EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part I in a three-part series exploring how Mount Vernon High School is preparing all students for life after graduation. Parts II and III are scheduled for July 23 and 24, respectively.
MOUNT VERNON — High school graduation marks a milestone for teens and opens the door to the next stage of life. Nearly 600 Knox County students walked through that door in May.
Christine Keaton focuses on what’s on the other side.
As college and career readiness advisor for Mount Vernon High School, Keaton helps students create graduation plans.
However, some juniors and seniors are not on the trajectory to get the career they want.
Some students opt for attending the Knox County Career Center. Others are in the College Credit Plus program.
Keaton’s focus is the approximately 130 students who aren’t on either track. Her goal is to start those students on a path to earn an industry-recognized credential they can build on after graduation.
“They either didn’t get into the (Knox County) Career Center because the programs were full, or they didn’t know enough about what they wanted to assess their skill level at the time,” she said. “Or they just had an epiphany and changed their direction.”
“It’s not just, ‘Let’s get you to graduation.’ My motto has been let’s get you through graduation and to what’s on the other side.”
Christine Keaton, career readiness advisor for Mount Vernon High School
Her quest to answer the question, “How do we fill these gaps?” led her to two programs: OTC+ and an electrical pre-apprenticeship through IBEW Local 1105.
Boosting the state report card
The push to help students get industry-recognized credentials doesn’t just help students.
It also helps the school district achieve a higher score on the College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness (CCWMR) component of the Ohio School Report Cards issued by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
Established in 2015, the measure was initially a non-rated “Prepared for Success” measure. It expanded over time to include military and apprenticeships.
The state made CCWMR a rated component of the school report card starting with the 2024-25 school year.
CCWMR tracks student preparedness via 11 measures like military enlistment, enrolling in post-secondary education, receiving career counseling or completing one of several workforce measurements. Districts are evaluated based on the percentage of its graduating class who meet at least one of the measures.
Mount Vernon earned just two of five stars, partly due to missing non-academic pathways.
Keaton said school officials expect to increase the district’s rating by two stars for 2025-26 because they are paying attention to industry credentials and ensuring the district collects points for those students.
“We have to prove that we are making a pathway for all of our students, 100 percent,” Keaton said.
“One of those measures is a 12-point industry credential. That’s what we’re targeting, and OTC+ is one way we’re doing it. It’s also through this gateway into the electrical.”
Knox Pages will explore the OTC+ and electrical pre-apprenticeship in subsequent articles.
