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The SkillsUSA Regional Officer Training Institute took place last week at Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center in Mt. Sterling.

Newly elected officers Nick Dunn, a Clark-Shawnee junior in Dental Assisting, Xzavyier Mines, a Springfield junior in Engineering & Architectural Design and Jaime Botello, a Tecumesh junior in Electrical Trades who were elected into the SkillsUSA Southwest Regional Offices last November were the focus of the training.

SkillsUSA State Officer Tehya Maxwell, a Northeastern a senior in Computer Graphic Arts, also helped with the training.

The newly elected regional officers from all six regions of Ohio worked on team building, leadership skills, and presentations at the training. They also visited the state capital where they met with state representatives and the Veterans Memorial and Museum.

The SkillsUSA Regional Officer Training Institute took place last week at Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center in Mt. Sterling.

Newly elected officers Nick Dunn, a Clark-Shawnee junior in Dental Assisting, Xzavyier Mines, a Springfield junior in Engineering & Architectural Design and Jaime Botello, a Tecumesh junior in Electrical Trades who were elected into the SkillsUSA Southwest Regional Offices last November were the focus of the training.

SkillsUSA State Officer Tehya Maxwell, a Northeastern a senior in Computer Graphic Arts, also helped with the training.

After the training, all six regions gave their advocacy presentations, team mock interview and conducted the SkillsUSA opening and closing ceremony to a team of advisors and judges.

The advisors and state SkillsUSA staff also observe the officers and note who is stepping up to be leaders of each of the regions, and Mines was selected as the Southwest Regional Vice President.

The Southwest Regional Officers including Dunn, Mines, Botella and four other students from the Southwest region were awarded medals at the training such as the bronze medal for third place in the advocacy presentation and a gold medal for first place in the opening and closing ceremony.

All four CTC students — Dunn, mines, Botello and Maxmell earned their “Statesman Award,” which is the highest award you can earn at the regional officer training. Dunn and Mines also won the cleanest room award, which is a favorite award among students.

“We couldn’t be more proud of all four of our students on the way that they represented The Springfield-Clark CTC, the SkillsUSA State and Regional Chapters and themselves,” said Michael Rice, Associate Schools Coordinator.

Full article: https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/students-from-springfield-clark-ctc-attend-regional-receive-awards/KLMZTIV77VG25DOGGRJESEMAYU/

Students at the Springfield Clark-Career Technology Center are offered flexible learning options designed to make them feel empowered about their education and better prepared for their future, the superintendent said.

The options include time for virtual work, Future Ready Friday sessions for specialized instruction, and work-based learning.

“Giving students flexibility in choosing where and how they learn does have an impact. Students are more engaged learners, they feel empowered, have increased self-confidence, and report that it motivates them to improve, try new things, and advocate for themselves,” said Superintendent Michelle Patrick.

CTC students have full five-day school weeks, but they have flexibility to design their Fridays to meet their needs.

On certain Fridays, students can choose from:

—working virtually and self-managing their learning to complete assignments;

—learning that includes Future Ready Friday sessions to learn something new, get specialized help or tutoring; and

—work-based learning that includes job placement for seniors, who spend a portion of their day in supervised positions at a local employer related to their program of study.

“Future Ready Fridays are days that allow students to design their learning experience. (They) allow students the opportunity to discover new interests, explore passions, experience other CTC programs, and to develop skills to prepare them for the future,” Patrick said.

Patrick said a common theme among students is them feeling empowered when given choices. She said Future Ready Fridays are a form of choice where students learn additional skill sets, expand on those they are already learning, get help on assignments and more.

“It’s not just learning, it’s addressing the needs of the whole student,” she said.

Each Future Ready Friday offers morning, afternoon and all-day sessions that are geared towards providing opportunities in career, college and life readiness by developing skills beyond the classroom and preparing students for life after graduation.

If a Friday is not designated as a Future Ready Friday, the day follows a normal bell and class schedule.

As the school has learned more about alternative and innovative ways of teaching and learning, they implemented Future Ready Fridays. This doesn’t eliminate the traditional five-day week, but expands on it, said Pamela Noeth, senior director of Curriculum, Instruction and Innovation.

“This concept incorporates teaching and learning in what most perceive to be a traditional style of learning (i.e., five days of bell-to-bell schedules and within a brick-and-mortar setting), but it also allows students to expand upon the choice they’ve already made to attend our school by providing them with choices of additional learning content and platforms,” she said.

Future Ready Friday sessions change each time, but past sessions have included: community service; theatrical acting and vocal coaching; cyber networking in which students training or participating in cyber competitions; SkillsUSA advisors getting ready for competitions; students getting tutored help to catch up in classes; and students visiting colleges on their own or through organized trips.

Some other sessions have included self defense, hiking, foraging, ice skating, golfing, German culture and language, painting, cyanotype art, dancing, cooking, driver’s permit study sessions and drone flying.

“Learning takes place in a variety of locations and within a variety of platforms. As a school of choice, we have always embraced the notion that much of what is taught and learned here is different from traditional settings and therefore can and often must be learned in innovative, alternative ways,” Patrick said.

When it comes to work-based learning, nearly 30% of seniors participate in job placement. This type of learning is ongoing and happens both on and off campus.

For example, the culinary arts students run a restaurant, the cosmetology students run a salon, and several other programs have student-run businesses.

The off-campus work-based learning is job placement for seniors only where they work a minimum of 15 hours per week. In November, 72 students logged a total of 720 hours on job placement, which doesn’t include the on-campus hours worked. Last year, students on job placement earned over $800,000 in wages.

To make sure students who participate in virtual learning are accountable, each teacher and program still assigns classwork on those Fridays that must be completed and turned in for it to count toward their grade and attendance. At Future Ready Fridays, attendance is also taken to make sure students are held accountable for the session they signed up for.

Future Ready Fridays offer several benefits to both staff and students, officials said. They include staff sharing their passions outside of teaching, allow students to connect with staff they might not interact with, additional time to get help, ability to explore other programs, discovering new interests, developing new skills and adding to their resume.

There are a total of five asynchronous days and 14 Future Ready Fridays for the 2022-23 school year. For the first five Future Ready Fridays of this academic year, nearly 200 sessions had a combined attendance of 3,118 students.

Future Ready Fridays are a school-wide initiative that began in the 2021-22 school year, after two years of developing the concept and implementing logistics.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the school started having conversations and being more innovative with its space, time and offering experiential learning experiences.

CTC’s Future Ready Fridays took shape and are modeled after ButlerTech’s 5th Day Experience.

“The network of administrators between Ohio’s 49 career centers is extremely collaborative — we share our successes and challenges openly and learn from each other,” Patrick said.

https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/future-ready-fridays-give-springfield-clark-ctc-students-options/YZP2JWLQLFBFTMCKKGM7UWENSA/

 

CTC’s Board of Education opened 2023 with their first meeting!

The Board welcomed 3 new board members:

• Ms. Jill Acuff, Northwestern Local Schools
• Mr. Ben Galbreath, Clark-Shawnee Local Schools
• Mr. John Kitchen, Southeastern Local Schools

The Board voted in the 2023 President and Vice President:

• President, Mr. Jamie Callan
• Vice President Ms. Corrine Scott

A BIG CTC thank you to the board members rolling off:

• Mr. Shawn Jackson, Southeastern Local Schools
• Mrs. Pam Mustovich, Northwestern Local Schools
• Dr. Susan Page, Clark-Shawnee Local Schools

 

Ms. Jill Acuff, Northwestern Local Schools
Ms. Acuff represents Northwestern Local Schools on CTC’s Board of Education. She is an active community member and has attended Northwestern’s school board meetings regularly for the past five years. She has served on the Clark County Developmental Disabilities for 12 years, serving as President for four years. Ms. Acuff has two children and enjoys camping, snowmobiling, pontooning, and playing piano at her church. She’s looking forward to “helping the future look brighter and better” for all CTC students.

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Ben Galbreath, Clark-Shawnee Local Schools
Mr. Galbreath currently serves on the Board of Education for Clark-Shawnee Local Schools and recently served as the board’s Vice President. He is also active in Leadership Clark County, The Gathering, and his church. Mr. Galbreath has a wife and three children and enjoys coaching baseball. He “understands and supports CTC’s mission” and believes programs like CTC are the future of employment.

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. John Kitchen, Southeastern Local Schools
Mr. Kitchen represents Southeastern Local Schools on CTC’s Board of Education. He served on the Southeastern Board of Education for 24 years and previously served on CTC’s board for 14 years in the early 2000s. Mr. Kitchen has a wife, three children, and eight grandchildren. He enjoys gardening, especially vegetables, and early morning mowing at the family-owned golf course. Mr. Kitchen enjoyed the time he previously served on the CTC board and is excited to help the board be “forward focused.”

 

 

 

 

 

View the full Board of Education

Students were nominated and selected by CTC instructors, teachers, and staff for their leadership at school.

The day started out at Clark State's Brinkman Educational Center in downtown Springfield where Steven Massey laid out the plans for the day. 

Students discussed career opportunities with a panel of local professionals:

• Dr. Alex Horne - Bachelor Degree Web Design and Development
• Scott Dawson - Graphic Design and New Media
• Corey Willinger - Computer Software Development
• Breion Hawkins - Diversity Coordinator

After a quick walk to Springfield City Hall students discussed vaping, the dangers of vaping, and options for support in quitting with Leah Behler from Clark County Combined Health District. 

Next, students heard from Judge Lancaster from Juvenile Court and Probation Officer Lezlie Barron about the court system, trends amongst high school students, and available community resources.

The day wrapped up with lunch at COhatch and a presentation of certificates.

Big thank you to Stephen Massey from citiLookout for assisting with bringing this program to CTC!

First Springfield mini youth summit meets today - Springfield News-Sun article