LEXINGTON — Lexington High School put aside curriculum-based learning Tuesdayto focus on different career options available to students.
The day was organized to include panels of representatives from several career fields including emergency management, medicine, criminal justice, marketing, media and politics.
Lexington’s career coach Marsha DeVito was thrilled to host such a variety of professionals from the community.
“It was a great day about community turning out to help our youth in their youth decisions. You’ve got people that love their jobs and show up in relational format to express that. They’re real people who love their jobs, it’s invigorating,” DeVito said.
DeVito also opened up the day to other area high schools. Mansfield Christian was the only other outside school that chose to participate.
“This is just a great opportunity for them,” Mansfield Christian High School Guidance Counselor Charlene Eder said of the high school’s sophomore class. “Many of these guys just don’t know what to do and are freaking out a little bit.”
State Representative Mark Romanchuk (R) was also present during the event. He said the school’s effort is just one example of how educators and public officials are working together to help fill jobs — especially locally.
“There’s a huge disconnect in the jobs that are available and filling them with skilled people in our area,” Romanchuk said, citing an ohiomeansjobs.com statistic that shows around 3,000 unfilled jobs.
“These career days are good for the kids to know what jobs are out here locally,” he said.
Among some of the speakers Tuesday were human resources workers. They fielded questions from the student body about what employers are looking for in new employees. Many said employers are looking for employees that are well-rounded in several skill sets.
Romanchuk said career days like the one at Lexington, its first, should be mandatory in all area districts and that exploring different career fields should be incorporated in school curriculum.
“It gives the students a connection to the real working community. It gives them an idea what’s around here,” he said. “Maybe we can combine smaller districts and schools and take turns hosting.”
DeVito hopes the program, which is funded by state, school district and Succeed and Prosper Ashland, Richland and Crawford Counties (SPARCC) dollars, will continue and grow each year to reach more students.
“The cost of education has just grown exponentially … kids don’t know what they want to do. So the earlier they can decide, they can find the correct school at the right time. that will help them financially,” DeVito said, adding that around 85 percent of Lexington high school freshman have indicated they intend on receiving higher education when surveyed before entering high school.
DeVito works with all of Lexington’s local schools from kindergarten to 12th grade. In the lower grades, she works with teachers to organize field trips to different places locally.
“I don’t think in this local area, with this talent, how you could ever top what happened (today). We are so fortunate in this area,” she said.
