Trending
RICHMOND-Edison High School Career Coach Leah Eft discussed how partnerships between educators and businesses could impact the future during the Building Bridges to Careers (BB2C) Community and Career Connected Learning Summit in Marietta.
Eft led a panel on Sept. 18 at Washington State College of Ohio and addressed 32 people, including school officials, administrators, industry sector partners, private-sector businesses, regional economic development leaders, and representatives of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, on creating the infrastructure in a high school setting to connect students to work experiences. The summit is an annual gathering of regional educators, employers, students, higher education partners, policymakers, and community leaders to strengthen connections between education, workforce development, economic prosperity, and community engagement. About 200 people attended this year's event, which was themed, "Investing in Our Talent Ecosystem," and focused on preparing students for meaningful futures through intentional investments in people, partnerships, and pathways.
The concept is not new to Edison, which has been involved both with BB2C and EnvisionEdPlus (EEP) to provide options for the students' future. The district has worked with the innovation-focused educational consultant and grant-writing company to help implement Edison's career-technical programs, and since then pathways have evolved in grades K-12 with CTE's added for engineering, biomedical, and interactive media, in addition to the current Ag program. Officials also looked to add Community Impact, or public service jobs and different helping professions including young entrepreneurship. Courses have evolved through time, resulting in opportunities to earn seals, certifications, and apprenticeships.
"It started in 2019 when we partnered with EnvisionEdPlus and started pathway-building sessions with their guidance," Eft explained. "[Edison Local Assistant Superintendent] Julie Kireta and I were able to build out the four new pathways. I fully believe laying that infrastructure was the most valuable step we've taken in the last decade to help students today be prepared for tomorrow."
Eft has been involved with BB2C for the past seven years and said she was asked to speak by organization Senior Director of Partnerships Jeremy Ward. She led a panel and also introduced industry leaders with coding internships available for students for hospitals and health care facilities. During her address, she said about a dozen students took part in a previous cohort and eight of them are now employed. She also asked attendants if and how they contributed to best practices.
In addition to keynote speakers and student voices, the summit included breakout sessions, networking opportunities and chances to seek practical strategies and innovative ideas for building talent ecosystems. Vendors were also on hand representing manufacturing, engineering, and natural energy.
The purpose of the summit was to help attendees receive actionable tools, new partnerships and strategies to enhance community and career-connected learning in their own areas. BB2C is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit bridging the gap between education and employment through community partnerships, career development programs and student engagement initiatives.
“It was empowering," Eft said of the experience. "It has made an impact here because at least two tech students have been gainfully employed [following internships] and one completed the BB2C High School Mental Health Internship and was placed with Ohio Valley Counseling, then they were later hired. We're starting to see the hard work pay off."
Meanwhile, Eft noted BB2C officials have also visited Edison to talk to students about career opportunities.