By Miles Flynn | Southern Indiana Business Report
PAOLI — February is Career and Technical Education Month, which gives Lost River Career Cooperative even more reason to celebrate. The organization, which serves students in Paoli, Springs Valley and West Washington schools, was named earlier this month as one of just 20 Hoosier high schools and regional partnerships accepted into the state’s pilot program to match students and employers through work-based learning opportunities via the Employment Aid Readiness Network (EARN) Indiana grant.
Kevin Knies, Lost River Career Cooperative director, and Jason Goodman, director of career and technical education for Paoli Junior-Senior High School, told Southern Indiana Business Report that the grant money will help the cooperative accelerate its transition to offering the Next Level program of study that’s come out of the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet. “It was quite a blessing,” Goodman said of the grant.
The goal of the plan locally is that once students have passed through higher-level classes on their career pathway, more of them can be matched to worked-based experiences in the community via a capstone class — while potentially earning dual credit and industry-recognized certification through Ivy Tech.
Part of the process of securing the grant, they explained, was sitting down with local industry representatives, who are already major partners with Lost River’s mission, explaining the program to them, and getting concrete assurances of their willingness to make even more internship opportunities available. Once the benefits were made clear, Goodman said, the employers were happy to take part. “We have quite a diverse group,” he noted.
Some of the opportunities already available include hotel hospitality and audio-visual, with French Lick Resort; electrician, with local contractor HPDI; and manufacturing, upholstery and engineering, with furniture manufacturer Jasper Group. More pathways are always being explored, and one big area of focus in the near term is offering more hands-on opportunities in the construction industry.
Knies and Goodman encourage businesses interested in learning how they might partner with Lost River to visit www.lostrivercareercooperative.com. “We are more than happy to work with any business out there,” Goodman related.
Knies said the expanded program should be in place in time for this year’s freshmen to take advantage of as upperclassmen. Other ways the $5,000 grant is being used at Lost River include providing necessary supplies for the students, such as steel-toed boots and hardhats; advertising the program to get more participation; and helping local businesses with the costs of bringing the interns aboard. “We feel like we’ve got a little bit of a carrot out there for industry,” Goodman commented.
A truly cooperative organization
Approximately 300-400 students take part in Lost River’s CTE programs. From having 12 or 13 pathways a few years ago, Lost River has grown to offer 17 now. “It’s grown over the years,” Knies said.
Select programs of study, such as health science, engineering and CDL training, are offered at all three participating schools. Some areas are unique by location. For instance, radio and television production are available at West Washington and Springs Valley, and criminal justice can be studied at Paoli and Springs Valley. Students are sometimes bused between locations to take advantage of programming.
There are other examples of how seriously Lost River takes the “cooperative” part of its name, too. For instance, Knies said even though the agriculture departments at participating high schools aren’t technically part of the organization, they’re still involved as a way to begin getting students on career pathways as early as eighth grade. In addition, the veterinary science program of study offered through the ag program at Paoli Junior-Senior High School is open to students in Lost River’s other schools.
Lost River relies on freshman orientations at its participating schools to help spread the word on the opportunities available. Knies said he’s hopeful to see some kind of skills fair be added with the help of local industry. He explained having those employers talking directly to students about the skills needed for jobs could be very helpful. Goodman said it’s clear students involved in Lost River’s programming see the important connection between lessons learned there and what they need in order to be successful in real life.