CEO praises LCCC partnership

Buses up for review; school district won’t take stadium

More Lorain students are graduating high school with college credits now than 10 years ago, according to figures from Lorain County Community College.

Lorain City Schools Chief Executive Officer David Hardy Jr. endorsed more college study for the high school students as a way for the school district to get out of the state’s academic distress rating.

The cooperation with LCCC and Lorain City Schools is “a strong foundation” for more opportunities for students, said Tracy Green, LCCC vice president of strategic and institutional development. Hardy agreed. “That partnership’s only going to grow,” he said.

“We understand the importance of providing pathways to our kids that expand beyond high school because we know

By 2017, those figures grew to 38 percent of Lorain High seniors graduating with some college credits from LCCC.

the dramatic impact it has on our kids.”

On Jan. 10, Hardy was a guest participant with LCCC faculty and staff as the college held its annual Community Connection session.

College leaders and keynote speaker David Dodson of Durham, N.C.-based MDC, talked about the importance of helping people get more post-high school education to better their own lives and the community, Green said.

For Lorain students, participation has grown more than 90 percent in the last 10 years as students earn college credits before graduating from high school, according to data from LCCC.

In 2008, 20 percent of Lorain Schools high school seniors graduated with some college credits from LCCC.

They earned 1,453 college credits, with an average of 13.5 credits per high school graduate.

By 2017, those figures grew to 38 percent of Lorain High seniors graduating with some college credits from LCCC.

Students earned 6,004 college credits for an average of 38.5 credits per high school graduate.

In a town hall meeting Jan. 11, Hardy called for Lorain Schools to resume its Early College program along with the Titan College program in which students take college-level courses at Lorain High.

Hardy cited data showing that when Lorain students get degrees beyond high school, they do better in salaries and careers and “ultimately for a family well-being standpoint.”

Dodson’s research found children born in the lowest 20 percent of income levels of Lorain County, had a 5.1 percent chance of reaching the top 20 percent of income levels.

Hardy called the figure “startling.”

Lorain County Community College is a vehicle to break down that barrier and help Lorain students become successful, he said.

Beyond earning power of graduates, the college credits help students and the local economy in another way, Green said.

Students who earn college credit in high school may end up with less college debt, she said.

“This saves families thousands of dollars a year,” Green said.

Lorain High students earned a total of 43,405 LCCC college credits from 2008 to 2017.

Those are valued at $5.4

million in current LCCC value or $18.3 million at the current average cost of one of Ohio’s four-year public universities, according to the LCCC data.

Buses

In other business, more Lorain students could ride buses to school as the district implements the turnaround plan to get out of the state’s academic distress rating.

This month, Hardy has cited figures from two analyses that outside consulting firms are doing for Lorain Schools.

One study found Lorain Schools spends about $2.7 million on student transportation for about 1,500 scholars, Hardy said.

Lorain Schools has enrollment of about 6,700 students.

About half of the bus riders are students of charter schools that Lorain Schools by law must transport, Hardy said.

Transportation safety is a big deterrent for families who no longer send their children to Lorain Schools, he said.

With northern Ohio’s current cold and snowy weather, Hardy said he has heard stories of students walking a mile or more to school.

They get there tired and cold, he said, but that could change next year.

The 2018-19 bus routes are not final yet, but Hardy acknowledged the district operations team is looking to improve student transportation and increase ridership.

“That is the goal,” he said. “We want more of our scholars taking our transportation and getting to school safely.”

Hardy also credited the district partnership with First Student school bus company.

Pipe Yard stadium

Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer this month has stated he hoped Hardy would reconsider a decision to turn down the city donation of the Pipe Yard Stadium to the school district.

In October, Lorain City Council approved the transfer of P.C. Campana Park, with the Pipe Yard baseball stadium, 2840 Meister Road, to the Lorain City School Board.

In December, Hardy notified Ritenauer the district would not take on the park, which includes other baseball fields.

Hardy stated he first must emphasize academics for Lorain Schools.

The district will tear down the former Southview High School building and develop that site for athletic fields, Hardy said.