Wow, did this week fly by! So many activities this time of year—and many more to come.
Monday I was invited to present to the State Board of Education about the challenges facing career-technical education and the support we need from them. Of course, funding was at the top of the list. I shared several stories about our students’ successes, the variety of students we serve, and their many pathways to careers. I asked the State Board to assure funding for CTE that will allow us to continue to provide quality programming. You may have heard or read that Ohio is a finalist for the federal Race to the Top funding for educational innovation. Unfortunately, career-technical centers were not eligible for this funding as a separate educational entity. However, if Ohio is a winner, the State Board will have discretion over a portion of the funds. So I also asked them to consider us as they determine how those discretionary funds will be allocated. After I presented, we had about a 30-minute discussion—and I wish you all could have been there to hear the many positive comments they had about our career-technical education system in Ohio. They clearly recognize the asset that we are—one Board Member referred to us as the “crown jewel” of career-technical education in the nation—and they were pleased to hear that we are sending more and more of our students to technical schools, colleges, apprenticeship programs, and other post-secondary training. They were also very impressed with the number of college credits our students can earn through articulation and hours they can earn toward apprenticeships. I was very proud on behalf of all of you! Our next step is to have each career center invite the State Board Member from their district to visit the facility and see for themselves. We’ll be extending an invitation to our Board Member, Ann Jacobs from Lima, to visit us soon—I know she’ll be amazed!
Monday evening I attended the Bellefontaine Rotary Honors Dessert where eight of our students were recognized for maintaining a 3.5 GPA throughout high school. Those students were Heather Burk, Daniel McCully, Breanna Schrader, Ashley Kuch, Robert Smayda, Katie King, Mark Salmons and David Thatcher. (See photo of Heather, Daniel, Breanna, and Ashley at right.) It’s neat that our students are recognized both by their home schools and by OHP for their accomplishments—they put our school’s name “in the news” in such a positive way! Congratulations to all these students for this tremendous accomplishment.
Tuesday morning I attended the Logan County RTC Appreciation Breakfast. We were recognized as a business partner for providing a site for job “tryouts” for adults with disabilities and also for providing work for those who work in the adult workshop. (This organization does all of our bulk shredding.) We’re proud to partner with such an organization that provides such great opportunities for these adults!
Wednesday morning, Leadership Logan County held its monthly session on our campus. This group has held its “Education Day” at OHP for several years now, and we’re always glad to educate them about our programs and send them out as ambassadors within the community to spread the good word. Our students provided tours and demonstrated skills—no doubt they left impressed! Thanks to those of you who welcomed them into your labs.
Wednesday evening was our Annual Appreciation Banquet for our advisory committees and other community supporters. I counted them up—we have 52 advisory committees among our main campus, satellite, and adult education programs! We had over 260 in attendance—that’s a lot of expertise dedicated to bettering our programs! Daniel Meeks of our OHP/Kenton FFA chapter was our keynote speaker, and he did an outstanding job of outlining the benefits of career-tech and thanking our supporters. And we also made several award presentations—be sure to check out our website for photos!
Thursday I attended a Report Card Task Force organized through the Ohio Department of Education and the Buckeye Association of School Administrators. Actually, I sat in on the high-school subcommittee as the career-tech representative. A superintendent from a K-12 district commented at length that he feels we owe it to our students to take accountability for their success after high school, not just up to the point where we hand them a diploma. I thought to myself, “Hmmm. We do that in CTE.” I did have an opportunity to share with them our performance measures (including follow-up!) and how we might integrate those measures into the local report card as it is redesigned. We’ll see. This committee will continue to meet next school year, and probably I’ll have another member of the Career-Tech Superintendents organization sit in. But I’ll keep you posted on their work!
I noticed one sign of spring has arrived—worms all over the sidewalk! Another sign of spring arrives this weekend with the arrival of daylight savings. Don’t forget to set your clocks up one hour this Saturday night—and enjoy that extra daylight in the evening. Have a great weekend!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
March 5, 2010
Sunlight after 6 p.m.—how great is that! I think the sunshine this week has done us all a world of good. (A landscaper told me today the Farmer’s Almanac is calling for 30 inches of snow in March, but I’m going to assume he’s talking about North Dakota!)
I’m going to rush spring a little bit and say we’re already well into it with all of our spring banquets, competitive events, and awards programs. There will be lots of news to share regarding these events in coming weeks!
Last Tuesday I attended the Hardin County Chamber & Business Alliance Annual Dinner and had the privilege of seeing our Ridgemont board member, Robert White, receive the Citizen of the Year Award for his work in securing passage of a levy for the County Extension Office and for his support of 4-H programs. Bob told me he was just in the right place at the right time; I told him he was also doing the right things! Congratulations, Bob—we’re proud to have you serve on our board!
This past Monday I had the real treat of sharing a tour of Benny’s Pizza in Marysville (and lunch!) with our Culinary Arts students. I originally had to decline the offer due to my schedule; but when the lunch was rescheduled due to weather they invited me again, and I was able to stop in on my way to a meeting in Columbus. I’ve always been amazed with the customer service at this local favorite, and the tour was really an eye opener. They crank out a lot of great food from very small space in an old building! The kids were great—they were well behaved (of course), asked great questions, ate heartily, and made me feel like an honored guest. Thanks, CUA, for a great experience!
Wednesday I visited our Marysville site and our South Campus and met our Practical Nursing students in those facilities. At Marysville, we have one group about three months away from graduation, and they’re clearly very proud and very excited! Another class there has just begun, and those students seem very determined to take on the challenge and work for a better future. At South Campus we’ve started our very first PN class, and they seem so appreciative of the opportunity. I so admire these adults who embark on such a challenging course of study, and I know the payoff will be huge for them when they graduate. I encouraged them to “keep their eye on the prize” and hang in there when things get tough. I look forward to seeing those same smiling faces at their graduation!
Wednesday we had Chinese students from Urbana University visit our campus. I wasn’t able to be here when they were on campus, but Associate Director Shelly Swaney tells me they were intrigued and amazed by the choices our students have in career-technical training. In their country, their career pathway is decided for them at a fairly young age. As she shared with me their comments, it made me wonder if our students realize how very fortunate they are to have the choices they do. This kind of interaction is so rich for our students—and we look forward to hosting visiting students again!
As the week draws to a close, wasn't it great to have five full days of school? Maybe exhausting, too. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and that you have an opportunity to get out and enjoy the sunshine and warmer temperatures!
I’m going to rush spring a little bit and say we’re already well into it with all of our spring banquets, competitive events, and awards programs. There will be lots of news to share regarding these events in coming weeks!
Last Tuesday I attended the Hardin County Chamber & Business Alliance Annual Dinner and had the privilege of seeing our Ridgemont board member, Robert White, receive the Citizen of the Year Award for his work in securing passage of a levy for the County Extension Office and for his support of 4-H programs. Bob told me he was just in the right place at the right time; I told him he was also doing the right things! Congratulations, Bob—we’re proud to have you serve on our board!
This past Monday I had the real treat of sharing a tour of Benny’s Pizza in Marysville (and lunch!) with our Culinary Arts students. I originally had to decline the offer due to my schedule; but when the lunch was rescheduled due to weather they invited me again, and I was able to stop in on my way to a meeting in Columbus. I’ve always been amazed with the customer service at this local favorite, and the tour was really an eye opener. They crank out a lot of great food from very small space in an old building! The kids were great—they were well behaved (of course), asked great questions, ate heartily, and made me feel like an honored guest. Thanks, CUA, for a great experience!
Wednesday I visited our Marysville site and our South Campus and met our Practical Nursing students in those facilities. At Marysville, we have one group about three months away from graduation, and they’re clearly very proud and very excited! Another class there has just begun, and those students seem very determined to take on the challenge and work for a better future. At South Campus we’ve started our very first PN class, and they seem so appreciative of the opportunity. I so admire these adults who embark on such a challenging course of study, and I know the payoff will be huge for them when they graduate. I encouraged them to “keep their eye on the prize” and hang in there when things get tough. I look forward to seeing those same smiling faces at their graduation!
Wednesday we had Chinese students from Urbana University visit our campus. I wasn’t able to be here when they were on campus, but Associate Director Shelly Swaney tells me they were intrigued and amazed by the choices our students have in career-technical training. In their country, their career pathway is decided for them at a fairly young age. As she shared with me their comments, it made me wonder if our students realize how very fortunate they are to have the choices they do. This kind of interaction is so rich for our students—and we look forward to hosting visiting students again!
As the week draws to a close, wasn't it great to have five full days of school? Maybe exhausting, too. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and that you have an opportunity to get out and enjoy the sunshine and warmer temperatures!
Friday, February 19, 2010
February 19, 2010
What is this? Two days in a row with no delays or cancellations? Normal feels good, doesn’t it? And what is that big shiny thing up in the sky? It’s nice to need sunglasses again! As we get into all of our spring events, competitions, and testing, I know it’s tough to get everything rearranged and caught up. I appreciate your flexibility and patience in making it all happen for our students!
Having people stranded at home certainly has made me appreciate the convenience of technology in this day and age. Our AlertNow phone-calling system sure beats the old “phone tree,” and it allows us to notify students, staff, and home school superintendents and transportation coordinators immediately with a single phone call. (And if I goof up the message or if my dog insists on shaking his head and jingling his tags right in the middle of recording, I can always re-record it before I send it!) Our technology also allows the administrative team and many of you to just “keep on working” whether we’re in the office or not. We’ve gotten used to shooting messages and documents back and forth electronically and holding phone meetings! Makes me wonder how we ever got by without it. Many thanks to our Technology Department for keeping us up and running!
It’s been a short week so I’ll have a short blog. But I do want to share one great experience with students that I had on Thursday. I had the opportunity to visit the Career-Based Intervention students from Waynesfield-Goshen and Upper Scioto Valley as they practiced for the upcoming Knowledge Bowl Competition. The two teams squared off and mastered some really tough questions in the areas of language arts, history, geography, and several others. It’s obvious they’ve been working very hard--and they’re ready to compete! They’ll be attending the Regional competition first and then (I’m confident) advancing on to State. I wish I had thought to get a photo—but we’ll get some from their competitions. We wish them well—go Team Hi-Point!
There’s not a lot positive to share on the school funding front lately, but I do want to share some good news we received last week. As I’ve shared in the last several months, career-technical funding is being studied by a subcommittee of the Ohio School Finance Advisory Council. Up until last week, career-tech did not have any representation on that subcommittee, and we were very concerned about their ability to understand our program delivery and funding needs. We have learned that two career-tech professionals have been added to that subcommittee: John Boggess, Superintendent at Miami Valley CTC (and a former career-tech treasurer), and Dave Plahuta, Treasurer at Polaris Career Center. These two gentlemen bring a wealth of knowledge and background in career-tech to the subcommittee, and we’re confident they’ll guide the group toward an effective funding system that will protect our programming well into the future.
Enjoy your weekend and stay safe!
Having people stranded at home certainly has made me appreciate the convenience of technology in this day and age. Our AlertNow phone-calling system sure beats the old “phone tree,” and it allows us to notify students, staff, and home school superintendents and transportation coordinators immediately with a single phone call. (And if I goof up the message or if my dog insists on shaking his head and jingling his tags right in the middle of recording, I can always re-record it before I send it!) Our technology also allows the administrative team and many of you to just “keep on working” whether we’re in the office or not. We’ve gotten used to shooting messages and documents back and forth electronically and holding phone meetings! Makes me wonder how we ever got by without it. Many thanks to our Technology Department for keeping us up and running!
It’s been a short week so I’ll have a short blog. But I do want to share one great experience with students that I had on Thursday. I had the opportunity to visit the Career-Based Intervention students from Waynesfield-Goshen and Upper Scioto Valley as they practiced for the upcoming Knowledge Bowl Competition. The two teams squared off and mastered some really tough questions in the areas of language arts, history, geography, and several others. It’s obvious they’ve been working very hard--and they’re ready to compete! They’ll be attending the Regional competition first and then (I’m confident) advancing on to State. I wish I had thought to get a photo—but we’ll get some from their competitions. We wish them well—go Team Hi-Point!
There’s not a lot positive to share on the school funding front lately, but I do want to share some good news we received last week. As I’ve shared in the last several months, career-technical funding is being studied by a subcommittee of the Ohio School Finance Advisory Council. Up until last week, career-tech did not have any representation on that subcommittee, and we were very concerned about their ability to understand our program delivery and funding needs. We have learned that two career-tech professionals have been added to that subcommittee: John Boggess, Superintendent at Miami Valley CTC (and a former career-tech treasurer), and Dave Plahuta, Treasurer at Polaris Career Center. These two gentlemen bring a wealth of knowledge and background in career-tech to the subcommittee, and we’re confident they’ll guide the group toward an effective funding system that will protect our programming well into the future.
Enjoy your weekend and stay safe!
Friday, February 12, 2010
February 12, 2010
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.
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, 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!
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