OWC Collegiate High School
Named National Blue Ribbon School

The Collegiate High School at Okaloosa-Walton College has been named a “2006 No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon School”, among 250 nationwide and 12 from Florida, who were recognized in an announcement from U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. The school received its official notification letter from the secretary last week, along with congratulations from U.S. Senator Bill Nelson.

School officials traveled to Washington, D.C. in early November for ceremonies that honored all schools who received the national Blue Ribbon designation.

The No Child Left Behind—Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private K-12 schools that are academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. The schools are nationally recognized for their academic achievement as among America’s most successful schools.

“To be recognized at the national level is a true honor,” noted Dr. Bob Richburg OWC president. “We are especially pleased since the school earned this recognition under the more stringent national standards of No Child Left Behind.”

Since 2002, Blue Ribbon status is linked to the federal No Child Left Behind standards and schools are singled out for national honors as they reflect the goals of the nation’s new education reforms for high standards and accountability.

“The Collegiate High School at OWC was one of only two public high schools in Florida to receive the Blue Ribbon designation,” said Dr. Jill White OWC senior vice president. She said the school’s “Culture of Reading” program, which celebrates the joy and value of reading in all aspects of the school from the classroom to clubs and activities, will be featured at the workshop in Washington, D.C.

“These schools show what wonderful accomplishments can be made when we focus on the bottom line in education – student achievement,” US Secretary of Education Spellings said in a national press release. “All of these schools have students from all subgroups who’ve made impressive test gains or who scored in the top tier on state tests. They are outstanding examples of how all students can achieve to higher standards.”

In order to be considered for Blue Ribbon status, schools must be nominated for the honor at the state level by their respective governing board. The OWC Collegiate High School was nominated by the office of Florida Commissioner of Education, John Winn. The OWC Collegiate High School’s Blue Ribbon award is the first time a local school has been recognized since Niceville High School was named a Blue Ribbon school in 1996.

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Winners Named for
Symphony Concerto Competition

The winners of the annual Concerto Competition sponsored by the Northwest Florida Orchestra of Okaloosa-Walton College and the Northwest Florida Symphony Guild have been named.

The NFSO Concerto Competition provides a venue for middleschool through college age performers of orchestral instruments, keyboard, or voice to showcase their skills. The competition has been hosted by the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra for nearly 20 years. The finals in the prestigious competition were held October 14 at The Arts Center at OWC and winners were chosen by a panel of judges independent of the college.

In addition to cash prizes ranging from $500 to $1,500, the winners in each division are invited to perform with the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra at the symphony’s annual concerts in February for all fifth grade students in Okaloosa and Walton County and/or at NFSO’s public performance February 23.

In the middle school division, first place was awarded to Joseph Sung of Niceville, an 8th grade student at Rocky Bayou Christian School. Sung performed portions of the Concerto in G Minor by Mendelssohn. In the high school division, Stephanie Bova of Gulf Breeze, an 11th grade student at Gulf Breeze High School, received first place for her performance of the Tchaikovsky Concerto in Bb Minor. In the college division, violinist Samuel Park, a University of West Florida student, and pianist Matthew Cataldi, a Florida State University student, tied for first place honors. For information about the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, its performance schedule and various educational programs, see www.nfsymphony.org or contact Lois Van Dam, conductor and music director, at 729-6023. Tickets for all NFSO concerts, including the February 2007 concert at which Concerto Competition winners will appear, are now available from The Arts Center Box Office at (850) 729-6000 or online at the symphony’s website or The Arts Center website www.owc.edu/arts.

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OWC Wins Three State Job
Training Grants for Allied Health Fields

Winning a trifecta of state job training grants worth more than $400,000 for Okaloosa- Walton College’s nursing and allied health programs was “like Christmas in August,” according to Dr. Jill White, OWC senior vice president for instructional services.

“This truly is some of the fiercest competition for funding because you are competing with the other 27 community colleges, 11 state universities and the state’s private colleges and universities, which all have strong programs in allied health,” said White after OWC was notified Wednesday of the grants in the SUCCEED Jobs for Florida competition.

The largest grant was $190,691 for a new allied health career ladder program that will further strengthen the college’ new Paramedic program launched this fall, as well as support a new Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certificate program slated to begin in 2007.

In justifying the need for the EMT/EMS laddered job sequence, White noted that it is “a critical program for Northwest Florida for two reasons: first is the regional employment demand for these jobs and second is community health needs.” White said the college is already partnering in the Paramedic training with local EMS departments in Okaloosa and Walton counties as well as 13 area fire departments. “This enables us to offer two high-need programs for this area,” said White.

“So great is the local need,” White added, “that local fire districts are offering a salary bonus of $3,000 to EMTs who will upgrade to Paramedic certification. As turnover rates in these first-responder positions are extremely high, we anticipate ongoing annual training of 20 to 25 Paramedics in the future. But, with no EMT training available in the local area, it is essential we have the training progression that these positions require.”

OWC anticipates that the EMT certificate program could begin as early as March or April, 2007 once curriculum development and hiring of faculty are completed, according to White.

The college also scored with its SUCCEED proposal for the college’s new Radiography and Emergency Administration degree programs. “This is a continuation grant for the Radiography program we began this semester,” explained White of the $152,074 award. “This allows us to complete the development of the Emergency Administration program and provides critical funding for the second year requirements of the RAD Tech degree program.”

White said just as with the nursing shortage, there is “keen competition for instructors in the Radiography area” and there continues to be a strong need for Radiography Technologist and Technicians which OWC fledgling program will now train. “We are fortunate to have great partners like Fort Walton Beach Medical Center and Twin Cities Hospital who are providing the clinical training for these students,” said White. She added that the continuation funding will enable the college to meet the increased equipment cost and higher level digital-based training that facilities now require.

OWC also received a $60,663 SUCCEED grant for continuation of the expanded Registered Nursing program that White dubbed ENERgy for Expanding Nursing Education Regionally. This continuation grant will support a 50% increase in the number of students the college is able to accommodate in the associate degree nursing program.

ENERgy will also continue support for the innovative curriculum strategy called “Standardized Patient Laboratory Simulation” project. “Each step we’re taking with nursing and allied health programs reflects our commitment to address the state and local critical shortage of registered nurses and other health care professionals,” White said.

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