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Classes Begin Aug. 19 at New Utica Shale Academy
SALINEVILLE, Ohio -- Classes begin Aug. 19 at the new Utica Shale Academy, regardless of whether the school meets the state's requirements for enrollment.
As of last Friday, the school had 22 students enrolled, three fewer than the minimum of 25 needed to keep the school, housed at Southern Local Junior/Senior High School here, open. If enrollment doesn't reach the threshold by Sept. 15, the school will close, says Chuck Kokiko, chief academic officer for the Jefferson County Educational Service Center.
But he doesn't see closing as a possibility.
“Not opening is not an option. It's a good program for the kids and I don't want it to be dropped just because I don't get to 25. I'm not in the habit of failing and I don't want this to be the first,” he said.
Should the school close, students would return to their normal classes.
The academy director, Eric Sampson, reported a good amount of interest from people in the area and that he's confident the school will remain open.
In recent weeks, the academy sent out 5,000 fliers to potential students, set up booths at county fairs and held information sessions in the high school cafeteria.
“I'm out pounding the pavement now, making contact with kids who are interested and meeting with them. I think we will get to 25 and once we do, we'll only be able to grow from there,” he said.
The school, open to high school students statewide, will use a blended curriculum, mixing online class work and traditional in-class teaching. PetroEd, a Houston company that provides drilling training classes to colleges and oil and gas companies, will provide online courses.
“It's state-of-the-art. They're IADC [International Association of Drilling Contractors]-certified. A lot of the heavy hitters in the industry use PetroEd to train their employees,” Sampson said. “The stuff that those guys [in the field] use is the exact same as the stuff our kids will be using in the classroom.”
Sampson says plans are being made to take students to nearby drilling sites, processing plants and storage structures. “It really opens your eyes as to how this all comes together, how different wells work, how rigs work,” Sampson said. “It just gives you a baseline of information and something you can wrap your head around.”
Students will also be able to earn certifications through IADC, including Rig Pass -- a terminology certification — and WellCAP -- a program that teaches well control and management.
Certifications for the seniors will be performed by the end of the year, Sampson said, with younger students focusing more on getting an understanding of the industry.
“For our seniors, we're getting them what we can get them, but for the other kids we want to grow and expand and give them more opportunities by the time the graduate,” he continued. “Ideally, the kids that are freshman and sophomores, by the time they come out, they'll have several different certifications as well as some classes toward an associate's degree out of the way.”
Kokiko says the school is working with Stark State College to offer college credit for certain classes.
“We want them to have that hands-on knowledge, but we're also going for four-year engineering degrees or higher, so we're also looking at articulation to fast-track the kids along,” he says. “We don't want to put them through and have no end product for the students.”
Kokiko and Sampson said that oil and gas companies are looking for local workers to supplement the industry boom in the area. With the Utica Shale Academy the only school in the Mahoning Valley to focus on the industry, the school can serve the industry well.
“All of the guys I've talked to among our contacts, they want a local workforce. They know they have people here they can rely on because they're more than likely going to be here for a number of years. They'll be better trained and go right to work, while being here for the long term,” Sampson said.
Many students are looking to enter the business immediately, forgoing college for a chance to graduate from the academy with a job. With the classes and certifications offered, Kokiko and Sampson agree, students who graduate should have an advantage over other potential employees.
“The big thing is they'll be able to have certifications when they come out. That will make them that much more employable,” Sampson said. “We would like to be the provider of employees for the industry in this area. In a perfect-case scenario, we would produce high-quality students that get right into the workforce or go straight into a four-year college.”
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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