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Education
Real-World Academics
Lancaster High earns Kudos for excellence on state report card
Lancaster High School combines a traditional academic education with potential for career training.The Lancaster City School District has an impressive mission: to prepare students of all ages to meet academic, social, civic, cultural and employment needs of the 21st century.
Judging by its status, the school system is doing just that.
Lancaster High School received an “excellent” rating by the Ohio Department of Education for the 2005-06 school year. The state report card uses multiple measures to determine a school’s designation, and at least 75 percent of the tested students must score well for the school to receive recognition in a given area.
The high school, which incorporates a number of advanced placement classes, combines a traditional academic curriculum with a career track.
“We are a comprehensive high school,” says Nancy Gruezke, coordinator of curriculum and instruction for the school district. “If a student wants to be an auto mechanic or cosmetologist, they don’t need to leave the high school to take those courses.”
Staying on campus means that students in career-oriented programs can still benefit from high school electives and activities, such as sports and band.
About 20 percent – between 300 and 400 students – are enrolled in the career programs, which, in addition to auto mechanics and cosmetology, include administrative office technology, engineering tech prep, medical tech prep, marketing and broadcasting. In 2006, the school added a business management program to that roster.
Perhaps the most popular is the agri-business track, where students learn how agricultural sciences are applied in the business world, Gruezke says.
Students can also get credit for courses taken through the Virtual High School, a private company that offers collaborative online education.
“They have a huge amount of offerings,” Gruezke says of the courses available to students.
The classes, which follow a semester format and occur entirely over the Internet, let students post work to the class at any time.
The school also subscribes to a streaming service that allows teachers to download videos or video snippets to classroom computers for lessons.
Lancaster City Schools includes the high school, two middle schools and eight elementary schools. The district runs a popular music program that starts in elementary school, Gruezke says.
“We have very good academics,” she adds.
Story by Pam George
Photo by Brian McCord
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