THE TRIBUNE, JACKSON COUNTY, IND. A8 SATURDAY-SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 1, 2017 LOCAL Sponsored By And One outstanding high school senior per month will be chosen to receive $200 and will be featured in The Tribune. If you would like to nominate a Jackson County High School senior for contribution to our community, call 812-522-4871 or stop by THE TRIBUNE at 100 St. Louis and pick up a nomination form. I would like to nominate Anna Bullard for the Outstanding Student of the Month.
A nna participates in the National Honor Society, D.A.R.E, Show Choir, and has played on the Seymour High School softball team for four years. he was a member of the prom court, attended Hoosier Girls State and participated in the Riley Dance Marathon. A nna has volunteered at Schneck Medical Center and worked at Prestigous Afairs this summer. Anna is an active member of Immanuel Lutheran Church and a good role model for others. Graduate Class of 2018 Anna Bullard Seymour High School September Outstanding Senior of the Month Nominated by: Patty Baker Anna is the daughter of Baron Rachel Bullard ST-31989362 seven hospitals workforce, government and community leaders from the region working together for a very long said Kathy Oren, executive director of the Community Education Coalition.
The coalition this year marks its 20th anniversary, and its Economic Opportunities through Education (EcO) Network has been operating for the past 10 of those years. Talent Hubs play a key role as creative and entrepreneurial engines that power the economy, Merisotis said. our country to meet the growing demand for an educated workforce, we must bolster community-based efforts that are tightly focused on increasing the number of people in cities across the country with education and training beyond high Merisotis said. The Talent Hub designation will do five things for the coalition and its efforts, said Jack Hess, executive director of CivicLab, a Columbus-based institution that is dedicated to the practice of civic collaboration and works with the coalition: Create a unified goal to pursue interests around Provide a disciplined framework for addressing the attainment gap Help foster relationships with education partners because of credibility Help secure funding Put a Talent Hub community in a national network with peer communities and provide access to them a catalyst for Oren said. Lumina reviewed 57 applications from communities for Talent Hub designation and a grant award, said Dakota Pawlicki, strategy officer for community mobilization.
Factors such as the ability to create environments that attract, retain and cultivate talent were considered. The Community Education past work to build an infrastructure necessary to increase postsecondary attainment levels, through a collaborative partnership with key stakeholders, factored into its selection, Pawlicki said. He said two things stand out about the efforts in the southeast Indiana region: Its ability to connect with local postsecondary institutions and leverage state- and regional-level support to maximize the impact on learning, such as Ivy Commit to Finish program Its strong connection to the workforce and high-demand jobs in manufacturing, health care and information technology, and its ability to work with industry leaders. The EcO Network, through its education partners, has dramatically expanded middle school through grade 16 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education program enrollments related to advanced manufacturing and health care. Additionally, access to high-quality postsecondary certifications and degree programs have been significantly enhanced by investments from the EcO Network, including the operation of 23 technology labs in the region.
Engineering and technology programs in Jackson County take place through Medora Community School Seymour Community School Brownstown Central Community School Crothersville Community School Corp. and Trinity Lutheran High School, Ivy Tech Community College, Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus and Purdue Polytechnic Columbus. Dan Davis, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Jackson County and a member of the board of the Jackson County Education Coalition, said the partners throughout the EcO Network region have created a model for how communities can form networks of industry, education, economic development, government and private organizations working together to make real and sustainable progress in developing an educated and skilled workforce that is prepared to meet industry employment needs. Jackie Hill, workforce director for Jackson County Industrial Development agreed. of the terrific work of the EcO Network over the past 10 years, hundreds of people and organizations have come together to better align education and economic she said.
The Community Education Coalition has raised and leveraged about $333 million over 20 years toward educational efforts in the southeast Indiana region, said John Burnett, president and CEO of the organization. would think that every economic development person in the region would figure out a way to say, to this region. This region has its act together with developing programs and an educational pipeline for and Burnett said. The region was chosen in 2013 as one of communities for its Community Partnership for Attainment program. see Columbus as a great opportunity to make scalable impact on a population that is Pawlicki said, referencing the Latino population.
Community Education Coalition officials said raising the attainment level of Latinos is important because it is the largest growing population in the region, and the post- secondary attainment rate for Latinos age 25 and older is significantly lower than for the overall adult population. Also, low-income adults are a focus for increasing attainment because that population represents about 32 percent of the total population more than 103,000 adults. got a lot of work to Oren said. Other counties in the region include Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley and Switzerland. LOCAL INITIATIVE The designation of Indiana as a Talent Hub means that the Community Education Coalition and its EcO Network will have a $350,000 grant, spread over 42 months, to fund a regional education initiative.
The local initiative: Focuses on increasing the educational attainment rate of adults with no college, specifically Latino adults and low-income adults Seeks to eliminate disparities in educational outcomes from historically underserved and underrepresented populations in southeast Indiana Works to reduce education gaps among low-income adults, Latino adults and all other learners Has goals of increasing high school graduation rates, post- secondary attainment rates, the percentage of adults possessing a high school diploma and postsec- ondary credential and alignment with key economic industry sectors Is a key part of increasing the educational attainment rate from 30.6 percent to 35.2 percent by 2020. Doing so would result in an additional 3,000 credential degree completions. Seeks to establish a model to accelerate the educational attainment rates in the region and lead students to high-demand jobs in the manufacturing, health care and information technology sectors Works with Ivy Tech Community College and the adult education providers (McDowell Education Center, Jennings County Education Center, River Valley Resources) Utilizes stakeholder engagement and community collaboration Has strategic themes of talent attraction, talent development, talent engagement Will strive to increase enrollments in WorkIndiana occupational training Implement strategies such as Beyond Financial Aid of college campuses to support low-income students Expand English Language Learner classes to meet the needs of the expanding Latino population LEVELS CONTINUED FROM PAGE A1 CARLA CLARK FOR THE TRIBUNE Teacher Brandon Macy, left, talks with Veronica G. during evening classes Sept. 21 at McDowell Education Center in Columbus.
ABOUT THE GROUP WHO: Community Education Coalition WHAT: Organization focused on aligning and integrating the community learning system, economic development and quality of life. WHEN: Founded in 1997 by the Columbus Economic Development Board, Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, community stakeholders and major businesses in collaboration with educators. WHERE: Headquarters at 4555 Central Ave. in Columbus but serves the following 10 counties in southeast Indiana through its Economic Opportunities through Education (EcO) Network: Bartholomew, Jennings, Jackson, Decatur, Franklin, Ripley, Dearborn, Jefferson, Ohio and Switzerland NOTABLE: EcO utilizes three strategic regional networks, advanced manufacturing, health care and attainment.
