Graduating high school is a turbulent time in any teen’s life. For many students, it can be intimidating to suddenly have a world of possibilities at their fingertips. While that post-graduation life is exciting, it doesn’t come without unprecedented anxieties and decisions. Dublin City Schools (DCS) has been working hard to mitigate these anxieties for all of its high school students through a system called the 4 Es.
The Es, which each represent a different potential route to embark on post-graduation, stand for Education, Employment, Enlistment and Entrepreneurship.
The Emerald Campus, located on Emerald Parkway, is a testament to DCS’s commitment to encouraging students to explore their post-graduation options. The campus offers personalized educational opportunities, which strive to prepare students for the real world. Its offerings include International Baccalaureate (IB) programs and courses, College Credit Plus (CCP) classes and 12 specialized academies including IT Academy and Engineering Academy.
Education
Fittingly, education has always gotten the strongest push from DCS. Nearly 85 percent of students go on to pursue higher education after graduating from a Dublin high school, according to Kristy Venne, director of community engagement and partnerships. Venne says that Dublin students’ college graduation is impressive, with 66 percent of DCS students graduating within four to six years.
DCS administrators’ goal is to give students the pathway to fully gauge their strengths and passions before leaving the district. The dynamic curriculum aims to eliminate the feeling of going to college without a plan. Through electives and meaningful courses, such as Future Proof and Designing Your Life, as well as options at the Tolles Career & Technical Center, Venne says DCS graduates enter their post-graduation life with a greater understanding and plan for themselves.
That education begins at a young age. DCS offers programs that allow younger students to forge relationships with older students, creating a culture of cohesion across ages and allowing younger students to familiarize themselves with their options long before they even enroll in a class.
“We want all of our students to have a path,” Venne says, “and even though that plan can change, we still want them to know all of their options. ... Preparing them for success is our job.”
Employment
At the Emerald Campus, traditional “textbook style” learning is anything but the norm. Its faculty hopes to teach skills, passion and work ethic that will broaden its students’ horizons and possible career endeavors.
Venne says that with an ever-changing workforce, employers are always considering different criteria from candidates. Through feedback from companies and local entrepreneurs, DCS is constantly exploring what characteristics are of value and which are becoming obsolete.
Consistent with its findings, DCS offers programs where students can participate in a residency or put in hours learning career skills through real-world experience.
Entrepreneurship
Practical experience is where the entrepreneurship category truly shines for DCS: It has a Shark Tank-style program where younger students pitch their business ideas to high schoolers. The district connects high school students with local entrepreneurs, after whom high school students model their approach.
Venne says many Dublin graduates and active students alike already have their own side hustles.
“I talked to a group of middle schoolers last week,” she says, “and I asked, ‘How many of you have a little side hustle?’ And out of a group of 30, I think six hands went up. … Babysitting, mowing lawns, selling art. We know now more than ever that students are interested in entrepreneurship.”
One of the most impressive installations at the Emerald Campus is the room that holds the district’s screenprinting machines, which can print any text or design onto a T-shirt. DCS students use the machines to run a T-shirt business.
From the moment an order is placed until the T-shirt is sent for delivery, students handle every step. This gives them real experience in team work and time management.
Enlistment
After the Ohio Department of Education released the standard upon which the 4 Es were based, DCS realized that enlistment was its most neglected category.
The district has made a quick turnaround on this deficit, though. DCS now puts on special evening events where students can meet with recruiters and learn to differentiate prospective paths to military enlistment and JROTC, ROTC’s student branch.
The class of 2022 boasted a large number of students committing to officer academies. More and more students are showing interest in the path, and DCS has received support from the community to expand efforts to promote this option.
Dublin Scioto High School was awarded a Purple Star Award from the Ohio Department of Education in 2022 for its support and recognition of military families.
Community
Venne and Lori Mesi, coordinator of secondary pathways and partnerships at the Emerald Campus, both say they are grateful for the consistent support DCS receives from the community.
“(The community is) always willing to help and support our students,” Mesi says. “I was shocked at how much people want to give back.”
She says that local professionals who hear word of what the school is up to always seem to reach out to help.
In years past, DCS has sought feedback from community members of all ages on what they would like to see the district focus on.
“We know families are our partners in helping support our students and their choices,” Venne says. “This school year we are engaging in strategic planning, and a really big part of that process is engaging our community and the voices of our collective citizens.”
Tyler Kirkendall is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at tkirkendall@cityscenemediagroup.com.
