Well, let’s see. What have we been up to the last couple of weeks? Watching it snow, watching it snow, and watching it snow some more. I’m mindful of what these interruptions in schedules do to everyone’s work, and I know playing catch-up is difficult. But I also know you’re up to it and we’ll recover quickly as we always do. And I think winters like this make us appreciate spring even more when it comes! I had to chuckle at a quote I read yesterday: “There’s one good thing about snow. It makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor’s.” As someone who took care of a couple of acres by myself for many years (and not always very well), I can appreciate that!
I want to applaud our Facilities & Grounds staff who did an amazing job of keeping the heat and water on and clearing (and re-clearing, and re-clearing) our campus during the one-two punch Mother Nature threw at us this past week. You almost have to have been here to see what they dealt with. To give you an idea, I’ve included a photo of just one of the many massive snowdrifts they dealt with on campus. Thanks to a great team for a great job!
This past weekend, I attended the second in a series of three weekend seminars in the Cleveland area. The focus of this month’s seminar was technology in education, and it was really good information. First, I immediately recognized how very fortunate we are at Ohio Hi-Point to have the resources we do to put amazing technology into the hands of our students. We’re ahead of the game. I also thought about the many challenges we have faced and overcome related to the freedom we give our students. But it’s a constant struggle, balancing freedom with protection and responsibility. One of the speakers recommended a book that I’ve ordered and will be reading as soon as I get it, 21st Century Skills – Learning for Life in Our Times. I’ll let you know what I think. And I invite you to read along with me; I’d be anxious to hear your thoughts.
Since I haven’t done much lately but watch weather reports and try to reschedule meetings and activities, let me share some of what others have been doing at OHP!
On January 29, the high school held its TAD Incentive Day for the second nine weeks. Students who had perfect attendance and no discipline or tardies were treated to a special Movie Day. The cafeteria was set up like a movie theater and the students were treated to an array of snacks to enjoy before the movie. The movie shown was 17 Again. After the movie, the students were involved in drawings for prizes such as Wal-Mart gift cards, tubing passes for Mad River Mountain, and Burger King gift cards. In addition, the committee tossed out an assortment of t-shirts to the crowd. (See photo at right.) Our students were great achievers for 2nd quarter: 86 students met the criteria and 60 participated in this event. Congratulations to them all!
Sometimes we need to be reminded by our own of all the great things Ohio Hi-Point does for students. When I shared in a recent blog about the Career-Tech Legislative Conference the administrators and I attended, I received the following from Rex Kear, our Career-Based Intervention teacher at Upper Scioto Valley:
Kim, I knew once you started to talk to our legislative group that Ohio Hi Point Career Center would be a no brainer. Just think about scratching the surface: Vocational, 2 plus 2 , Dual Credit, articulation agreements, the Federal Gov’t putting money into community colleges because that is the way to get jobs, jobs, jobs…85% of jobs will come from associate degrees. My students even though they are 9th and 10th graders get excited about tech-prep, dual credits, articulation agreements, and associate degrees. You invest 2 years of college--say $20,000--almost guarantee a job you like (career) and get paid $45,000 with benefits. In today’s economy to have that much potential should get everyone excited. Especially when it is already in place and is flexible enough to fit the changes of the near future. Well I just got carried away. Thanks for all you do for kids! Go Team Go!
Rex, you did an amazing job of condensing into one paragraph the many benefits of career-tech and our impact on the workforce and economy! Thanks so much for sharing your kudos with your peers.
By the way, one result of our visits with legislators in Columbus is that Representative Dave Burke toured our campus on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, with our delayed schedule, he didn’t get to see students in action. But he and his aide Kinsey Jolliff certainly got to see first-hand the amazing facility and technology that we are so fortunate to provide to our students (see photo at right). Representative Burke, Kinsey, and I talked at length after the tour and I was able to share with them my concerns about our current and future funding levels. While I expressed that we will be responsible and make good decisions to position our District to weather these difficult times, I also expressed that we will need his support in advocating for equitable funding as the Ohio School Finance Advisory Council studies our funding system. He’s on board!
Senator Karen Gillmore is scheduling a visit for later this month (she wanted to make sure to be here when students are in session). I’ll let you know when we get that visit scheduled--be ready to have your students show their stuff!
I hope you’ll have time to enjoy the opening of the Olympic Winter Games this weekend--be sure to root for Bellefontaine’s own Louie Vito in the snowboarding competition on Wednesday!! Enjoy your extended weekend, share the love on Valentine's Day, make some snow angels (that’s a winter sport!), and stay safe.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
January 29, 2010
OK, does anyone know what happened to January? It certainly got away from me! Some good news you can hold onto, though—someone told me today only 50 days until spring. Bring it on!
Hope you’ve had a great, productive week. A couple of highlights from my week:
Wednesday and Thursday the administrative team, Shane, and I attended the annual Ohio ACTE Legislative Conference in Columbus (while Jon and Glenn stayed back to hold down the fort—thanks!) Seems what we hear most about today is the need for jobs, jobs, jobs. Our visits with legislators gave us the opportunity to stress to them how career-technical education in Ohio can be part of the solution to the jobs crisis. One visit was especially neat: When Joel and I visited Senator Gillmore’s office, the Senator wasn’t available, so we met with her aide Erica. Once Erica connected who we were, she went on to tell us how much she values career-tech and how she feels more students (including some she graduated with) should take advantage of what we have to offer. She recognized how critical our training programs are to Ohio’s economic recovery. Wow—we hardly had to say a word! If you’ve ever talked with legislative aides before, you know that they’re the “gatekeepers” of information and filter what gets to legislators. So I sometimes actually prefer to meet with them! Erica is one contact we will definitely cultivate. And as we work to stay in touch with our legislators, we will be calling on you to share your success stories and provide data that demonstrates that we get the job done!
During the conference, we also heard some really good speakers on legislation, funding, and the economy. Not entirely the most uplifting messages, but it was gratifying to have legislators, ODE leadership, and business people validate the training we provide to high-school and adult students. We’ve got some tough times and tough decisions ahead of us, but we also have some real opportunities to position ourselves well for the educational reforms being driven by the economy. I’ll have more to share about that at our District Update on February12.
On Wednesday evening we held our Board Meeting and welcomed seven new Board Members. We took a little extra time to educate them on our operations, and I could sense from their reactions that they are really amazed at the many facets of our organization. I’m sure it’s a little overwhelming at first, but we’ll invest time to make sure we get them oriented and up to speed. They’ll be attending orientation sessions the middle of next week, and I look forward to touring them through some of our labs and showing off our students!
We’re heavily into recruiting season, and new opportunities are opening up to us all the time! Last week, Marysville High School hosted a Career Fair and gave our teachers and students an opportunity to come in and share about their programs (see photo at right). This is partnership at its best—making all students aware of opportunities available—and we appreciate Marysville opening their doors to us!
I have to share kind of a cute story about a group of our students. I came out of a meeting in the Inn on Tuesday morning, and I noticed a young man among a group in the Commons with his hat on. I went over and asked him to please remove it (which he did, no problem). I also told them I was glad they made it to school safely in the snow that morning. I have some small bandages on my face where I had some lesions removed. One of the kids—being uninhibited as they tend to be—asked, “What happened to your face?” I had honestly forgotten the bandages were there, so I’m not sure how I came up with this so quickly; but I said, “This is an example of facial piercing gone bad.” He looked pretty shocked, and I could see his wheels spinning wondering why I would try to pierce my face where these bandages are. I laughed and told him I was just kidding—and I reminded the whole group to wear their sunscreen.
Isn’t Groundhog Day coming up? I never can remember when it is or whether we want the little guy to see his shadow or not. Anyway, have a great weekend and hopefully we’ll get to see our shadows!
Hope you’ve had a great, productive week. A couple of highlights from my week:
Wednesday and Thursday the administrative team, Shane, and I attended the annual Ohio ACTE Legislative Conference in Columbus (while Jon and Glenn stayed back to hold down the fort—thanks!) Seems what we hear most about today is the need for jobs, jobs, jobs. Our visits with legislators gave us the opportunity to stress to them how career-technical education in Ohio can be part of the solution to the jobs crisis. One visit was especially neat: When Joel and I visited Senator Gillmore’s office, the Senator wasn’t available, so we met with her aide Erica. Once Erica connected who we were, she went on to tell us how much she values career-tech and how she feels more students (including some she graduated with) should take advantage of what we have to offer. She recognized how critical our training programs are to Ohio’s economic recovery. Wow—we hardly had to say a word! If you’ve ever talked with legislative aides before, you know that they’re the “gatekeepers” of information and filter what gets to legislators. So I sometimes actually prefer to meet with them! Erica is one contact we will definitely cultivate. And as we work to stay in touch with our legislators, we will be calling on you to share your success stories and provide data that demonstrates that we get the job done!
During the conference, we also heard some really good speakers on legislation, funding, and the economy. Not entirely the most uplifting messages, but it was gratifying to have legislators, ODE leadership, and business people validate the training we provide to high-school and adult students. We’ve got some tough times and tough decisions ahead of us, but we also have some real opportunities to position ourselves well for the educational reforms being driven by the economy. I’ll have more to share about that at our District Update on February12.
On Wednesday evening we held our Board Meeting and welcomed seven new Board Members. We took a little extra time to educate them on our operations, and I could sense from their reactions that they are really amazed at the many facets of our organization. I’m sure it’s a little overwhelming at first, but we’ll invest time to make sure we get them oriented and up to speed. They’ll be attending orientation sessions the middle of next week, and I look forward to touring them through some of our labs and showing off our students!
We’re heavily into recruiting season, and new opportunities are opening up to us all the time! Last week, Marysville High School hosted a Career Fair and gave our teachers and students an opportunity to come in and share about their programs (see photo at right). This is partnership at its best—making all students aware of opportunities available—and we appreciate Marysville opening their doors to us!
I have to share kind of a cute story about a group of our students. I came out of a meeting in the Inn on Tuesday morning, and I noticed a young man among a group in the Commons with his hat on. I went over and asked him to please remove it (which he did, no problem). I also told them I was glad they made it to school safely in the snow that morning. I have some small bandages on my face where I had some lesions removed. One of the kids—being uninhibited as they tend to be—asked, “What happened to your face?” I had honestly forgotten the bandages were there, so I’m not sure how I came up with this so quickly; but I said, “This is an example of facial piercing gone bad.” He looked pretty shocked, and I could see his wheels spinning wondering why I would try to pierce my face where these bandages are. I laughed and told him I was just kidding—and I reminded the whole group to wear their sunscreen.
Isn’t Groundhog Day coming up? I never can remember when it is or whether we want the little guy to see his shadow or not. Anyway, have a great weekend and hopefully we’ll get to see our shadows!
Friday, January 15, 2010
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.
Friday, January 8, 2010
January 8, 2010
Happy New Year and welcome back to all of you! And welcome back to our Ohio winter weather. To me, this week seems to have lasted a month with catching up after the holiday break and dealing with the uncertainty of the weather. But no doubt it will be a downhill slide (no weather pun intended!) from now until the end of the school year with the many activities in our compact schedules.
I heard someone on the radio say that we have finished the first decade of this century. Wow—that really puts the passage of time into perspective! Remember all the fuss over Y2K? Seems like yesterday--and now we’re 1/10 of the way to Y21K.
It’s so nice to see our students back—and I really think they’re glad to be back. I’ve had a couple of them giving me advice on when to put us on a delay or cancel school (“as often as possible” is pretty much their philosophy!) One young man asked me every time he saw me on Monday, “Hey, did you catch that weather report?” And some of our very dedicated Adult Basic Literacy Education students were here early on Wednesday in spite of the delay. Joan Manns in Adult Education found them a nice, warm place to work until their classes started. Thanks to all of you for your flexibility with the altered schedules. I know it’s a nuisance—and this is likely just the beginning!
Speaking of dedicated, as I drove in early on Wednesday, I passed one of our staff members who was here even earlier. Tom Carrig, Printing & Graphics teacher, was out trudging through the snow to snap photographs of the beautiful frosted trees for next year’s OHP Christmas card. It really isbeautiful with the frosted trees and blanket of snow, and I can hardly wait to see what Tom and his students come up with!
Monday evening I had an opportunity to meet in a small group with Congressman Jim Jordan at one of his local stops in Logan County. He focused primarily on the Health Care Bill, but I did have an opportunity to share with him some of our new programs, the adult workforce training opportunities we’ve made available to displaced workers, and our expansion into Champaign and Union Counties. He said, “Wow, a lot has changed since I was last there!” He said he’d love to come see it all, so we will work to set that up with his legislative aides. I’ll let you know so you can be ready to show off when he comes!
Well, I’m headed to the Cleveland area this weekend for a workshop. Nothing like picking the worst weather in the state to drive into! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend—stay warm and be careful out there!
I heard someone on the radio say that we have finished the first decade of this century. Wow—that really puts the passage of time into perspective! Remember all the fuss over Y2K? Seems like yesterday--and now we’re 1/10 of the way to Y21K.
It’s so nice to see our students back—and I really think they’re glad to be back. I’ve had a couple of them giving me advice on when to put us on a delay or cancel school (“as often as possible” is pretty much their philosophy!) One young man asked me every time he saw me on Monday, “Hey, did you catch that weather report?” And some of our very dedicated Adult Basic Literacy Education students were here early on Wednesday in spite of the delay. Joan Manns in Adult Education found them a nice, warm place to work until their classes started. Thanks to all of you for your flexibility with the altered schedules. I know it’s a nuisance—and this is likely just the beginning!
Speaking of dedicated, as I drove in early on Wednesday, I passed one of our staff members who was here even earlier. Tom Carrig, Printing & Graphics teacher, was out trudging through the snow to snap photographs of the beautiful frosted trees for next year’s OHP Christmas card. It really isbeautiful with the frosted trees and blanket of snow, and I can hardly wait to see what Tom and his students come up with!
Monday evening I had an opportunity to meet in a small group with Congressman Jim Jordan at one of his local stops in Logan County. He focused primarily on the Health Care Bill, but I did have an opportunity to share with him some of our new programs, the adult workforce training opportunities we’ve made available to displaced workers, and our expansion into Champaign and Union Counties. He said, “Wow, a lot has changed since I was last there!” He said he’d love to come see it all, so we will work to set that up with his legislative aides. I’ll let you know so you can be ready to show off when he comes!
Well, I’m headed to the Cleveland area this weekend for a workshop. Nothing like picking the worst weather in the state to drive into! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend—stay warm and be careful out there!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
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!
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!
Friday, December 18, 2009
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!
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!
Friday, December 4, 2009
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!
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