WILMINGTON, Ohio — Representatives from Laurel Oaks, part of the Great Oaks Career Campuses system, were on hand at Monday’s Wilmington Board of Education meeting to outline plans and honor students at their Laurel Oaks campus. In the update, they outlined several new programs they intended to include in the upcoming year, as well as programs already in process.
With over 127 students in the Wilmington City School District enrolled at Laurel Oaks campus, the campus gives students in the district access to an eclectic set of career-tech programs, providing Clinton County students with several career-centered programs in varied fields with an aim towards lifelong careers.
Great Oaks has partnered with Wilmington and an additional 35 schools in southwest Ohio, spanning over 2,200 square miles, providing technical education to students seeking post-high school careers.
Among the new programs outlined by JB Stamper, vice chairman of Great Oaks Board of Directors, was the high school Law Enforcement program which started this past fall. In addition, Laurel Oaks looks to add an Alternative/Electric Vehicle Technician and a Welding and Fabrication program lab in the near future to meet high demands in the field.
A new JROTC program has been held up, according to Andy McCool, dean of instruction at Laurel Oaks, due in part to the government not wanting to make official announcements in an election year, according to McCool.
“ROTC, long story short, due to the presidential election coming up, the government does not like to make official news until they know who the next commander in chief is going to be,” said McCool of the JROTC program.
“So we are waiting for the election to kind of figure out which candidate it’s gonna be,” added McCool. “Once that happens, probably in December, we can start the paperwork for moving in the right direction. We are planning on having a JROTC program next year.”
McCool also honored several students who have found employment within their fields, highlighting HVAC program student Bryson Schutte from the Laurel Oaks campus who was nominated to be a representative from the campus at the National Policy Seminar.
As a result of this nomination, Schutte was given an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. to meet with legislators on Capitol Hill.
Schutte was one of several students honored at the board meeting who have job placements within the community, finding work at Schutte’s Mechanical Services LLC.
The following students were also recognized for job placements in the following programs and companies:
Ethan Chambliss of the HVAC program at ESI Electrical Contractors, Carlos Gonzalez in Auto Refinishing at Airborne, Elijah Hibbs in the Heavy Equipment at Scioto Site Services, Hayden Kelley in Welding Program at JFAB, Braxton Strakey in Heavy Equipment at Alexander Show Cattle, Luke VanGundy in Heavy Equipment at Little Miami Gig, and Stephens Williams in Diesel at Busam Ford.
The district has seen an uptick in enrollment recently with 3,324 new students enrolled in Great Oaks campuses, marking a 25% increase since the 2018-19 school year. Increased enrollment looks to continue with the addition of a new building which broke ground last month, set to house the Alternative/Electric Vehicle program and Construction Technology, the latter of which had been displaced by the doubling of the Welding program.
Stamper also announced that applications for sophomore students start Nov. 15 at Laurel Oaks.
