March 26, 2010

It's a rainy day as I write the entry, and tomorrows forecast is just as cold and wet. But life is what you make it, and lots of positive events are scheduled at Vantage to help us enjoy the Spring weather. Last Saturday evening, Adult Education Director, Pete Prichard and his wife Michele, attended the annual Delphos Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner. The presentation of business longevity awards in Delphos was impressive. Last weekend was also the Van Wert Home and Business Expo and Vantage staff assisted in sharing information about our programs to interested community members. Our Adult Education department was mainly responsible for staffing the booth.

Last week Vantage hosted our Eco-charrette for the construction project. Numerous stakeholders came together to review LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Many thanks to Vantage staff members and our student representative, Avery Etzler, who attended. Avery represented our student re-cycling efforts along with staff member, Dee Howell. Vantage staff attending were Kent Taylor, Electricity, Amy Grothouse, Cosmetology, Katie Drerup, Science, Don Mosier, Warehouse, Dave Young, Maintenance, Mary Ann Hall, CTE Supervisor, Pete Prichard, Adult Education Director, Bob Vennekotter, High School Director, and Lori Davis, Treasurer. We developed a realistic preliminary LEED project checklist and heard an explanation of LEED requirements from the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC). We are excited about the possibilities of sustainable or "Green" design for our building project.

This week Bob Vennekotter, Pete Prichard and I attended the Open House and ribbon cutting ceremony for Northwest State Community College at their Shannon Station location. Vantage looks forward to their return to our campus once our facility's renovation and expansion is complete. Van Wert County and neighboring Paulding County benefit greatly by the college opportunities provided by NSCC and Wright State University-Lake Campus. Vantage students, both High School and adult, can look forward to even more expanded training options in the near future. This opportunity have been made possible by the voters in our district, and we can't thank you enough for your support.

March 19, 2010

Congratulations to our Vantage FFA students for planning and hosting an excellent annual banquet last week. Advisor Vern Fischer and Trade and Industry secretary Jo Mohr, as well as English instructor Beth Evans, provided assistance. Supervisor Steve Peters was honored with Honorary FFA membership. He joins a lengthy list of community members and educators, many of whom return annually for this event. It was great to see a few faces from the past, like former Vantage Director, Bob Brinkman, in the crowd.

Vantage staff members are busy preparing for the state competition season, where many of our students showcase their technical skill and earn thunderous applause (and bring back some trophies and medals)! We couldn't be more proud of our students for working hard to excel at the regional and state levels; we are hopeful that at least a few of these students will advance to national competition in the months ahead. The state and national experiences often stay in a student's memory for years to come. Student competition is one of my favorite parts of career technical education.

In addition to the competitive events, several other activities take place in the few remaining months of this school year. Senior Capstone day is scheduled for March 31 and it promises to be another rewarding event for our project judges and of course, our students and staff. Spring is a busy time for all educators as we plan for the upcoming new year and close out the current one. Watch the Vantage website for upcoming events which recognize our students' performance this year! Our students' success is always assisted by Vantage teachers and staff who give countless hours of time and heaps of energy to push students to their fullest potential. We are glad Vantage is able to help students reach their goals.

March 12, 2010

It's time to get the "transition wardrobe" out of the closet and pack away winter items. I am gearing up to adjust to the time change "spring forward" this weekend--losing that hour affects me more and more with every year that goes by! Good luck adjusting, everyone!



This week's blog content shares Vantage Career Center's adult education information. Adult Director Pete Prichard and staff compiled extensive information in response to Governor Strickland's request for career center operation information a few weeks ago. Here is a brief summary of the information submitted.



Vantage Career Center's adult education department serves individuals residing in Ohio's counties of Van Wert, Paulding, Mercer, Putnam, and Allen; we also serve some clientele in Indiana. Nearly 90 percent of the adult student population comes from the lower economic strata seeking quick hands-on training with industry credentialing which can put them back in the workforce.



Number of adult education students served: (head count) 1,180 adults took short-term and full-time programs in fiscal year 2008.



Adult student enrollment growth since last school year: (head count) 246. FY 2009 headcount was 1416 adults trained.



Adult student enrollment growth (percentage): 21 percent increase



Number of full-time adult programs: 3 at present time. 3 additional full-time programs are in the planning process.



Adult education student completion rate: 90 percent complete full-time programs.

Number of adult part-time programs: 59



Adult Education student completion rate for part-time programs: 92 percent



Percent of adults served who earned industry credential or certificate: 24 programs offer industry credential. 80 percent of students received industry credentialing via these programs.



Post-secondary partners: Northwest State Community College and Wright State University Lake Campus partnered with Vantage to provide college presence in the Van Wert community. General education credits available through Wright State are English, political science, history, science, psychology, sociology, philosophy, chemistry, biology, and economics. Up to two years of general credit can be earned. CT2 will make available college credit to students who choose further education from five of Vantage's programs. Northwest State provides degreed nursing training in partnership with Vantage and Wright State.

March 5, 2010

Spring is definitely in the air! It's great to see the sun shining and the thermometer going up just enough to give us hope that we have seen the last snows of winter.

Last week I mentioned that Vantage complied with a request from Governor Strickland's office for local data on our career center's operations. This blog will share some of the information presented to the Governor's School Funding Advisory Committee.

Secondary Market Share: 32 percent This is the number of junior and senior students taking career tech coursework divided by the number of junior and senior students eligible to take CTE, throughout our CTPD (career technical planning district).

Student profile information: 27 percent of students are classified as special needs students; 35 percent of Vantage students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. 95 percent of our students are Caucasian, 5 percent are Hispanic, African American, Indian and multi-racial.

Including satellite students at four district schools, Vantage serves 631 secondary students. Full-time equivalent students (FTE): 472.

Secondary school completion rate: 95.45 percent.

Secondary student attendance rate: 92.7 percent

Secondary student placement rate: 98.62 percent

Number of secondary career tech programs operated by Vantage: 25 (includes satellites)

Number of associate schools served: 11 (associate schools are member, or voting school districts)

Number of additional schools served through open enrollment: 9

Number of open enrolled students: 112

Predominant model of delivery: Full-day
Percent of FTE served through each model of delivery:
Full day--83 percent
Satellites--17 percent

Full-time secondary teachers:
Career technical: 37
Academic: 16
Special Education: 3

Scholarship dollars earned by the class of 2008: $20,000
Number of postsecondary credits earned by the class of 2008: 60

Adult Education Student data and additional information shared about our district's narrative will be posted on next week's blog. Have a great week ahead!