Day 25: Partnerships, collaborations abound between OHP, communities

A cornerstone of career-technical and adult education schools, and big part of OHP, are strong partnerships with businesses and organizations and collaborations amongst the programs to give students real-world experiences or to contribute to the betterment of the community.
Business and industry and education are three areas that combine to make OHP unique and innovative.  These partnerships are highlighted in each and every program at the school district, as each program is shaped by an advisory committee of industry experts, business owners and community leaders.  Their expertise helps each program know exactly how to shape curriculum and practical experiences for the students to create the kind of real-time educational experiences that make career-technical education highly effective in preparing students for life after their program.

Here are some examples of partnerships/collaborations at OHP:

• Construction Trades at the Bellefontaine campus partners with Dave Duff's companies in Logan County each year to design, plan, and construct a full-scale house that then is sold.  Students work on every facet of the project and it is possible because of this partnership with Duff
• The Health Technology and Teaching Professions Academy Satellites in Marysville were recently featured for their collaboration and their partnership with the Union County Health Department to teach 4th and 6th grade students about healthy eating and the importance of exercise to combat obesity
• The Nancy J. Knight School of Nursing, part of OHP's Adult Education Division, launched one of the first dual-enrollment LPN to RN Program through a partnership with Clark State Community College.  The program, which is offered in Marysville allows students to earn their STNA and LPN certifications at OHP and then seamlessly transition into the community college setting to obtain an associate's degree in preparation for RN licensure
• The Adult Education's Diversified Industrial Training program partners with Honda of America and provides an instructor to train Honda employees at the manufacturer's site. OHP's DIT lab on the Bellefontaine campus is modeled after the Honda training facility and provides training to workers as well
• The Architecture and Mechanical Design program in the high school designed the Urbana Skate Park last year
• Due to the economic downturn the last few years, job loss has hit the area hard.  Adult Education worked with Logan County Job & Family Services to house the JFS Transition Center on the OHP campus providing students with a full-service location for the unemployed to explore career and college opportunties
• OHP has partnerships with many colleges and universities, but actually hosts branch campuses on it's Bellefontaine campus for Urbana University and Clark State Community College
• The Construction Technology Satellite in Marysville is housed in U-Co Industries. The partnership allows students in the program to build a full-scale home on-site over two years for a family with disabilities
• Just this week, OHP became the site of Logan County's 11th recycling center, a partnership with the Logan County Solid Waste District (see ribbon cutting picture above).  This continues OHP's commitment to becoming a "Green" campus, as the campus already has embraced solar and alternative energy solutions and recycles and uses composting in the Animal Management program

And these are just some of the unique partnerships and collaborations. There are many more throughout any given school year in all divisions at OHP!