Harrison Central advisory council reviews SchoolLinks program

Thirteen business representatives and six Harrison Hills City School District representatives attended the Feb. 19 Harrison Central Business Advisory Council meeting in the press box at Wagner Stadium. Additional new business representatives were present, so the sign-in sheet did not fully reflect total attendance.

Harrison Central Communications Director Kate Sedgmer opened the meeting and introduced school counselor Ashley Doren, who provided an update on the “Building the Future Workforce Through SchoolLinks” program.

Doren demonstrated the online tool used to help students assess their educational and career plans. As part of the presentation, Jacob Barr of Harrison County Job and Family Services completed the assessment during the meeting. Doren reviewed the results, and Barr said the tool accurately reflected his interests.

“This is a super business program and a really cool program,” Doren said. “Not a lot of places around here have this program. When I first started using it, it's a really comprehensive way for students to look at their academic life, a little bit of their social-emotional life and a lot of their career development in one place. I'm going to give you a little bit of a highlight today and show you what we do with students in grades 10 through 12.”

Doren said she does not grade students within SchoolLinks, but the program includes indicators students are expected to meet. She said she visits classrooms once a month to review those indicators with students, and students also can work through content on their own. She noted the platform includes units tailored to specific interests, including military planning, and said students can use tools that help them explore careers, including military-related paths, and track progress on items completed.

Doren said the district uses SchoolLinks to help students review Ohio graduation requirements, explore colleges and training programs, submit college applications in 12th grade and set postsecondary goals. She said students can continue to access SchoolLinks after graduation as alumni, adding that she encourages students to revisit the platform as their interests change.

Doren concluded her presentation and introduced student Brady Moss, a member of the National Honor Society and student council.

"Planning for your future can be a very daunting task," Moss said. "But SchoolLinks can help make it a little bit easier for you.

“We've seen it can help you figure out what careers might be a good fit for your personality. And once you have those fits, you can start planning for college," he said. "You can look at schools and universities from around the world, look at their top programs."

Moss said the platform allows students to review information such as acceptance and graduation rates, rankings, student life, campus size and safety, while also comparing how their academic profile aligns with a school’s statistics.

He said students also can review cost and financial aid information, which can play a major role in selecting a college. The program allows students to save preferred schools to a personalized list, narrow that list to final choices and then access the college application section to begin applying.

Those who signed the attendance register included Nan Mattern, president of HCRCC; Cylene Ward; Kristen Willis; Julie Henderson; Milo Baker, executive director of HCRCC; Connie Jenkins; Stephanie Rivers; Chris Orb; Kala Ferguson; Kelsey Atkins; Joyce Klingler, vice president of HCRCC; and Clint Barr, Harrison County auditor.

Representing Harrison Central High School were Superintendent Duran Morgan; high school counselor Ashley Doren; Todd Dunlap, curriculum development; Roxanne Harding; and student Brady Moss.