ONTARIO — Local high schools routinely lose a handful of academically ambitious juniors and seniors who chose to complete most or all of their coursework on a college campus.
Ontario High School Principal Chris Smith wants to offer those students the best of both worlds.
Starting next fall, Ontario High School students will be able to earn an associate degree in business on campus through a partnership with North Central State College.
NCSC’s College-NOW program allows students to obtain an associate degree in business or engineering during their last two years of high school.
Smith said about 20 high school students leave the building each year to participate in NCSC’s College-NOW program. Those students often take all their classes at NCSC and only return to Ontario’s campus for after-school activities.
Smith said most courses for the program will be taught by college professors and high school teachers licensed to teach college courses, but a few will be offered online.
“We continue to look for ways to keep those types of kids here,” Smith said.“Their schedule will be like a college student. When they have class, they’re here. When they don’t, they don’t have to be.
“(We’re) trying to give them that freedom, but also keep them part of the high school.”
Smith also said bringing the program to Ontario will eliminate a scheduling conflict that made it difficult for College-NOW to continue participating in the high school’s show choir and band.
Smith said the high school will offer more than 50 on-campus college credit hours during the 2025-2026 school year.
Superintendent Keith Strickler said part of the reason Ontario can offer the program is the number of high school teachers who are qualified to teach college courses.
“That’s been a big effort over the past few years, getting everybody the credentials so when opportunities like this arise, we can take advantage of it and offer some pretty amazing things for our kids right here in Ontario,” Strickler said.
High school STEM program expands course options
Business-minded students won’t be the only ones with more course options next school year.
Industrial Technology Teacher Heath Sager told school board members Tuesday the school’s STEM Engineering program will offer eight new elective courses next year.
“We’re very proud of our high school STEM program,” Sager said. “It’s ever-evolving.”
Those classes include four courses that can be taken in any order: engineering design and 3D printing, robotics and 3D printing, engineering principles and 3D printing, computer integrated manufacturing and 3D printing.
Students will be required to take the other four courses in sequential order.
Those courses include introduction to mechatronics, introduction to industrial control systems, industrial robot operations and programming and introduction to the industrial internet of things.
Students in Ontario’s program also have the chance to earn industry-recognized certifications through a partnership with the Smart Automation Certification Alliance.
The district was awarded a $642,849 grant from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce last year to expand its STEM programming and facilities at the middle and high school.
