Scioto Tech aligns its career technical programs to meet current, emerging and projected labor market needs. Partnering with business and industry to design and deliver programs that are results-driven and demonstrate a positive return on investment; providing high school students and adults with the education and training necessary to be highly competitive in the labor market. Scioto Tech also offers ongoing skill development opportunities for the existing workforce.

Students of all ages can pursue realistic career pathways. Earning a license or industry certification that can be more valuable than earning a degree. Harvard Graduate School of Education’s, Pathways to Prosperity Project, found that “27 percent of people with post-secondary licenses or certificates—credentials short of an associate’s degree—earn more than the average bachelor’s degree recipient.” For more than 40 years Scioto Tech students have earned licenses and certificates by completing quality career technical education programs.

Accreditations

Scioto Tech is accredited and approved by The North Central Association Commission on Accreditation & School Improvement, Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Department of Health, US Department of Education, Ohio Dental Association, Ohio Attorney General, and the National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER). Additionally, the Adult Workforce Education Center is accredited and approved by the Ohio Board of Regents, Ohio Board of Nursing, Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, Ohio Department of Public Safety, and Automotive Service Excellence (ASE); as a fully accredited adult training center, qualifying students can receive Federal Pell Grants, Direct Student Loans, community agency assistance, and VA Benefits.

Performance Measures

The Ohio Department of Education’s current Indicators of Performance confirm 99% of Scioto Tech secondary students completed a career technical program and graduated from high school, while 87% achieved Technical Skill Attainment. Technical Skill Attainment is an indicator that students are receiving quality instruction and the curricula aligns with ODE and industry credentialing standards.

The 2012 North Central Accreditation’s annual report indicates that Scioto Tech’s Adult Workforce Education Center has an 80.44% completion rate, 85.62% placement rate, and a 86.94% licensure rate. According to economist Tony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, the skills students learn in certificate programs will be increasingly in demand as the economy grows and becomes more complex.

An 86.94% licensure rate indicates the quality of the adult education curriculum, labs, instruction, and testing demonstrates a positive return on a student’s investment of time and financial resources. It also indicates that Scioto Tech is providing the training necessary for a highly competitive labor market.

According to a statewide survey of all adult career technical education students conducted by Ohio Board of Regents, 94.6% of Scioto Tech students surveyed said they would recommend Scioto Tech to others—the state average is 93%. This indicates Scioto Tech’s programs are career-focused, use real-world curricula, and provide students with licenses and/or certificates that lead to employment.

Collaborations

Preparing students for the world of work requires collaboration and community partnerships. Scioto Tech works with community leaders, business and industry, secondary and post-secondary institutions to develop internships, externships, certifications, licensures, and post-secondary articulations. The following examples demonstrate how Scioto Tech actively collaborates to expand training opportunities in our region.

Collaboration with Southern State Community College, Pickaway Ross Career Center, Buckeye Hills Career Technical Center, Pike County Career Technical Center, and Ohio University Chillicothe to address workforce development issues in our region resulted in a $236,450 grant from Ohio Board of Regents. This grant will fund paid internship opportunities for students working in businesses and industries within our region

Scioto Tech is partnering with Scioto County Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) to develop an academic preparation program for practical nursing and surgical technology students enroll in the adult education health programs.

Participation in the Ohio Board of Regents’ Workforce Innovation Solutions Project is providing secondary Medical Office Management instructor Tracy Stewart, and adult Medical Office Technology instructor Tami Hall with ICD10 training. Both instructors successfully passed the American Health Information Management Association certification exam and are now official ICD10 AHIMA trainers.

Scioto Tech’s partnership with Southern State Community College has resulted in dual-enrollment options for secondary students, articulated credit for both secondary and adult career technical programs, and associate degree offerings on the Scioto Tech campus.

Dual enrollment gives secondary students the opportunity to spend their senior year earning college credit from Southern State while remaining on the Scioto Tech campus to complete their career technical programs and earn industry credentials. The college level academic classes are taught by qualified Scioto Tech academic teachers. This saves each student over $4000.00 toward a post-secondary degree.

Southern State also provides articulated credit toward an associate degree for hours successfully completed in both secondary and adult career technical programs. Scioto Tech students benefit because they can earn industry credentials and college credit toward an associate degree.

Currently four Southern State associate degree programs are offered on the Scioto Tech campus—Computer Technology, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement, Medical Assisting and Technical Studies. Adult students can receive articulated credit for the Scioto Tech career technical program and take Southern State’s academic course work on the Scioto Tech campus. The Higher Learning Commission has approved the programs; this approval will allow Southern State to expand degree program offerings on the Scioto Tech campus.

Scioto Tech partnered with the South Central Ohio Educational Service Center, Scioto County school districts, Manchester Local, and Oak Hill Union LSD to form the Southern Ohio Academy. SOA is a conversion school that addresses drop-out prevention, credit recovery, home schooled student retention, and students who choose to pursue upper level coursework.

The Electrical Workers Apprenticeship program is also located on the Scioto Tech campus. Their classrooms and offices are housed in a building renovated by Scioto Tech’s secondary masonry and carpentry programs. The apprenticeship program uses adult education electrical and motor control labs for apprenticeship training.

Secondary Programs

The high school is currently accepting applications for the 2013-2014 school year. In the fall Scioto Tech added a Culinary and Food Service Operations program to its high school offerings. The culinary program is preparing students for careers in the art and science of food preparation and presentation. These skills are being learned in a fully functional commercial kitchen and the Four Seasons dining room.

Engineering and Science expanded to include a senior level program on the Scioto Tech campus. This program focuses on the basics to engineering principles and the concepts of alternative energy science. Students use Auto Cad and 3-D modeling with design practices for project-based learning.

The Engineering and Industrial Maintenance programs were awarded the prestigious Coalition for Public Education (CEP) Success in Public Schools Award for Innovative and Creative Programs for encompassing engineering, science, technology, and construction into building a functional greenhouse. The greenhouse is being used to conduct testing on insulating materials, soil, and various types of green technologies for energy conservation.

Conservation and real world project learning is integrated into all Scioto Tech’s career technical programs. The Auto Body program rebuilds salvaged vehicles for official school use. These vehicles are then maintained by the Auto Technology program and sold at auction on a rotational basis. This process teaches real world skills and prepares students to earn industry credentials for future employment and/or post-secondary education.

All high school programs use community service projects to explore real-world problems and challenges. Last year over 1000 hours of service was given toward community projects and non-profit organizations throughout the county.

Masonry constructed a brick sign posts for the Lucasville Masonic Temple and brick repair work for the American Legion. Auto Body is retrofiting a utility truck for a local volunteer fire department and utility trailers for the American Red Cross.

Each year the Electricity and Masonry programs work on a Habitat for Humanity project, Health Tech Prep sponsors American Red Cross Blood drives, and Dental Assisting teaches oral hygiene to Head Start programs from around the county. Community service projects not only enhance the skill development of students, but are also a valuable resource to the community.

High school students are taught by a highly qualified teaching staff and receive rigorous academics and program instruction in 16 career fields—allied health, auto body, auto technology, building/property maintenance, carpentry, care and guidance of children, cosmetology, criminal justice, culinary arts, dental assisting, electricity, engineering, industrial maintenance, information technology, masonry, medical office management and welding.

Adult Programs

The focus of Scioto Tech’s post-secondary workforce education and training is to be labor market driven—providing long-term and short-term skill training programs that result in certifications and licensures to meet identified labor market needs.

Adult education is expanding their program offerings to include Industrial Service Technician and Emergency Medical Technician programs. The Industrial Service Technician program is designed to supply employers with individuals certified to install, repair and troubleshoot the complex systems and equipment used in today’s industries.

The Emergency Medical Technician program covers EMT First Responder, Basic, and Intermediate. Also available will be EMT refresher courses in Basic, Intermediate and Paramedic.

The Automotive Technology program has recently been accredited through the National Automotive Technician Education Foundation. After an extensive review process, Auto Technology was awarded the highest level of achievement recognized by NATEF—Master Accreditation.

In addition to the Automotive Technology program’s accreditation, the Diesel Technology program is also accredited through the National Automotive Technology Education Foundation. Diesel Technology also earned the highest level of achievement recognized by NATEF—Master Accreditation.

Scioto Tech, in collaboration with Glockner, has created a unique training environment. Students complete classroom requirements on campus, but all hands-on lab training is held in the service department at Glockner in Rosemount.

Another unique aspect of the Diesel Technology program is its partnership with Southern State Community College. This partnership is two-fold—students earn a commercial driving license through the college’s Truck Driving Academy, and gain valuable experience from servicing the Academy’s fleet of diesel trucks.

The Pharmacy Technician program has been expanded to 600 hours. Students are trained to work in either a hospital pharmacy or retail pharmacy. Successful completion of this program qualifies students to sit for certification through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. This is the first year for the expanded program. The prior 300 hour program ran for three years with a 100% passage rate on the certification exam.

Consultative and community programs also focus on identified needs within the community, business and industry. An industry certification can be earned in most of the short-term programs. In the past year, 112 nurse aides have been trained, while the Firefighting program has prepared 93 firefighters for service in our community. Scioto Tech has also expanded to offer four additional short-term programs—First Aid/CPR, ServSafe, Self-Defense for Women, and Auto Maintenance 101.

Scioto Tech has designed over 20 customized training programs and services specifically targeted to meet the consultative needs of business and industry. Generally these services are delivered onsite to better accommodate a company’s needs. Companies’ contract for on-site OSHA and American Heart Association CPR/First Aid training on a continual basis, while on-site skill training and testing for the specific needs of local business and industry is expanding.

A Perfect Fit

Scioto Tech is “A Perfect Fit” for juniors and seniors in high school, and adults who want to earn high-quality industry-recognized certifications—so they are more easily employable or as the first-step to earning a post-secondary degree. For more information about Scioto Tech visit www.sciototech.org or call 740-259-5522—740-259-5526.