State award given to career center SUBMITTED PHOTO The Southeastern Career Center received the Indiana Career and Technical Education Partnership Award for Excellence on February 6. Pictured are those attending the ceremony at the Statehouse. Pictured from left are Jac-Cen-Del High School Principal Johnny Budd; Ripley County Ec015 Director Cheryl Obendorf; Ripley County Community Foundation Executive Director Sally Morris; Brenda Wetzler, RCCF grants committee and JCD Superintendent Bill Narwold.

Beth Rumsey
Staff Writer

The Southeastern Career Center board of managers explored the issue of a balanced school calendar at the regular meeting held on Wednesday, February 9. It is the efforts of the SCC to align their calendar with the participating schools in order to reduce the number of days with low student attendance due to scheduled breaks or summer break.

According to SCC Director Brad Street, a balanced calendar starts earlier in the year and allows for additional days for spring and fall breaks. The schools will have the opportunity to use a portion of the two-week breaks to help those students in danger of falling behind academically.

Southwestern Jefferson County schools will use a balanced calendar starting in the 2011-2012 school year with the Madison Consolidated schools expecting to begin a balanced calendar the following year. Some of the other schools are currently discussing the balanced calendar with their boards.

Common concerns for the school districts to work on include payroll scheduling and the scheduling of Christmas and Thanksgiving breaks. A typical calendar shows nine weeks of instruction with two or three weeks off for break.

Street noted the SCC would change to a balanced calendar if the majority of participating schools switch. The topic will continue to be on the agenda for discussion at the March meeting.

The Southeastern Career Center received the Indiana Career and Technical Education Partnership Award for Excellence on February 8 at a special ceremony in Indianapolis. The SCC was given the recognition through a partnership with Economic Opportunities through Education by 2015, EcO 15, which includes C4 Columbus Area Career Connection, the Community Education Coalition, the Heritage Fund Community Foundation of Bartholomew County and the Ripley County Community Foundation.

Ec015 is a grant initiative funded by the Lilly Endowment to advance those in the southeastern Indiana region in education, job training and placement and income. It supports area high schools, career centers and colleges as well as Work One sites to provide resources for advanced technical education needed in the current workplace.

The Heritage Fund and the Community Education Coalition provide oversight to the grant. The grant is unique in the fact that it supports education in the fields of advanced manufacturing, healthcare and hospitality/tourism. The region includes the counties of Bartholomew, Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland in southeastern Indiana.

In other business:

• The Adult Education/GED contracts through June 4 were approved.

• The board unanimously accepted the quote from WRM America Insurance for property/casualty insurance.

• At the February meeting, the contract for Tom Lovins to teach the welding class through the end of the year was unanimously approved.

The SCC Board of Managers will hold their next meeting on Wednesday, March 9 beginning at 9 a.m.