Chamber Business Connection Vol. 1, Issue 10 | Page 13

Dr. Wise also related that in spite of the new graduation requirement, the South-Western City School
District is more prepared than ever to ensure students are ready for College or the workforce.
“We’re very pleased with where we are. We continue to make significant academic gains, so we feel that
our students are better prepared for college or the workplace than they’ve ever been before,” he said.
“We’re proud of the partnerships we’ve established with various businesses in the community in order
to make sure students have authentic, real-world learning opportunities as well as our partnerships with
colleges and universities to make sure our students have the opportunity to earn college credit while still in
high school.”
These college credits add up fast, and Dr. Wise was proud to explain just how much these credits are worth
in the real world – and how well students have done, even when compared to current college students.
“When you look at the most recent school year, and the number of college credits earned – based on the
average cost pre-credit hour in the state of Ohio for both private and public combined, our students earned
over 2 million dollar’s worth of college credit last year alone, without any debt,” he said with a smile. “That
moves them ahead in the process and puts them into the work force sooner. We’re very proud of the fact
that we’re able to compete with that rigorous curriculum. They were more successful in that curriculum
than what college students actually are. We had higher percentage of students earning A’s, B’s and C’s.”
What are the biggest challenges facing the SWCSD?
- Growing enrollment
-Keeping up with technology such as social media and
online safety issues
-Changing demographics
-Meeting the needs of ALL students
-Meeting the demands of constantly changing legislation
-Finding substitute teachers
CHAMBER BUSINESS CONNECTION
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