SOLON — The Solon Community School District (SCSD) is entering into a new partnership with the Tipton and West Branch school districts and Kirkwood Community College to enhance career exploration and preparedness.
“Currently, these districts (Solon, West Branch, and Tipton), along with many other districts in the Grant Wood AEA, have a partnership directly with Kirkwood where we contract-out a number of hours for workplace learning activities (through the Workplace Learning Connection or WLC) such as job shadows and internships,” explained SCSD Superintendent Davis Eidahl.
Through Kirkwood, the WLC helps to establish partnerships for Solon students with businesses where they can do a three-to-four-hour job shadow or a 30-60-hour internship to learn more about the job.
WLC also conducts a Financial Literacy Fair for eighth graders, job explorations for seventh graders, and line up mock interviews (with feedback) for ninth graders with business professionals from throughout the community. “They do a lot of great things for us, and in talking with the superintendents at West Branch and Tipton, there are state dollars that can not only contribute to that through the sharing agreement dollars, but we can also get more dedicated time from WLC.” Eidahl explained WLC would assign a staff member dedicated to only Solon, West Branch, and Tipton. The partnership between the four entities would generate approximately $15,000 in state funding for each school. “If we share the cost of an WLC professional from Kirkwood it would cost us about $12,000. We would actually come out ahead by having that dedicated person to expand these opportunities for the kids.”
He added it was “a no-brainer. I mean, why wouldn’t we do this? Part of our strategic plan is to have our students be life and career ready, so giving our kids more opportunities to explore career pathways, to learn about them, to experience them, just makes a lot of sense.”
Kirkwood is on-board with partnering with Solon, West Branch, and Tipton, Eidahl said, and the details of the partnership were in the process of being finalized so as to start at the beginning of the new school year.
The partnerships with Kirkwood also include apprenticeships for students in fields including nursing and welding. “We’re working with a local vendor for heating and air conditioning opportunities for our students,” said Eidahl. “The trades, they’re the hot commodity right now.” Kirkwood, he said, “Has been a great asset and a great partner for us, not only with WLC, but two years ago we hired a college and career transition counselor through a partnership with Kirkwood, who sits in our high school four days a week. She’s (Katie Anderson) a Kirkwood employee but she works at our high school with our students, especially juniors and seniors.” If the students go on to college or trade school, Anderson continues to work with them through their first year. “She’s been a great asset too and that partnership with Kirkwood just continues to provide our kids with a lot of opportunities.”
Vo-Tech/Tech-Ed classes return to Solon
When Kirkwood’s Regional Center opened in Oakdale in 2015 the SCSD discontinued on-site vocational technology/technical education classes. “With the construction of the Center for the Arts, we brought back (at a part-time level) some building and trades offerings,” Eidahl said. “They would learn some minor construction skills and they would help build all of the sets (for the musicals and plays). Two years ago, we hired a fulltime industrial tech teacher (JJ Cooper).” While he is still working behind the stage in the Center for the Arts, Eidahl noted he will be moving out of the scene shop and back to the original industrial tech building (located behind the Solon Community Center). Cooper and Buildings and Grounds Director Bryan Heinsius have surveyed the building looking for any upgrades or repairs that may be needed before the 2024-’25 school year begins in August. “We haven’t been in there for ten years,” Eidahl noted, “A lot of it (equipment) was just abandoned so it’s just a matter of going back in and starting the machines back up, cleaning it out, and then determining what needs replaced or enhanced. But it should be a minimal investment.” Thanks to the United States Department of Education’s Perkins Grant through the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, the district will be able to obtain welding equipment at no cost.
Course offerings will also be expanded to include welding and advanced construction among other subjects. “We’re going to utilize the original industrial tech building for the next couple of years, determine where our program is going, and then look at what our facilities needs will be in order to support and enhance that program.” Student interest, or lack thereof, will also be a determining factor.
Since Kirkwood offers these programs, why bring them back to Solon? Eidahl answered, “We found their program is pretty much set for juniors and seniors. These classes, although they’ll still be open to juniors and seniors, will be more of an introductory to those Kirkwood courses. Kids can take them to see how much interest they have, we’ll teach them all of the basics to where if that’s something they really like they can then go to Kirkwood for more advanced work, and they’ll be well ahead of their classmates as far as the foundation we have provided them.”
Eidahl added the goal is to keep kids engaged in school and interested in school. “If you’re offering programs like that to freshmen, a lot of freshmen can only spend so much time in algebra class; they need some hands-on classes, something they can really enjoy. Not everyone is going to enjoy welding, but we probably have quite a few kids who will just like that break and that chance to go out and try something different.”
Expanding opportunities for Solon HS students
February 15, 2024
About the Contributor
Chris Umscheid, Editor
Chris Umscheid is the editor of the Solon Economist.