We are 10 days into the new school year and it has been a great first two weeks! The students are settling into their new classes and getting back into the groove of school. We have had many exciting things happen already this year. Today we celebrated our fall athletes with our annual Fall Sports Spirit Day. Lima Hometown Stations was also here today to do a segment on our Community Garden that Mrs. Farr and many of our students have put a lot of hard work into. Our Criminal Justice students have completed their first round of physical training tests and now have a benchmark to beat as the year goes on. Our Early Childhood students have taken their first trip to Thomas Edison to assist with the preschool. And FFA students competed last night in the Barnyard Challenge at the VW County Fair. We also found out a couple exciting things. First, that one of our excellent High School Math teachers, Kelly Horstman, will be recognized as the Northwest District's OCTM High School Math Teacher of the Year! And second, Senator Rob Portman will be visiting our campus next week! What an exciting time to be at Vantage!
Another thing that came out this week was news on a PBS special that will air next week called, "The Career Path Less Taken" which is part of the bigger series, American Graduate: Getting to Work. This special highlights the innovative career-tech programs across the state of Ohio that are preparing young people for the jobs of the future. You can watch the show in the link below. Watch closely and you will catch a couple of our recent graduates, Kory Kline (Van Wert) and Ethan Geise (Ottoville) competing in the State SkillsUSA competition.
https://wosu.org/classroom/american-graduate/the-career-path-less-taken/
Kory and Ethan are perfect examples of the great opportunities that await students that choose a career-tech pathway. Kory participated in our first annual CAP signing day last spring, signing on to continue his career with Wallace Plumbing. Ethan, who took College Credit Plus math courses while at Vantage, is continuing his education and career experience by working at Unverferth Manufacturing while also attending UNOH in the Robotics and Automation program. Both of these are continuations of the career paths they started in the Industrial Mechanics program here at Vantage.
The CAP signing day is part of a broader program called CAP, or our Career Advancement Program at Vantage Career Center, which focuses on integrating students into high demand local employment opportunities through three phases of advancing students’ careers. The three phases include:
1. Internships between Junior and Senior year
2. Early Placement during Senior year
3. Career/College Placement upon graduation
If you watched the video above you may have caught the line, "We now are in a world where a lot depends on what you know and can do, and less on how much schooling you have and that is a radical idea for some people." We see that every year here at Vantage. Students, Parents and Grandparents still hanging onto the idea that you have to get a bachelors or masters degree to be successful, when in today's economy it is more about what skills you have and less about degrees. It is an exciting time to be a career-tech student, and like I said above, What an EXCITING TIME TO BE AT VANTAGE!!!
As we gear up for another school year, there is starting to be a lot more action around the building. The last two nights we have hosted our new students and their parents at our new student orientations. Our teachers will be back in the building tomorrow for our staff workday (many have already been in their rooms getting ready for the new year). And our students will be back in classes next week (new students on Monday, and everybody on Tuesday).
This week you could tell that the new students are excited and maybe a little nervous all at the same time. The new school year brings new possibilities and new adventures for our staff and students here at Vantage Career Center.
When I first found out that I was going to be the new High School Director at Vantage I knew that I would need a lot of help to make sure the school year ran successfully. One the first things I did was reach out to staff to develop a high school leadership team. I asked those that volunteered for this team to answer a few questions to guide the direction of our team and school. One of the questions was, "What do you think is the core value that allows Vantage to pull through difficult times?" Overwhelmingly, the majority of people responded with something about the team here at Vantage. Here is one response: "Teamwork. Vantage is a family and we always have each other’s backs. Without teamwork and the ability to make sacrifices for the team, we wouldn’t be able to pull off some of the events the school puts together and it is also necessary when preparing students for the world."
At our orientations the past two nights I told students and parents that they will get to know what I consider THE BEST, most caring staff I have ever worked with and that staff will do whatever it takes to make sure our students are successful. There is a pride here at Vantage, both for our beautiful facility and for what we do here. That pride is seen through the actions of staff and students that walk through these halls. If there is trash on the floor, someone picks it up and throws it away. It doesn't matter if it's a new student, teacher, administrator or other staff member, you will never hear someone say "That's not my job." We roll up our sleeves, pitch in, and get the job done!
Because of that core value and attitude that exists here, I am excited to see what the new year brings. I hope you are too!
