Tolles is working to reimagine its agricultural related course offerings after a drop in admissions to the program in recent years.
At the March Jonathan Alder Board of Education meeting, Tolles Superintendent Todd Hoadley told the group that while the career tech school continues to see overall enrollment numbers climb, the Outdoor Careers program has seen a dip in participation.
“We struggle with Outdoor Careers in that the alignment of that has shifted,” he said. “We pivoted now more toward like natural resources and trees and trying to use the back learning lab.”
This year, the enrollment at Tolles started at around 1,000 students, which then lowered to around 900 as the school year progressed. So far, the district has accepted over 800 applications for level one courses and Hoadley said that means the district should start next year around 1,100 students. Despite that consistent rise in enrollment, those numbers aren’t reflected in ag program interest.
Currently, the program at Tolles includes Outdoor Careers with core courses in natural resources, parks and recreation management, urban forestry and environmental science. It also has Animal Management and Services with core courses in small animal science, animal science and technology, zoo and aquarium management, business management for agricultural and environmental systems.
Hoadley said the change in focus comes from a lack of interest from the larger suburban schools that send students to the district. Those account for six out of 11 high schools that partner with Tolles.
He said also London, Madison-Plains and Fairbanks, three of the seven districts at the school, all have successful ag programs in their home districts so there isn’t a need. While the district wants to offer a good program, it doesn’t want to duplicate what other schools are doing.
Those districts that partner with Tolles include Alder, London City Schools, Jefferson Local Schools, Hilliard City Schools, Madison-Plains, Fairbanks and Dublin City Schools.
Reimagining the program could come with both a redefining of the course focus as well as maybe only offering it to students in their final year, Hoadley added. Students generally make their decision to attend Tolles in their sophomore year.
“I had a couple of administrators spend a couple days at OSU this past summer and looking at sustainable agriculture, controllable agriculture and maybe looking at how to define that in the future as a senior-only program,” he said. “More in the ag and plant science type.”
With the program being geared toward seniors, he said that may alleviate the pressure of a sophomore student making the decision.
If the program can change and update its goals but still keep connected to the state’s credit requirements, it can keep the benefit to the students intact.
“We like to have a science credit associated with it and leverage Ohio State, which from a research standpoint, is as top as you’re going to find here in the State of Ohio as far as agriculture,” Hoadley said.
Districts like Jonathan Alder or West Jefferson don’t have ag programs and board members asked if there is a pathway for one of those students to take an ag class at another school that does have the program.
Hoadley said that has been brought up at Tolles meetings as administrators considered the possibility of a Career-Technical Planning District or a consortium called a compact that helps with program sharing amongst schools.
“You see that model as much as you see the joint vocational school where it’s like, ‘you have the ag, I’ve got the culinary, you have the pre-nursing’ and we just kind of rotate around the schools so that there’s not a standalone facility,” Hoadley said. “It’s a model that’s very successful.”
Hoadley said these conversations are happening at the district and will continue in the coming months, adding that he will keep Alder officials updated on the progress.