Vantage pleased with enrollment increase

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

With Vantage Career Center seeing enrollment increases, Superintendent Rick Turner talked about what the school is doing to enhance the value of its vocational education.

Turner, who attended his first Vantage Board of Education meeting as superintendent on Thursday, talked about how the school is working on increasing student attendance figures, as well as enhancing the value of vocational certifications at Vantage.

Vantage Director Tony Unverferth noted that attendance has been relatively static at 93.8 percent, a figure that hasn’t increased over the past five years, but Turner noted that he and Vantage staff members are working to bring that number up.

“We continue to hear from the employers how important it is,” Turner said of students attending class, while Unverferth added that the problem is mostly limited to a few students. “It seems like … it’s usually a small percentage of our students that miss an exorbitant amount of days.”

Turner said Unverferth and his staff have opened a dialogue with other vocational schools, as well as home school superintendents, to see what is working, and what isn’t, when it comes to increasing student attendance.

“We’re looking for continuous improvement,” Turner said of the attendance problem.

Several board members agreed that attendance is crucial, especially when students graduate and get out into the workforce, while Turner said employers increasingly see worker attendance as an important issue.

“We continue to hear ‘if we can get them there and get them to pass a drug test, they’re prime candidates’,” Turner noted, adding that Vantage staff will update the board on efforts to increase attendance.

Board members did compliment Vantage on what it has been doing in the area of workforce preparation, with several noting the paradigm shift toward career education being fueled by the increasing number of good-paying manufacturing jobs coming open as Baby Boomers retire.

Board member Pat Baumle, who represents Wayne Trace Local Schools, said more and more students and their parents are recognizing the value of vocational education, and the fact students can find jobs that pay well without the need for a college education — or the debt that usually comes with it.

“I’ve talked to parents who have said, now that their kids are a year to two out of school, ‘I wish I would have gotten them to Vantage’,” Baumle noted.

During his report, Unverferth said Vantage has sent out letters to incoming students, including seniors, about when they can pick up schedules, which starts this coming Monday,

The Vantage director said 469 students are currently signed up to attend Vantage — a substantial increase over the 2016-17 school year — but noted that number traditionally decreases a bit before school starts. Unverferth did note that staff members are calling the 240 incoming juniors and 16 new seniors personally to ensure they are still committed to attending Vantage.

The Vantage high school director also reported that he and his administrative staff are also looking at schoolwide goals for the coming year. One goal is to have 90 percent of students pass their web exams, wit Unverferth noting that 85.1 percent of students passed the exams last year.

A second major goal is to have 95 percent of students graduate with an industry-recognized credential.

“We’re looking at making sure that all of our students leave with that industry credential,” Unverferth told the board, noting the increasing importance of credentials for students seeking good-paying jobs in the workforce.

Ohio Technical Center Director Pete Prichard passed around adult education brochures that have been mailed to residents of the Vantage district, while also noting that Mike DeMoss, who has been training manager for the school’s CDL license program, is no longer able to do that. Vantage is contracting with Apollo Career Center’s training manager to use their services until Vantage can hire a new person for that position.

The board accepted DeMoss’ resignation, effective immediately, as well as the resignation of Tricia Taylor, assistant treasurer, effective August 11.

The board also approved hiring Reesa Rohrs as Secondary Program STNA coordinator for the high school, and primary instructor for nursing clinicals. Lisa Enyart was employed as a cook, while Rebecca Markward was hired as a part-time cook and custodian.

Those hired for the adult education programs include Christy Wortman, Medical Assistant lead instructor; Brent Wright, certified Welding assistant; Doris Diane Jones, assessment coordinator and 22 Plus coordinator; Tami Blanton and Karen McGilton, Medical Assistant instructors; Chuck Peters, CDL and Logistics lead instructor; and Steve Treece, CDL and Logistics classroom instructor.

In other news, the board:

• Appointed Board President Lonnie Nedderman as the delegate for the Ohio School Boards Association’s Capital Conference November 12-14, while board member Ron Bradford as selected as the alternate delegate.
• Authorized out-of-state travel for Bob Spath to attend the National Project Lead the Way Summit Conference in Orlando, Florida, October 23-26.
• Approved the Vantage Teacher Organization Evaluation handbook.
• Approved substitute employee lists.
• Purchased a John Deere 323E compact track loader (skid steer). The vehicle cost $45,989, but the school received $32,000 as a trade-in allowance on its 2013 323D skid steer, which brought the cost of the new vehicle to $13,989.
• Approved a residential Community Reinvestment Area tax exemption agreement with Craig and Myrtle Marie Duff, 260 Prairie Lane in Van Wert. The agreement is for a 50-percent abatement for five years on a $190,161 investment.

The next meeting of the Vantage Career Center Board of Education will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 7, in the district conference room.