Dayton career navigating program expands to 8 Ohio school districts
A Dayton-based career pathway program is expanding statewide, thanks to a $1 million grant from the BlackRock Foundation.
Learn to Earn Dayton, a nonprofit organization focused on helping students find their way into college or a career, is expanding its career development program to eight school districts statewide, including Columbus City Schools.
“Supporting the next generation of Ohioans to access the economic opportunity in their home state will not only support financial security for individuals and families but will pave the way for a stronger future for Ohio, we are thrilled to be a part of that,” Claire Chamberlain, president of the BlackRock Foundation, said in a statement.
Why does the PACCE program exist?
Learn to Earn Dayton developed its Pathways for Accelerated College and Career Experience (PACCE) program over 18 months with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other organizations.
“Ohio has a significant workforce shortage and we saw the impact that the program had on exposing new high demand, high growth, high wage career opportunities to students who likely would otherwise not have known of the potential to pursue those careers.” Stacy Schweikhart, the CEO of Learn to Earn Dayton, said.
The program is designed to help students understand their career interests and skills and the degrees or certifications they should pursue. The program highlights some of Ohio’s fast-growing industries, including health care, advanced manufacturing and computer science.
What does the program look like?
Middle school students are assessed to determine their career interests and skills. Based on their results, career navigators organize events for students to learn more about the careers they’re interested in, Schweikhart said.
Katina Fullen with I Know I Can, a social services organization in Columbus that provides career counseling services, said she saw a dip in college enrollment over the last five years, particularly after the pandemic. She said that emphasized the need to have conversations with students about their career interests and goals.
“How do their interests and passions translate into career opportunities that are available, that provide a sustainable wage for themselves and their families, and then what is the educational journey or pathway to get to where they want to go?” she said.
Fullen said after the students have an idea about which careers they’re interested in, they can use virtual reality headsets to see an eight to 15-minute simulation of what doing that job might be like.
“So if you think of a surgical technologist who would be in the operating room with a doctor as the doctor is doing a knee replacement surgery, you are in there handing him the scalpels and the drills and all of the equipment,” she said.
Students also go on field trips to get exposure to different workplaces.
“Our students are ready for this kind of adventure where they are exploring all that’s possible for their futures. I’m just thrilled that Columbus and I Know I Can get to be a part of it,” she said.
Which school districts are included in the expansion?
- Brookville Local Schools
- Columbus City Schools
- Jefferson Township Local Schools
- Kettering City Schools
- Miamisburg City Schools
- Trotwood-Madison City Schools
- Valley View Local Schools
- Wayne Local Schools
Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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