By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Penta Superintendent Ron Matter described students in the Career Based Intervention program as round pegs in square holes who don’t thrive in a standard high school setting.
One of those students, Dwaine Perez said he knew the material when he attended Otsego High school. He just couldn’t get the homework done.
He felt the atmosphere was “suffocating” and seven-class period a day seemed too rushed and packed.
Now Perez and his 35 CBI classmates from Bowling Green and Otsego schools have a place they can feel comfortable, learn, and prepare for life after graduation.
On Tuesday Penta celebrated its $1.3 million new classroom and training facility on West Newton Road. Penta along with the City of Bowling Green, and the Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting attended by a dozen or so dignitaries.
The facility houses two Career Based Intervention classrooms and open lab space for trades training for adults. The adult classes are still in the planning stage.
Matter said he’d hoped to announce a $240,000 Jobs Ohio grant that will support the welding program, but Penta hasn’t yet received final word. Still he’s confident that the money is on its way. If it isn’t forthcoming, Penta will find the funds in its budget for the training
Penta is part of a consortium of seven regional career training centers including Owens that got together to seek Jobs Ohio training funds. Each institution identified an area to focus on to avoid duplication, Matter said.
Penta also will offer forklift training. The forklift has already been purchased. The school is also looking to offer training for those seeking to become certified production technicians through the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council.
That program is a natural for the facility given the number of factories located in Bowling Green, Matter said.
The Career Based Training also links students to the world of work, said Amanda Ricketts, one of the CBI teachers. The English and math are all connected to what students will need on the job.
Perez said he feels in CBI he’s being prepared for life after graduation.
And as long as students get their work done during class, there’s no homework, Ricketts said.
Jerry Gladieux, the CBI supervisor, said that given so many of the students are working until as late as 8 p.m., homework can be an obstacle.
Ricketts said that working with the Wood County Educational Service Center, the program is able to hook students up with jobs.
Perez is employed by the Otsego schools.
The program can also assist them in other areas, she said. For example, Perez would like to get his driver’s license. She said staff is working on finding a driving school and financial assistance to make that possible.
The classrooms, which opened in January, are a great improvement over the previous space in a former factory on Gould Street in Bowling Green, Ricketts said. Those were hard to configure for workable classroom space. “This really accommodates what we’re trying to do.”
Now, Gladieux said, students are in a building they can be proud of.
