Submitted article
Crawford County students in grades 5-12 will learn about what it takes to put their dreams and goals into action, thanks to generous support from local businesses and Ohio’s new Community Connectors grant.
“We have formed one of the 82 community partnerships across the state that will share the $6.8 million grant,” explained Gary Frankhouse, executive director of the Crawford County Partnership for Education and Economic Development (The Partnership). “The local dollars that were contributed to this initiative really demonstrate how committed Crawford County is to creating a brighter, stronger future for everyone.”
Earlier this week, The Partnership celebrated the opportunities made available through the $85,000 secured from the state as a result of the $70,000 in local donations. Ohio Mutual Insurance Group and Advanced Fiber Technology in Bucyrus presented The Partnership with $50,000 and $10,000 respectively.
“Ohio Mutual’s gift toward this ambitious program is a strategic investment in the future of Crawford County, teaching and equipping our school children with strong leadership skills and the confidence to actively pursue their dreams,” said Jim Kennedy, President and CEO of Ohio Mutual Insurance Group. “We are honored to be a part of this effort to encourage and guide young leaders.”
In Crawford County, Community Connectors grant funds and the additional local money will be used to secure new mentors, provide mentor training, support existing mentor programs and business partnerships, and to implement the highly-regarded Leader in Me program for students. The Leader in Me is a whole-school transformation process that teaches 21st century leadership and life skills, and creates a culture of student empowerment based on ideas that every child can be a leader. It does this by teaching students Franklin Covey’s “7 Habits”—translated into terms that elementary school children can easily understand and put into action. Last school year, both Wynford and Bucyrus school districts completed the first phase of this program and just completed training and preparation for the 2015-16 school year.
“The Bucyrus Elementary School staff started learning about the Leader in Me program through a voluntary book study group organized by several staff members and supported fully by the building and district administration,” said Kevin Kimmel, superintendent of Bucyrus City Schools. “We are excited to be leading the way in implementing this important, student-focused program to help begin the development of future leaders for the Crawford County community. Last week our staff, including teachers, aides, food service, custodial and administrators, came away from the training with a strong commitment to applying the 7 Habits in their daily lives, both in and out of the classroom.”
RELATED CONTENT: Bucyrus Elementary staff to begin Leader in Me book study
“It’s our goal to have all six Crawford County school districts see the value in this program and the potential it has for our children,” Frankhouse said. “More than 2,000 schools worldwide have implemented Leader in Me and report increases in students’ self-confidence, teamwork, initiative, problem solving, and communication – as well as increased teacher pride, fewer discipline issues, and greater parent satisfaction and involvement.”
Doug Leuthold, CEO of Advanced Fiber Technology, added that he felt compelled to be a part of this effort. “Gary (Frankhouse) shared a video about the Leader in Me program with us a few months ago and I knew it was something that can make a real difference here. Many of the business owners in Crawford County struggle with workforce issues and there is no doubt that students who have access to leadership efforts like this, and more guidance from mentors, will improve those conditions down the road.”
The grant also will be used to expand efforts already in place that address skills gap and workforce issues. For example, $10,000 of the overall $70,000 in local Community Connectors funds came from American Electric Power to support Crawford: 20/20 Vision’s WAGE (Workforce Awareness for Graduates and Educators) program. Last year, WAGE connected over 60 educators and counselors, and over 120 eighth-graders, to four different manufacturing facilities. Now more school districts and businesses can participate and the relationships between industry and education will continue to build.
“This has to be one of the finest examples of collaboration in Crawford County between education, business, and faith based organizations,” said Steve Mohr, superintendent of Wynford Schools and one of the main grant-writers. “Students across Crawford County will benefit in so many ways from the existing programs that will gain additional support, from new programs that will be born from this grant, as well as the increased coordination of all programs associated with this initiative. At Wynford we are particularly excited about becoming a Leader in Me School and are extremely appreciative of the donations of the partners who made this all possible. Our elementary staff just completed three days of Leader in Me training and I have never, in my 38 years in education, seen a staff more excited and enthusiastic about starting a new initiative.”
RELATED CONTENT: Wynford school board hears and sees ‘Leader in Me’ presentation
The Partnership, as the lead applicant, collaborated on the grant application with five qualifying school districts in Crawford County and a total of 15 local businesses including Arctic Cat, The Community Foundation for Crawford County, Crawford County Mentoring Program, BORN, Young Life, Bucyrus Precision Technology, Ohio Mutual Insurance Group, General Electric Bucyrus, Hord Livestock, Advanced Fiber Technology, IB Tech, AEP Ohio, and Pioneer Career and Technology Center. The Partnership will meet with grant partners soon to begin planning for Community Connectors programming throughout the county.
For more information on the Leader in Me program, go to www.theleaderinme.org. Be sure to also view a video clip of Wynford Elementary’s experience from last year at www.crawford2020.com. For more information on Community Connectors, call Michelle Failor at The Partnership, 419-563-1809.