The Building Bridges Bulletin
August 2024
Brown County Business Advisory Council Kickoff for School Year 2024-2025
The first meeting of the Brown County Business Advisory Council (BCBAC) for the 2024-2025 school year was held on Tuesday, August 6, at the BCESC & Southern Hills CTC board office. The focus of the meeting was on how to build sustainable youth career awareness, exploration, and workforce experiences for Brown County school districts. The discussion centered around three key questions: How can we assess student career interests? How can we use student career interest results to plan career observations and job experiences?
At the request of council members from the May 15 BCBAC meeting, a panel of nine educators, administrators, and workforce development organization personnel shared their successes in assessing student strengths and career interests. They discussed how this data has been used to create workforce/career exploration experiences, workforce-ready credentials, and graduation pathways that have led to student workforce success post-high school.
One of the panelists, Dan Leffingwell, stated, "We have an exposure gap in education, NOT a talent gap. If you want to be it, you have to see it." Generational poverty is perpetuated by a lack of exposure to workforce needs, skills, and compensation. Workforce/career exposure in middle school and experiences in high school are essential for preparing students for success after high school. Education as we have known it in the past is undergoing a significant shift, particularly in the senior years.
Two key words summarizing the meeting were "Assess" and "Experience." Districts will determine which career assessment inventory or survey students will complete in grades six, nine, and twelve. The council hopes that this data will be shared so that they can assist in creating workforce/career exploration experiences. Please see the link to the May 15 year-end summary and focus for 2024-2025.
Student Success Plans
The Student Success Plan is a working plan that is dynamic and visited periodically by the student and an advisor or mentor to support the overall success of the student to graduate ready for postsecondary opportunities.
Beginning in the 2015-2016 school year, Ohio law requires local boards of education to adopt a policy on career advising, part of this being creating a Student Success Plan. This is a student-focused process that addresses academic and career goals and resources of individual students that are at risk of dropping out. However, national research and best practices will support that all students benefit from having focused, individualized plans for their futures that recognizes the role of various educational options, resources, and goals for high school and beyond. Student Success Plans are vital in ensuring a student achieves their post-high school goals. With the addition of the graduation plan, students are one step closer to making these goals a reality.
As Ohio transitions into the new long-term graduation requirements… large menu of options… graduation plans allow students to make educated choices.. large opportunity with new requirements means we must be intentional with choices and grad plan allows that.
Real World Problem Scenario
Business partners are needed to work with one teacher from one of our five school districts. If interested please contact Kim Adams at 937-344-6113 or kim.adams@brownesc.net
Industry Recognized Credentials
Under Ohio’s long-term graduation requirements, students must demonstrate readiness as a part of their pathway to earning a high school diploma. To demonstrate readiness, students must earn at least two seals, one of which must be a state-defined seal.
The Industry-Recognized Credential Seal is a state-defined seal. To earn the Industry-Recognized Credential Seal, students must earn an Ohio Department of Education approved industry-recognized credential or group of credentials aligned to a career that is considered in-demand in Ohio.
To earn Ohio’s Industry-Recognized Credential Seal, students must do one of the following:
- Earn a 12-point industry-recognized credential; or
- Earn a group of credentials totaling 12 points in a single career field – as outlined here; or
- Obtain a state-issued license for a practice in a vocation that requires an examination
Each Ohio Department of Education approved industry-recognized credential has been assigned a point value based on employer demand and the role the credential plays in the hiring process. Students can bundle smaller valued credentials within a career field to earn a total 12 points.
It is important to guide students in choosing career path options that allow them to explore their interests and talents. Industry-recognized credentials create opportunities for potential employment in wage-sustaining careers. They also allow students to explore fields they may want to pursue for their future careers.
Some examples through which students can earn credentials;
- Career-technical education programs (in high schools or at career centers) through traditional career-technical education programs or through Senior Only Credential Programs;
- In coordination with employers (formal and non-formal school partners);
- Traditional coursework, such as electives that focus on subjects relating to credentials and academic coursework aligned to credentialing requirements;
- Online training platforms;
- Postsecondary education programs aligned to credentials (for example, College Credit Plus);
- Third-party industry credential vendor training programs;
- Credit Flexibility;
- Outside partners, such as OhioMeansJobs Centers and regional workforce collaboration.
Need ideas for credentialing options?
- Introduction to Drone Technology- Kim Adams-937-344-6113-kim.adams@brownesc.net
- IWIP (Innovative Workforce Incentive Program) Credentials List (For Employers)-Lacy Wise- Tech Solve- 859-553-2168- wise@techsolve.org
Innovative Workforce Incentive Program
The Innovative Workforce Incentive Program targets segments of the economy that have been identified as high-growth, in-demand fields including information technology and cyber security, advanced manufacturing, construction, engineering and the skilled trades. To ensure Ohio continues to meet the workforce needs of employers, the program incentives are designed to expand student access and provide new opportunities for the next generation of the workforce.
Brown L.E.A.D.S. for Youth-Exciting NEW Learning Opportunity for Student!
OVERVIEW
Leadership Brown County-Youth Leadership Program- will focus on three pillars: leadership, workforce skills, and service learning. To address emerging issues the program consists of both leadership learning activities and experiences designed to develop and enhance all dimensions of leadership.
GOALS
- Strengthen Brown County youth with a forum for learning and building their leadership skills.
- Link to local government, economics, agriculture, and healthy living to social issues, community action and daily life.
- Provide experiential learning to meet objectives of the leadership component through 4-H Youth Development Program.
- Develop meaningful relationships between participants and their community to foster networking and workforce skills.
- Develop a sense of community and desire to give back to the community.
OBJECTIVE
Provide all County youth with the foundational knowledge to be successful for a lifetime.
PROGRAM DESIGN
Who: Brown County, Ohio 8th-10th grade students
What: Leadership and workforce development program in Brown County Schools
When: Dependent on school district- One day per month, one class period or weekly.
Where: In the school-8th-10th grade youth with experiential learning opportunities.
How: A series of classroom and practical learning strategies and experiences through theme days and topics such as;
- Real Colors- personality indexing
- Teambuilding
- Service Learning
- Roadmap to Your Future
- Health, Safety & Justice
- Building the Community
- Envision the Future
- Call to Leadership
- Workplace Etiquette
- Setting Career Goals
- Your Personal Brand
- Basics of Running a Meeting
- Interpersonal Skills
- Building a Resume
- Mike Rowe Works-Work Ethic
NO COST
Contacts: Trevor Corboy and/or Christy Clary- corboy.3@osu.edu or clary.42@osu.edu
MRW Work Ethic Certification
In 2008, Mike Rowe created the mikeroweWORKS Foundation to launch a national PR campaign for skilled labor. When Mike started the foundation, he wanted to find a way to articulate the qualities he values most. He ended up writing the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge, which stands for “Skill and Work Ethic Aren’t Taboo.” The S.W.E.A.T. Pledge consists of 12 statements that outline the importance of four pillars—work ethic, personal responsibility, delayed gratification, and a positive attitude.
TECHNICAL SKILLS HELP YOU GET THE JOB, WORK ETHIC HELPS YOU KEEP THE JOB.
The MRW Work Ethic Certification focuses on the 12 statements of the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge. Each statement has a story, and each story comes from Mike’s personal experience working with entrepreneurs and hardworking people across the country. Through this program, we break down the origin of each statement in 12 lessons and explore why we believe every student and worker can benefit from embracing this pledge, regardless of their job or skill set.
Contact Christy Clary to learn more about how this certification aligns with the OhioMeansJobs Readiness Seal Requirements. College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences OSU Extension in Brown County 325 W. State Street, Bldg. B, Georgetown, OH 45121 937-378-6716 Office / 937-378-6646 Fax Direct Line: 937-892-3021 clary.42@osu.edu brown.osu.edu
STEAMology Library
The Brown County Educational Service Center has received additional grant funding (Ohio College Tech Prep, Workforce Development Region 7 & The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Foundation) to create a STEAMology Resource Library- click here - (please note it will be more organized by the end of summer). Great resources for teachers to check out for classroom use this coming school year!
The proverb "Many hands make light work" emphasizes the significance of teamwork in achieving tasks and goals. In the context of the school setting and/or workplace, teamwork plays a vital role in enhancing productivity, efficiency, and overall success. Check out the newly created collaborative Career, Workforce and Life Skills Resource. This document will continue to be updated as new lessons, activities and other resources are shared by various educators, organizations and businesses. To have your information added to the document please email Kim Adams at kim.adams@brownesc.net
Brown BAC 2024-2025: Using Student Career Assessment Data to Develop Workforce Learning Experiences
All Ohio school districts and Educational Service Centers need to have a Business Advisory Council. Ohio is proud to be home to over 110 Business Advisory Councils. These locally focused partnerships convene education and business leaders to engage in dialogue, build trust and identify strategies that transform the student learning experience. The on-going, intentional collaboration can result in a more responsive education system based on regional economic drivers and needs, more relevant learning experiences for students that include work-based learning opportunities and enduring partnerships between schools and local industries.
Join us as we put the talk into action with the development of workforce/career real world learning experiences.
Meeting dates:
October 1, 2024 (10:00-12:00) BCESC
December 3, 2024 (10:00-12:00) BCESC
February 4, 2025 (10:00-12:00) BCESC
April 1, 2025 (10:00-12:00) BCESC
Use the Building Bridges Bulletin (BBB) to share happenings in your organization.
Submit information to be shared in the monthly BBB to Kim Adams kim.adams@brownesc.net
"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." — Henry Ford