(Batesville, IN) – A $720,000 collaborative Career Coaching grant has been awarded from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to four area public schools, providing funding for enhanced services to improve student career readiness.
The I-74 Career Navigator project involves Batesville, Greensburg, Milan, and North Decatur high schools; each has access to $180,000 for targeted career-focused initiatives.
“The I-74 Career Navigator project brings together these four high schools, along with Ivy Tech Community College, to broaden and enhance student career readiness throughout our region,” explained Batesville Community School Corporation (BCSC) superintendent Paul Ketcham. “By leveraging the strengths and resources of each participating institution, the program is set to empower more students with the resources necessary to make informed decisions about their future careers.”
The mission of this collaboration is to lean into the unique combination of strengths these schools have, providing a more robust support system for career exploration for all types of students.
Grant funds will be used to draw on the resources of local industry and businesses to provide more real-world career exploration and also enhance the advising time with school counselors and Ivy Tech so students with a variety of goals will benefit.
In Batesville, for example, students pursuing post-secondary education can enroll at Ivy Tech, which provides BCSC with dual credit and enrollment agreements, allowing students to earn college credits and even an associate’s degree while still in high school.
This transformative approach has helped overcome deep-rooted socioeconomic challenges related to obtaining a college degree.
Ivy Tech career coaches will continue to guide students in taking advantage of the educational opportunities offered by providing additional advising time about course pathways and choices. The school will also enhance career-planning opportunities for those students for whom Ivy Tech is not a good fit.
“One of our mantras with our new Bulldog Ready community-connected educational model is that when we plan programming for all students, ‘all means all,’” added Ketcham. “We have been doing an exemplary job through our Ivy Tech partnership for college-bound students, but some students are not on that path and we need to provide them with the same depth of career guidance. Those who choose a different goal, including those on a non-traditional educational path, will be able to take advantage of increased time with school counselors to plan courses and find work-based opportunities to discern their next steps. We want every student to feel that their next step is as important as anyone else’s.”
While precise details are still being formulated, BCSC’s overall plans for its portion of the grant will focus on career coaching, pre-employment programming, and professional development.
“This grant comes at a perfect time, with Bulldog Ready launching in the fall,” Ketcham concluded. “Providing more real-world experiences and opportunities for career coaching with those who can give insight and input adds another layer of relevance to what we offer our students. We are proud to be involved in this collaborative effort with these other local school corporations.”
(Batesville Community School Corporation press release)
