New Warrick Pathways and Career Center creates opportunities for high school students
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The new Warrick Pathways and Career Center in southwest Indiana gives students a jump start in advanced manufacturing and health science careers during high school.
Dr. Abbie Redmon, superintendent of the Warrick County School Corporation, told Inside INdiana Business the center’s purpose is to provide students with options as they exit high school.
“For some students, that might mean stepping straight into the workforce, and for other students, that may mean they are going to use the foundation that they gained at the Pathway Center and take that to university level,” Redmon said.
This fall, the inaugural group of students started classes at the new WPCC building near State Roads 61 and 62 in Boonville.
“We have state-of-the-art equipment in advanced manufacturing. We have state-of-the-art equipment in our health science wing as well. We have a commons area space that’s absolutely beautiful that we’re able to hold student meetings and where students can take breaks,” Redmon said.
Principal Drew Gerth told Inside INdiana Business that after WPCC students graduate, they’ll be equipped with the knowledge and skills for the next chapter of their lives.
“Most of the kids will leave here either with dual credit from one of our local universities, which will be a head up for them if they decide to go the university route, or they’re going to leave with industry-recognized certificates that they can go immediately to work with,” said Gerth.
A call to action
The vision for WPCC began long before Redmon became superintendent this school year. She and Gerth said the idea dates back at least a decade in the county.
“It came from our school board, administrative staff and community partners,” Redmon said. “We wanted to be able to create situations where students can have a better foundation or obtain a skill set that will be beneficial to them as they explore careers beyond the high school level.”
Gerth said the state prompted the call to action to get serious about the center when graduation pathways became mandatory to receive a diploma, starting with the 2023 class.
“Students had to have a pathway to graduate, whether it be the SAT, a six-course sequence—which is what we offer here—or so many dual credits or AP classes,” he said. “That pushed this forward and made all the talking for all the years become a reality.”
Gerth said the center’s two clusters contain several pathways and represent two of the greatest need areas for Economic Growth Region 11, which includes Warrick County. There are also two classrooms at the center for diploma pathway students who need an alternative setting for learning.
How WPCC works
Students currently enrolled at a Warrick County high school may apply to attend WPCC during their junior and senior years. The application period for next year runs from Oct. 24 to Nov. 21 for Boonville, Tecumseh and Castle high school students. Students will learn whether they’ve been accepted or waitlisted by Jan. 3.
Advanced manufacturing pathways include precision machining and industrial maintenance. Health Science has several pathways, including biomedical sciences, exercise science/physical therapy, pre-nursing/certified nursing assistant, certified clinical medical assistant and emergency medical technician.
Students spend half a day at their home school and the other half at the center, earning college credits from Ivy Tech and the University of Evansville or working towards certificates to enter the workforce.
“They’re taking all of their required coursework at their home school, and then the pathway is their set of electives,” Redmon said.
Because the center just opened this year, first-year students attend morning and afternoon sessions. Next year, juniors will come in for the first half of the day, and seniors will take up the second half.
“In the afternoon, seniors will have practicum and internship opportunities with our community industry, business and university partners,” Redmon said.
The center provides bus transportation to and from the center. However, students can drive themselves if their parents grant permission.
‘Contribute to society’
The instructors at WPCC come from one of two backgrounds: the school system or their respective industries. Rob Deters, WPCC precision machining instructor, told Inside INdiana Business he spent 12 years at WCSC before moving to the center.
“It was a tough choice because I liked working at Castle, … but I was ready for the challenge and definitely working with Mr. Gerth,” Deters said.
Deters said employer demand for precision machining jobs is high in the region.
“We have a working relationship with Kaiser Aluminum, S&S Machine. … Lively Machine is on the list. They’re coming to us now saying, ‘Do you have someone? We need skilled people,’” said Deters. “The baby boomers are retiring or have retired, and that’s opening up the job market for this generation. We need to fill those positions.”
Crystal Sinnott, WPCC nursing instructor, told Inside INdiana Business she came to the center from the Indiana Department of Health. She was working on her master’s in nursing, leadership and management, thinking she’d teach at a college. However, she started getting text messages from people in the community about WPCC, encouraging her to apply.
“I got so excited because I took CNA classes when I was 16. It’s all I’ve ever done, and I loved it. And had I had this program when I was 16, it would have been the best thing in the world to me,” Sinnott said.
Sinnott said the demand for nurses is also high in the area. “We have a hospital in Warrick County. We have skilled nursing facilities. We have home health and hospices and dialysis. We have all these healthcare entities in our tri-state area that are in such need of help,” she said.
“The different skilled nursing facilities, they’re so excited,” she said. “They want to come and talk to us. They want to have the kids out to see their facilities and provide clinical sites for our CNAs.”
Sinnott and Deters have similar goals when it comes to preparing their students for not only careers but also life.
“They need to come out of the program with skills ready to work from day one … willing to learn and understand this is what it takes to be a person that’s going to contribute to society,” said Deters.
“I want them to get out of this program how to be a good person,” Sinnott said. “There are so many more things we’re teaching them than being a certified nursing assistant or certified clinical medical assistant. I hope to be a positive role model for them so they can be good health care personnel.”
Room for growth
Redmon and Gerth agree there’s plenty of room at WPCC to expand space and add programs.
“We’re looking at everything from something in the cybersecurity/computer science space, potentially a civil construction space, early education. Those are all things that we’ve discussed,” Redmon said.
“In our current building, we feel like we can add two more pathways, but on our property, we have room to build this building two more times. So we could add quite a bit based on the property that we have here,” added Gerth.
For now, the WPCC staff is focused on aligning students with the current clusters and pathways.
“Since we’re in year one, we want to make sure the programming we’re offering now is as strong as possible and giving our students the best experience possible,” Redmon said.
While the center prepares students for jobs and college, Sinnott said it also allows them to see whether an industry matches their goals and interests.
“I would rather kids go through this program and be successful, but maybe say, I’m not sure health care is right for me. I’d be happy for them that they figured that out before they put time and money into college,” Sinnott said.
Redmon said the community’s reward will be evident once WPCC students graduate and start careers in the region.
“We know if we can produce students who are job ready, career ready, then that’s also beneficial to the local businesses and industry partners because they’re getting students who maybe have a little bit step ahead or better trained coming into those workforce settings,” Redmon said.
“I love that they’ll be able to leave this program and they can have a career. They can support themselves, they can take these certifications and they can work. They don’t have to go to college, but they can,” added Sinnott.
WPCC will host a community open house at 1201 American Way in Boonville on Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Students and families can meet the staff and learn more about career and technical education.
“The students have really enjoyed it so far, and they’re getting so many experiences that they weren’t necessarily able to get in their home school,” Redmon said.
“The biggest key is that work ethic is something that’s a choice,” Deters added. “And if you’re willing to learn, then you’re going to go far.”