Willoughby-Eastlake Schools offers students the opportunity to sharpen their skills in preparation for post-high school careers
By Mimi Vanderhaven
Providing a viable career path and fostering employability skills for high school students in Willoughby-Eastlake Schools is the lofty goal of the Career Options program, which currently serves 23 students from Eastlake North and Willoughby South High Schools.
According to program director Jessica Varcho, the hardworking students spend half of their school day at their respective home high schools, and the other half with the Career Options group, which is housed at Northern Career Institute (NCI) in Eastlake.
“One of the avenues we explore is entrepreneurship,” says Jessica, who has been with the program for more than six years. “For instance, through our Nightingale’s Café within NCI, our group manages all the forecasting, deciding which food pantry items customers would most want to purchase. Then we go to BJ’s Wholesale Club and shop for them. They learn independent living skills such as grocery shopping and get to hone their customer service skills that are so vital to future jobs.”
The plant sale is another endeavor the program engages in during the springtime.
“The students are involved at every stage in planning, organizing and planting the seedlings in the winter so they are at a nice stage by sale time in May,” she says.
And living up to the old adage, “sell what sells,” Jessica reports that one of their most popular efforts has been selling Buckeye necklaces that the students make themselves.
“They’ve really taken off in the community,” she says. “The gracious owners of DavEd Jewelers in Downtown Willoughby offered to sell our necklaces in their store.”
No matter the project, everything is workshopped in the classroom first, with a focus on soft skills, modeling and problem solving.
“We are always on the lookout for community partners,” she adds. “The more companies we partner with, the better the opportunities for our students. I’m hoping to add a manufacturing partner to our group in the future, as many of our students would be a good fit with those job skills.”
Look for these monthly stories to cover topics from grades K-12 in the Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools System. To help support the Career Options program by purchasing Buckeye necklaces or plants, contact Jessica Varcho at jessica.varcho@weschools.org. For details, visit WESchools.org.