursing home, but I had to take her out Friday evening to see her car - it looks brand new! That car hasn't looked that good in YEARS! She was tickled, and I am amazed at the job your students could do in such a short amount of time! Thank you again! You guys are great!
Rodney and students—you made someone’s day!
I’ll be away on vacation next week cycling in Vermont. Right now the weather forecast looks cool and potentially rainy, but I’m sure it will be beautiful even still. For those of you familiar with the Stephen Covey principles, I’ll be doing some serious “saw sharpening”! But I know I’m leaving our students and district in good hands. Have a great week!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
September 19, 2008
As we’ve listened to the news around the state and nation this week, I can’t help but think how fortunate we are. As those crazy winds blew through on Sunday, I kept wondering if it was as bad as it was in Ohio hundreds of miles away from where Ike made landfall, what must it have been like in Texas?!? Really makes me feel for what those people went through (and are still going through). And as I hear many surrounding schools continuing to remain closed due to the power outage, I’m grateful we only had to miss one day. I suspect we’ll be glad we still have days left when January and February come along!
Speaking of Monday, that day was a perfect example of the teamwork our OHP staff shows when the going gets tough. I was on the phone most of the day (from a home with power, thankfully!) staying in touch with Robert Walker regarding conditions on campus and speculating when we might get power back. He and his crew kept a close eye on our electronic systems, powered several items down so that there wouldn’t be a damaging surge when the power came back on, and they got a head start on cleaning up the debris on our campus. John Case continued to check the status of our network and made a trip to campus late Monday afternoon after the power came on to assure that everything would be up and running for Tuesday morning. Don Jaunzemis monitored the status of our cooler and freezer to make sure the food was kept at safe temperatures, and he had even identified a location to move the food to preserve it should our power not have come back on by Tuesday. I so appreciate that our staff just sees what needs to be done in an emergency situation, steps up to do it, keeps everyone necessary informed, and gives me the information I need to make good decisions. Way to go team!
Even though our schedule interruptions (due to water and power outages) have been somewhat disruptive, I can at least say our students have been grateful! One young man shared with me in the cafeteria line that he really enjoyed Monday (even though his mom made him clean up the yard) and he appreciated that it came on a Monday so the weekend was longer. I told him I was glad we could oblige!
The week was unexpectedly shortened for us all and my week has consisted mostly of meetings and paperwork: but there have been some new developments. On Wednesday, we had two visitors from Bowling Green State University, as well as the Mayor of Bellefontaine, pay a visit to tour our campus and discuss possibilities for bringing bachelor’s degree programs to Logan County which would build on associate’s degrees that are earned through our community college partners. They were very familiar with our College Tech Prep programs and were impressed with the many articulation agreements we have in place. Local officials are very eager to bring new postsecondary partners to Logan County to improve the educational level of our workforce and to help retain our young talent. We discussed several areas of most need including healthcare degrees, teacher education programs (particularly in secondary math, science, and special education), and graduate-level coursework for educators needing to renew or upgrade licenses. While having no higher-education institution in Logan County has been a disadvantage, it has resulted in several schools seeking to provide services locally, which can only benefit our high-school students and adults. I expect to see new partners joining our campus soon!
A few of you asked for the answers to the questions posed in my blog in honor of Google’s 10th birthday, and here they are! The population of Uzbekistan is 27.8 million, the state bird of Maine is the blackcap chickadee, and Napoleon Bonaparte was 5 feet 7 inches tall. There you go—remember those tidbits—they may help you win “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” someday!
Fall officially starts Monday—it’s really here! And the Columbus Dispatch reports that today is “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” I’ll let you do with that what you will!
Have a great weekend and enjoy this beautiful weather!
Speaking of Monday, that day was a perfect example of the teamwork our OHP staff shows when the going gets tough. I was on the phone most of the day (from a home with power, thankfully!) staying in touch with Robert Walker regarding conditions on campus and speculating when we might get power back. He and his crew kept a close eye on our electronic systems, powered several items down so that there wouldn’t be a damaging surge when the power came back on, and they got a head start on cleaning up the debris on our campus. John Case continued to check the status of our network and made a trip to campus late Monday afternoon after the power came on to assure that everything would be up and running for Tuesday morning. Don Jaunzemis monitored the status of our cooler and freezer to make sure the food was kept at safe temperatures, and he had even identified a location to move the food to preserve it should our power not have come back on by Tuesday. I so appreciate that our staff just sees what needs to be done in an emergency situation, steps up to do it, keeps everyone necessary informed, and gives me the information I need to make good decisions. Way to go team!
Even though our schedule interruptions (due to water and power outages) have been somewhat disruptive, I can at least say our students have been grateful! One young man shared with me in the cafeteria line that he really enjoyed Monday (even though his mom made him clean up the yard) and he appreciated that it came on a Monday so the weekend was longer. I told him I was glad we could oblige!
The week was unexpectedly shortened for us all and my week has consisted mostly of meetings and paperwork: but there have been some new developments. On Wednesday, we had two visitors from Bowling Green State University, as well as the Mayor of Bellefontaine, pay a visit to tour our campus and discuss possibilities for bringing bachelor’s degree programs to Logan County which would build on associate’s degrees that are earned through our community college partners. They were very familiar with our College Tech Prep programs and were impressed with the many articulation agreements we have in place. Local officials are very eager to bring new postsecondary partners to Logan County to improve the educational level of our workforce and to help retain our young talent. We discussed several areas of most need including healthcare degrees, teacher education programs (particularly in secondary math, science, and special education), and graduate-level coursework for educators needing to renew or upgrade licenses. While having no higher-education institution in Logan County has been a disadvantage, it has resulted in several schools seeking to provide services locally, which can only benefit our high-school students and adults. I expect to see new partners joining our campus soon!
A few of you asked for the answers to the questions posed in my blog in honor of Google’s 10th birthday, and here they are! The population of Uzbekistan is 27.8 million, the state bird of Maine is the blackcap chickadee, and Napoleon Bonaparte was 5 feet 7 inches tall. There you go—remember those tidbits—they may help you win “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” someday!
Fall officially starts Monday—it’s really here! And the Columbus Dispatch reports that today is “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” I’ll let you do with that what you will!
Have a great weekend and enjoy this beautiful weather!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
September 12, 2008
As we wrap up another week, it’s finally feeling like fall and fall activities are ramping up. We really don’t get a period of time to “ease into” the school year anymore or “wind down”—it’s just full steam ahead from start to finish!
Ohio Hi-Point is recognized as a valuable asset to the community and a partner to other organizations in so many ways. A great example is a visit we hosted last Friday evening for Dr. Stephen Jones, the new President of Urbana University, and his wife Judy. I had the pleasure of giving them a tour of our campus (they were impressed, as most are!) Having moved here recently from Alaska, they were not familiar with the career-technical system in Ohio and were amazed at the comprehensive program offerings and opportunities for students to earn college credits. After the tour, we were joined by other Logan Co. folks who serve in some board capacity at Urbana University (I serve on the Foundation Board) for a reception in the Urbana University house on our campus. Dr. Jones shared with us his vision for the University, and he referenced OHP several times as an organization he wants to partner with to bring more college options to Logan Co. We’ve already set a follow-up meeting, and I expect our partnership with UU to expand greatly in the near future!
Monday I attended a meeting of the Ohio Association of Career-Technical Superintendents to begin to draft a response paper to Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut’s 10-year Strategic Plan for Higher Education. As I’ve shared with you over the past several months, the new University System of Ohio will encompass Adult Career-Technical Education (including ABLE) officially on January 1, 2009. Our group wants to assure that Chancellor Fingerhut clearly understands the assets and value-added that both Adult and Secondary Career-Technical Education bring to the University System and that we are given equal footing with community colleges and four-year colleges as to funding and ability to delivery training which can lead to college credit. The devil is in the details, and those are yet to be worked out, but I’ll keep you posted!
Tuesday morning we hosted the annual Logan County School/Family Court Meeting as we have for several years. I’m always struck at these meetings the magnitude of issues that our young people face these days, and how important our work is in helping them to succeed. The reality is, we can’t save them all. But I think all of you at OHP do a darn good job of taking kids from where they are, teaching them critical career skills and life skills to help them taste success, and give them a hand-up to the next step in their careers and education. You should all be proud!
I stepped in during the orientation for our new Practical Nursing classes on Wednesday morning—what a big group! These students will be in our daytime and evening courses on Main Campus as well as at our Marysville and Urbana satellite sites. It was fun to see the anticipation on their faces (and maybe a little fear) and to imagine them at their graduation as were the students at the PN graduation last week. It’s going to be hard work, but they’ve got great futures ahead of them! Thanks to Amy Main, Nursing Program Coordinator, for the invitation.
We had our annual Sloan Reception Thursday afternoon to honor Dr. Earl Sloan’s birthday and to thank our Sloan Trustees for their generous support of our programs. We give our students, both high-school and adult, an opportunity to thank the Trustees personally for the impact the equipment purchased with Sloan funds has had on their training. I have to tell you, these students bring me to tears every year (I know—it doesn’t take much. But I saw some of you other staff members getting a little weepy-eyed too!) The Trustees seem to be more overwhelmed by the expressions of gratitude every year. I looked at the photo of Dr. Sloan on the wall and wondered if he could ever have imagined the impact his generosity would have on so many lives. He’d be proud. Thanks to our staff for such a great turnout—it means so much to the trustees and the students!
Robert Walker, Facilities & Grounds Supervisor, shared with me earlier this week that Roy Angle, his long-time mentor and local engineer, passed away. Robert represented the District at the funeral, and he shared with me that the minister commented that Roy was instrumental in securing the site for Ohio Hi-Point Career Center which has since served thousands of young people for their futures. In addition, he noted that the Career Center which Roy was instrumental in getting started has been such a benefit to this community and all the surrounding areas as well. What a touching tribute! Many thanks to Roy for all he did to make our existence possible.
I’ve often said that the many talents of our staff never fail to amaze me! Bob Newland, Auto Collision Teacher, shared with me some of his handy-work. Take a look at the website www.purpleharley.com. Bob painted the red and white Bike of the Month in the center of the page. Beautiful job, Bob! Do you do bicycles?
I’m sure you’ve all heard or read in the media that Governor Strickland has enacted $540 million in budget cuts for the 2008-2009 budget year. (Yep, that’s this year!) The press releases state that several areas, including foundation funding (our per-pupil funding) and career-technical “enhancements” are exempted from the cuts. We have received word from Kathy Shibley, Director of ODE’s Office of Career-Technical Education, that although she has not received specific direction regarding the cuts, it appears that the reference to career-technical “enhancements” includes High Schools That Work, OCIS, part of the Tech Prep Expanded Grant, Correctional Institutions Tech Prep, and the Agriculture 5th quarter program. This is reassuring, since we are involved in most of these programs. Shane Haggerty, Communications Coordinator, and I are preparing a press release to inform our stakeholders how we expect these budget cuts to impact us and what we’re doing to prepare. Keep an eye on our website for that to come out!
There’s going to be some water falling from the sky this weekend. Don’t panic—for those of you who can’t remember the last time you saw such a thing—that’s rain! Have a great weekend!
Ohio Hi-Point is recognized as a valuable asset to the community and a partner to other organizations in so many ways. A great example is a visit we hosted last Friday evening for Dr. Stephen Jones, the new President of Urbana University, and his wife Judy. I had the pleasure of giving them a tour of our campus (they were impressed, as most are!) Having moved here recently from Alaska, they were not familiar with the career-technical system in Ohio and were amazed at the comprehensive program offerings and opportunities for students to earn college credits. After the tour, we were joined by other Logan Co. folks who serve in some board capacity at Urbana University (I serve on the Foundation Board) for a reception in the Urbana University house on our campus. Dr. Jones shared with us his vision for the University, and he referenced OHP several times as an organization he wants to partner with to bring more college options to Logan Co. We’ve already set a follow-up meeting, and I expect our partnership with UU to expand greatly in the near future!
Monday I attended a meeting of the Ohio Association of Career-Technical Superintendents to begin to draft a response paper to Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut’s 10-year Strategic Plan for Higher Education. As I’ve shared with you over the past several months, the new University System of Ohio will encompass Adult Career-Technical Education (including ABLE) officially on January 1, 2009. Our group wants to assure that Chancellor Fingerhut clearly understands the assets and value-added that both Adult and Secondary Career-Technical Education bring to the University System and that we are given equal footing with community colleges and four-year colleges as to funding and ability to delivery training which can lead to college credit. The devil is in the details, and those are yet to be worked out, but I’ll keep you posted!
Tuesday morning we hosted the annual Logan County School/Family Court Meeting as we have for several years. I’m always struck at these meetings the magnitude of issues that our young people face these days, and how important our work is in helping them to succeed. The reality is, we can’t save them all. But I think all of you at OHP do a darn good job of taking kids from where they are, teaching them critical career skills and life skills to help them taste success, and give them a hand-up to the next step in their careers and education. You should all be proud!
I stepped in during the orientation for our new Practical Nursing classes on Wednesday morning—what a big group! These students will be in our daytime and evening courses on Main Campus as well as at our Marysville and Urbana satellite sites. It was fun to see the anticipation on their faces (and maybe a little fear) and to imagine them at their graduation as were the students at the PN graduation last week. It’s going to be hard work, but they’ve got great futures ahead of them! Thanks to Amy Main, Nursing Program Coordinator, for the invitation.
We had our annual Sloan Reception Thursday afternoon to honor Dr. Earl Sloan’s birthday and to thank our Sloan Trustees for their generous support of our programs. We give our students, both high-school and adult, an opportunity to thank the Trustees personally for the impact the equipment purchased with Sloan funds has had on their training. I have to tell you, these students bring me to tears every year (I know—it doesn’t take much. But I saw some of you other staff members getting a little weepy-eyed too!) The Trustees seem to be more overwhelmed by the expressions of gratitude every year. I looked at the photo of Dr. Sloan on the wall and wondered if he could ever have imagined the impact his generosity would have on so many lives. He’d be proud. Thanks to our staff for such a great turnout—it means so much to the trustees and the students!
Robert Walker, Facilities & Grounds Supervisor, shared with me earlier this week that Roy Angle, his long-time mentor and local engineer, passed away. Robert represented the District at the funeral, and he shared with me that the minister commented that Roy was instrumental in securing the site for Ohio Hi-Point Career Center which has since served thousands of young people for their futures. In addition, he noted that the Career Center which Roy was instrumental in getting started has been such a benefit to this community and all the surrounding areas as well. What a touching tribute! Many thanks to Roy for all he did to make our existence possible.
I’ve often said that the many talents of our staff never fail to amaze me! Bob Newland, Auto Collision Teacher, shared with me some of his handy-work. Take a look at the website www.purpleharley.com. Bob painted the red and white Bike of the Month in the center of the page. Beautiful job, Bob! Do you do bicycles?
I’m sure you’ve all heard or read in the media that Governor Strickland has enacted $540 million in budget cuts for the 2008-2009 budget year. (Yep, that’s this year!) The press releases state that several areas, including foundation funding (our per-pupil funding) and career-technical “enhancements” are exempted from the cuts. We have received word from Kathy Shibley, Director of ODE’s Office of Career-Technical Education, that although she has not received specific direction regarding the cuts, it appears that the reference to career-technical “enhancements” includes High Schools That Work, OCIS, part of the Tech Prep Expanded Grant, Correctional Institutions Tech Prep, and the Agriculture 5th quarter program. This is reassuring, since we are involved in most of these programs. Shane Haggerty, Communications Coordinator, and I are preparing a press release to inform our stakeholders how we expect these budget cuts to impact us and what we’re doing to prepare. Keep an eye on our website for that to come out!
There’s going to be some water falling from the sky this weekend. Don’t panic—for those of you who can’t remember the last time you saw such a thing—that’s rain! Have a great weekend!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
September 5, 2008
Boy, these four-day work weeks go fast! Here we are at Friday again. I hope you all had a terrific Labor Day weekend.
I had an e-mail late last week from a young lady (19 years old) who had dropped out of school before the 9th grade and realized she needed to return to school to complete her education. She was initially interested in one of our high-school programs, and I explained she needed to get her eight high-school credits first. I told her if that wasn’t possible through her home school, she should certainly contact our Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) program to get started on her GED preparation. I congratulated her on recognizing the value of continuing her education and wished her the very best. The fact that she contacted us first made me think of our vision . . . “To be the premiere choice to prepare a world-class workforce for new and renewed careers.” The great thing about education is there is no wrong time to get started, and I’m proud that OHP has offerings to assist people at all stages of their lives.
Wednesday at the Logan County Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meeting, I was able to present a letter of thanks to the Chamber for their very generous donation to our Scholarship Fund as a result of hosting the “Rally at the Peak” (formerly Honda Homecoming) Vendor Fair on our campus in July. I assured them it will help many of our students to continue their studies and to contribute to a strong and healthy economy in the region as high-skilled employees. Because the contract we have entered into for our House Bill 264 energy-saving loan fund does not allow our property to be used for profit-making activities, we will no longer be able to host the Vendor Fair. But I have offered the new organizers (Honda will no longer be involved) the use of our campus for other activities related to the event. My sincere thanks to the many students and staff who volunteered to assisted with the event over the past two years (and to JoEtta Spain for organizing them all!) Your willingness to help has clearly brought benefit to our students!
At Kiwanis on Thursday, our guest speaker was State Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Stratton. Contrary to what I might have expected, she did not give a re-election speech (even though she is running for re-election) and did not give us a rundown of the mundane aspects of her position. Instead, she focused on how she has been blessed through her work to be able to advocate for adopted children and the mentally ill. She ended with a story about her missionary parents, a stranger who helped them in time of need, and how that assistance has come full circle in her life. It’s a wonderful story with an amazing twist at the end that illustrates how we never know the impact of even our smallest acts of kindness. If you Google “Violet Moon Story,” it will take you right to a U-Tube video of Judge Stratton telling the story. It’s well worth 7 ½ minutes of your time!
Speaking of Google, the Columbus Dispatch reports that September 7 is the 10th anniversary of the founding of Google . . . “before which finding the population of Uzbekistan, the state bird of Maine, and the height of Napoleon Bonaparte might have taken us more than 60 seconds.” (Know the answers to those?) How did we ever live without Google?!?
Thursday evening was the 25th annual Adult Education Graduation Ceremony for the Nancy J. Knight School of Nursing. This is always such a touching ceremony, and this year’s was no exception. At the beginning of the ceremony, I saw what appeared to be a brother and sister, probably about four and six years old respectively, squeezed into one chair in the front row of the Seminar Center. I have to say they looked bored to death during the typical introductions and speech-making (particularly mine) that started the evening off. But when their mother walked across that stage to receive her diploma, they gazed up with huge smiles in absolute awe and admiration for her. What a proud moment for that family, and what a great example she set for them as a lifelong learner!
We had a smaller group of PN graduates than usual this year (21 graduates) because it was just our daytime PN class. But next year, with combined daytime and evening classes from Main Campus and our satellites in Marysville and Urbana, we’re anticipating over 80 graduates! Think about the impact the many hundreds of graduates from this program have had on the healthcare industry in our communities over the past 25 years. Our PN staff has to be proud of that—I sure am!
It looks like we’re finally going to get some rain this weekend! I’m grateful mostly for the sake of the farmers, then for those of us who like to garden, and finally just for all of us who have lawns that look like straw mats. The cooler weather will be welcome as well. Enjoy your weekend!
I had an e-mail late last week from a young lady (19 years old) who had dropped out of school before the 9th grade and realized she needed to return to school to complete her education. She was initially interested in one of our high-school programs, and I explained she needed to get her eight high-school credits first. I told her if that wasn’t possible through her home school, she should certainly contact our Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) program to get started on her GED preparation. I congratulated her on recognizing the value of continuing her education and wished her the very best. The fact that she contacted us first made me think of our vision . . . “To be the premiere choice to prepare a world-class workforce for new and renewed careers.” The great thing about education is there is no wrong time to get started, and I’m proud that OHP has offerings to assist people at all stages of their lives.
Wednesday at the Logan County Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meeting, I was able to present a letter of thanks to the Chamber for their very generous donation to our Scholarship Fund as a result of hosting the “Rally at the Peak” (formerly Honda Homecoming) Vendor Fair on our campus in July. I assured them it will help many of our students to continue their studies and to contribute to a strong and healthy economy in the region as high-skilled employees. Because the contract we have entered into for our House Bill 264 energy-saving loan fund does not allow our property to be used for profit-making activities, we will no longer be able to host the Vendor Fair. But I have offered the new organizers (Honda will no longer be involved) the use of our campus for other activities related to the event. My sincere thanks to the many students and staff who volunteered to assisted with the event over the past two years (and to JoEtta Spain for organizing them all!) Your willingness to help has clearly brought benefit to our students!
At Kiwanis on Thursday, our guest speaker was State Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Stratton. Contrary to what I might have expected, she did not give a re-election speech (even though she is running for re-election) and did not give us a rundown of the mundane aspects of her position. Instead, she focused on how she has been blessed through her work to be able to advocate for adopted children and the mentally ill. She ended with a story about her missionary parents, a stranger who helped them in time of need, and how that assistance has come full circle in her life. It’s a wonderful story with an amazing twist at the end that illustrates how we never know the impact of even our smallest acts of kindness. If you Google “Violet Moon Story,” it will take you right to a U-Tube video of Judge Stratton telling the story. It’s well worth 7 ½ minutes of your time!
Speaking of Google, the Columbus Dispatch reports that September 7 is the 10th anniversary of the founding of Google . . . “before which finding the population of Uzbekistan, the state bird of Maine, and the height of Napoleon Bonaparte might have taken us more than 60 seconds.” (Know the answers to those?) How did we ever live without Google?!?
Thursday evening was the 25th annual Adult Education Graduation Ceremony for the Nancy J. Knight School of Nursing. This is always such a touching ceremony, and this year’s was no exception. At the beginning of the ceremony, I saw what appeared to be a brother and sister, probably about four and six years old respectively, squeezed into one chair in the front row of the Seminar Center. I have to say they looked bored to death during the typical introductions and speech-making (particularly mine) that started the evening off. But when their mother walked across that stage to receive her diploma, they gazed up with huge smiles in absolute awe and admiration for her. What a proud moment for that family, and what a great example she set for them as a lifelong learner!
We had a smaller group of PN graduates than usual this year (21 graduates) because it was just our daytime PN class. But next year, with combined daytime and evening classes from Main Campus and our satellites in Marysville and Urbana, we’re anticipating over 80 graduates! Think about the impact the many hundreds of graduates from this program have had on the healthcare industry in our communities over the past 25 years. Our PN staff has to be proud of that—I sure am!
It looks like we’re finally going to get some rain this weekend! I’m grateful mostly for the sake of the farmers, then for those of us who like to garden, and finally just for all of us who have lawns that look like straw mats. The cooler weather will be welcome as well. Enjoy your weekend!
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