Ms. Beverly D Williams, Director 1409 Western Ave Cincinnati, OH 45214 Document Generated On June 4, 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 5
Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1
Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? The Cincinnati Job Corps Center was founded by the Department Of Labor in May of 1970. Since May, 1985, it has been sub-contracted to the Management Training Corporation which is headquartered in Utah. Cincinnati Job Corps, which is located on Western Avenue in the inner city, targets at-risk youth; the majority of these students are from Ohio, mostly from the city of Cincinnati. The decision to enroll Ohio, and primarily Cincinnati residents, was in response to the needs of the community in which the center is located. There are thousands of students in Cincinnati who have left high school without graduating, so Job Corps has targeted those students in order to support the community need. The center has 103 staff, including full time, part-time and on-call. They work with the students from the recruiting process, through the training process and in the placement process (after the students have completed the program. ) The center provides residential and security services 24 hours a day, as well as food, transportation, recreation, and physical, mental and dental services. The center has a total design capacity of 225 students, with 90 resident males, 55 resident females, 25 non-resident males, and 55 nonresident females. It is a Special Purpose School offering career training, as well as high school diplomas. The trades offered by the center are the following: Office Administration, Culinary Arts, Auto Repair, Welding, Carpentry (union trade,) Facility Maintenance, and Certified Nurse Assistant (off center.) The academic area offers both GED and high school diplomas. Students receive their core credits through direct teaching either at the Job Corps Center or at the S.T.E.M. Academy; their recovery credits are obtained through the Novel Star Program. An alternative diploma is awarded through the Grigg's Academy online. A student would pursue this diploma in the case that he/she cannot pass the OGT's or if he/she needs only a few credits and it is not advantageous to wait until the next school semester to enroll. There have been several changes and challenges for the Job Corps Center over the past three years. The first is the limitations of the program due to the size of the center. The property which had been targeted for building a new center was purchased by another organization. Due to the present economic situation, funding for a new center has been withdrawn. At the same time, funds for operation of the center have been reduced. Another challenge is the increasing number of students entering the program with disabilities and learning problems. Since the Department of Labor has strict guidelines about turning students away from the program, we are constantly adjusted curriculum and approaches to accommodate student needs. The third issue is the increasingly challenging job market. One of the center's strongest focal points is employability; this is highlighted every day, all day in the residential setting. The program has also put increased emphasis on our college and advanced training programs, as well as on the value of achieving credentials in the trades. Lastly, we have added a strong focus on technological skills which always includes being security conscious in using the internet and social media. Page 2
School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. The Cincinnati Job Corps mission statement is this: A leader in career training, we educate and instill values for lifelong learning. This statement reflects the mission that the center's focus is on career training and making students employable. A great deal of time is spent on the "soft skills" because the center recognizes that even more important than the academic and hands on skills, students need to have the skills of getting along with others, respecting authority, and problem solving to be able to maintain jobs. There are numerous programs on center to address the imparting of these skills. In the residential component, students are expected to take care of their personal responsibilities. Through wellness and dental, they are taught to take care of their health and to work within the medical system. In the training areas, they are taught Career Success Standards weekly; there is also an emphasis on leadership through the Student Government and TOUCAN (If one can't do it, two can) processes. They are given experience in the work force through the Workbased Learning process. Finally there are systems in place for students who are not responding positively. Two of these are daily retention meetings and the MAPP meetings in which managers meet routinely with students to try to redirect their behaviors and decision. The Job Corps program also emphasizes that learning is a lifelong challenge for everyone. Staff, as well as students, are encouraged to keep learning all during their lives. A career is not just a job, it is an ever changing path to more skills, education and eventually to a better lifestyle. Page 3
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. The Cincinnati Job Corps is presently rated 25th of 122 Job Corps in the nation overall. It has achieved an overall rating of 102.2% for the program year which began July 1, 2012. This center was rated 5th in the nation for high school diploma achievement, 39th for trade completions, 62nd for credential acquirements and 4th for both high school and trade attainments. The areas of continuing challenge is in having the students make an average reading and math gain of 2 years 8 months higher than they tested when they entered the program. The center has put a lot of time and resources into addressing this challenge. We have a new process in which a teacher who is significant to students meet with them before they retest (typically 3 months after entry.) These students sign a contract with a check off list of all the reasons that it is important that they try their hardest on this retest. The center has also dedicated a ½ time staffing slot to an instructor who tutors individually and in small groups; this has made a significant difference in our testing. We have a retired math expert from the community who comes in once a week for the past two years to tutor. The center director also has weekly tutoring sessions with students to impress upon them the fact that the center is very serious about their testing. Another achievement is that after many years, the Cincinnati Job Corps has finally been able to create a liaison with the public school system. Beginning this school year, our some of our students have been co-enrolled in the Cincinnati State S.T.E.M. Academy. We expect this to blossom into a close and mutually productive relationship. Page 4
Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Cincinnati Job Corps values the opportunity to be evaluated for re-accreditation. The recommendations made by the original team from AdvancEd five years ago outlined several areas for improvement. The most pressing recommendation was for the Job Corps Center to establish a liaison with a public school system. Cincinnati Job Corps had made attempts for over fifteen years to form a relationship with Cincinnati Public Schools, but met with no success. Fortunately, this year the neighboring community college, Cincinnati State, formed a new S.T.E.M. High School. We have partnered with this high school and have found it to be very advantageous for both the center and the high school. A second recommendation from the accreditation team was for the center to address its lack of emphasis on safety and security in use of social media. Since that time, every student must take an online training and test on wise use of the internet. This is done the second week students are on center. All staff are also required to take a similar training and to be certified in this subject. The third recommendation was to develop and implement a comprehensive profession development plan for students and staff. The center is pleased with its efforts in this regard: We have added emphasis on industry certifications, Labor Market Information, Advanced Training, College and Job Fairs. Every student has a PCDP which tracks and evaluates his progress toward his professional goals throughout his stay on center. There is a new staff development system also, called the PhD program. This is an intensive six week cross- training for line staff who hope to advance into management in the Job Corps Program. This endeavor has met with great success on center and has become a new initiative endorsed by MTC throughout its 23 centers. Page 5