Share This Article
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each month, Dayton Daily News reporter Eileen McClory highlights local ideas that improve outcomes for students and teachers in the Dayton area.
State funds have helped Northridge Local Schools expand career tech offerings to their students withe more opportunities in a district that has historically been smaller and poorer than the rest of Montgomery County.
Northridge received $688,000 in state funding to purchase new equipment for career technical education, mostly for programs that are meant to bring jobs and community to Harrison Twp.
Northridge has six career tech offerings, five of which are run by the district and one, a nursing program, run as a satellite program at the Miami Valley Career Tech Center. The most popular program is a welding program, which is almost full, according to district administrators.
While students are still encouraged to go to the Miami Valley Career Tech Center, that center is at capacity. The dozens of programs offered at the career tech center may also not be a good fit for everyone, so there’s a push in the state to get more students into satellite programs inside of local schools.
Kodi Hardigree, the welding teacher for the school and a 2012 Northridge graduate, said as someone who came from a lower-income, smaller community, the trades were a way for him to support his family.
It took Hardigree a while to get to welding. He initially had other jobs coming out of high school and came to welding by way of a friend.
“I feel special to come in here and give these kids these opportunities to go out and make careers, not just jobs,” Hardigree said.
