School District Questions and Answers –
With board vice- chair- Twinkle Ann Morton
Last month, West Lane Technical Learning Center had a change in leadership. I have known Mr. Osibov for several years and am pleased to see him doing wonderful things again in the world of education. I asked him for some information about his plan. Clearly he has thought a great deal about this already, and many plans are in the works. What follows are some of his comments and plans in his own words. Mr. Osibov says:
I am excited. After my two and a half year hiatus from school administration, I am excited about helping students grow into young adults. This is the most important job in the world.
In addition to working with students in a safe and supportive environment to obtain a high school diploma, I envision WLTLC guiding students to realistically explore career paths for their future. To achieve this end, it is imperative that students have opportunities to dream their dreams and explore how these passions translate to the working world. A student’s social/academic achievement in high school is a main determinant of their success as a contributing member in the world of work. Helping students to understand how high school social and academic achievement can lead to employment is a critical factor in helping students to begin exploring how they fit into the world of work. Both state and national educational policymakers have identified Career Pathways as a conceptual framework to organize and promote student educational attainment to support entering the working world.
To help students grasp the relevance of education and explore career options WLTLC staff will continue to make adjustments with a focus on individual student exploration of Career Pathways which is a series of connected education and technical training programs and student support services that enable individuals to secure a First of all, let me begin by reminding my readers that this column is my opinion and my opinion only. By that I mean that I am not speaking for the board merely making observations about educational topics and asking for your perspective and input.
Last month, West Lane Technical Learning Center had a change in leadership. I have known Mr. Osibov for several years and am pleased to see him doing wonderful things again in the world of education. I asked him for some information about his plan. Clearly he has thought a great deal about this already, and many plans are job.
There are regional activities that provide students the opportunity to talk with industry professionals, community college staff and do industry site visits. Building on these experiences,
I foresee facilitating curricular enhancements emphasizing Career Pathway exploration, employability skills and work based community experience/s in addition to obtaining a high school diploma. The following bullet points are examples of programs and Career Pathways that students will explore to help establish relevance to their high school education and quite possibly lead to entry level work.
- Increase utilization of the Oregon Career Information System (CIS) to create electronic student portfolios and monitor student progress. Existing Program
- Establish student exploration of Career Pathways to develop ideas for entry level job/s… some examples:
- Culinary Arts and Hospitality Mgt. Existing Pathway
- Baking and Pastry (Career Pathway Certificate-Lane CC)
- Health Services Existing Pathway
- Example: Medical Coding (Career Pathway Certificate-Lane CC)
- Agriculture Develop Pathway
- Example: Forest Ecology (Career Pathway Certificate-Central Oregon CC)
- Computer Information Technology Develop Pathway
- Example: Computer Game Programing In C++(Career Pathway Certificate-Lane CC)
Special Note: all the above are entry level positions
Oregon’s seventeen community colleges have Career Pathway roadmaps for dozens of occupations that visually chart the certificates, degrees and skills progression needed to obtain entry level positions and continue on through career advancement opportunities. More than 350 roadmaps are available through all Oregon community college websites. Staff at WLTLC will introduce/establish Career Pathways as an organizing framework so students can explore Career Pathways to gain knowledge about preferred work and possibly engage in valuable experience in work based community experience/s leading to possible entry level employment.
WLTLC’s collaboration with local merchants, governmental agencies and educational institutions is integral to helping students not only obtain a high school diploma and understand the job market/s but also obtain meaningful (entry level) employment. Staff will help grow these collaborations and organize processes where students can gain valuable experience/s in work based community experiences. This could be referred to” the frosting on the cake” for students who attend WLTLC.
In the short term I welcome the completion of our commercial kitchen for the Culinary Arts / Hospitality Management Career Pathway. This will enable our students to participate in their school based community catering business. In our Health Services Career Pathway we will continue to grow our job shadows, visitations and class offerings. In the long term, I plan to visit various community agencies (public and private) seeking to develop educational partnerships to increase our menu of hands-on Career Pathway exploration opportunities for students.
These are exciting plans and ideas from the new director of WLTLC. I look forward to him and his staff bringing this to completion and helping his students graduate while finding a path and an on-ramp to their dreams. Who could possibly ask more?
As always, please to continue to write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us See you at the Farmer’s Market!!!