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Hamilton Journal News
Businesses to Lakota students: Here’s what will help you get a job
June 05, 2019
By Michael D. Clark
LIBERTY TWP. — For the first time, Lakota high school students joined
area business leaders to work together to paint a full portrait of what
a successful, employable graduate of the school district should look
like.
The event proved so popular – with more than 70 adults and teens
attending – that Lakota and its partner, the West Chester and Liberty
Chamber Alliance, held the public forum at the Liberty Center’s Sabin
Hall rather than the smaller chamber office conference room.
Participants, including nearly two dozen students from Lakota East and
Lakota West high schools, worked for two hours in roundtable
discussions sharing ideas on how best to develop personal and work
skill qualities local employers are looking for.
These “soft skills” included critical thinking; adaptive learner;
engaged citizen, persistent problem solver; effective communicator and
responsible collaborator.
Locally and nationwide business leaders have lamented the relatively
low personal and employment skill levels of high school and college
graduates just entering the work force full-time.
“As Lakota goes, so goes West Chester and Liberty townships,” said Hinson.
“Workforce development is such an important aspect … and one day you
(students) will be here in this room as business persons,” Hinson told
the group, which also included some Lakota school board members and
trustees from the two townships.
Lakota Schools, chamber, Cincinnati State team up for new program
Lakota Superintendent Matt Miller’s two years in the office have been
marked by a dramatic increase in community outreach programs both in
person and digitally via social media engagement with the public.
The district holds dozens of “community conversations” at various
locations around the school system’s communities in its two townships
but its recent work with the chamber of commerce has expanded into
jointly sponsored events.
Miller recently earned national recognition for his wide-ranging communication programs.
Lakota Schools leader wins national communicator award Lauryn Dixon
will be a senior at Liberty Twp.’s Lakota East High School in August.
“I’ve never been to a community conversation like this before. It was
valuable to me to hear the perspective of business people,” said Dixon.
Classmate Samantha Peterson agreed, adding at a time in Ohio schools
where so much emphasis is placed on student academic achievement as
measured by standardized testing, it was a new experience to hear from
potential future employers they also look for other qualities.
“It was really cool to learn from business people they are not just focusing on how well we do on tests,” said Peterson.
Read this and other articles at the Hamilton Journal-News
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