OTTUMWA – For about 10 seconds, no one wanted to speak.

“We’re in 50 long minutes,” chuckled moderator Tom Rubel, the Centerville Community School District superintendent.

After that initial awkward moment, a diverse group of 10 administrators, economic development officers and other school officials were only too happy to talk about different aspects of public education at Saturday’s forum at the St Auditorium. John on the Indian Hills Community College campus.

“It’s just about blending the needs of business owners with what’s out there and what’s going on, with school districts that support each other,” said Jeremy Hissem, Van Buren County Superintendent, in response to a report. question about schools helping to fill the gap in economic development. needs. “We send kids to Cardinal, Fairfield. I know a lot of schools do, so continuing to evolve and adapt to meet the needs of the community is just crucial to our success.”

All of the forum participants had ties to Indian Hills, which covers an area of ​​10 counties and aggressively targets communities in the area. The college just launched its Iowa South initiative, which aims to keep students closer to home and grow the area by working with companies to fill employment gaps.

The school is also offering $ 34 million in improvements to its Ottumwa and Centerville campuses as it plans to put a referendum on the ballot in November.

“We are very fortunate to have a number of quality partners with school districts, economic developers and to truly identify the skills of the workforce of the future,” said the president of Indian Hills, Matt Thompson. “How do we really start to give students an opportunity starting in high school? Our school counselors are very, very influential in the lives of our students. You are just trying to develop programming around the skills of the future to attract students.

“But I also think it’s really important that everyone on this stage talks about the positives within our region.”

Centerville High School guidance counselor LuAnn Eakins went further. She believed that the preparation had to start much earlier.

“These opportunities have to start long before the eighth grade,” she said. “Because a lot of times we’ve started this four-year plan, but they really have to start kindergarten, preschool and just work their way up so they understand those opportunities as well. re gonna take, what science they’re gonna take. It’s about talking about their passion and supporting it throughout.

“You have to have conversations about the career path,” Eakins said. “You have to support them and be there for them. We have 115 seniors who will be graduating in two weeks. Everyone has a path, and everything is different.

Ottumwa Community School District Superintendent Michael McGrory has touted the school’s Market on Main program, which will begin next year. The goal is to allow students to graduate with some sort of certification and focus on skilled trades. Several programs associated with this will be in conjunction with the college.

“We expect between 80 and 100 students per hour to walk through the market gates,” McGrory said of the building purchased by the district. “So it’s really exciting that the new course offerings we can offer. For example, one is in nursing, where I think we have about 35 students enrolled in that. “

Most, if not all, of the panelists believed that collaboration on multiple fronts was essential for students over the next several years.

“We have a very high concentration of manufacturing in our region,” said Beth Danowsky, who works for MUSCO Lighting and is a director of IHCC. “The partnership between our school districts and Indian Hills is important to make sure we have workers in the pipeline. We also have a lot of entrepreneurship here and a lot of start-ups in the area. That’s good. . “

However, the skills learned to do a job are one thing. Soft skills and interacting with people is another, and in an era of social media dominance, that has made things difficult.

“We are really working on trying to teach our kids how to communicate and how to listen so that they can get out into the workforce,” said Kristie Welsh, president of the Fairfield school board.

Thompson agreed.

“We really need to focus on that, because that’s what keeps you in your job,” he said. “You can be a great technician, but if you don’t show up you don’t have a job. You know, put the cell phone away.”

One audience member wondered if school clusters will continue to be part of the state’s future in rural communities.

“My first year in Albia, we closed two outlying elementary schools, and it was a very difficult process, but at the time, it was the right process because we weren’t in competition,” said the Superintendent of Albia, Kevin Crall. “We brought everyone together and shared resources. Sometimes that can be a good thing, and employee sharing is effective and hopefully benefits students. “

McGrory said schools are part of a community’s identity and consolidation can have an impact on that.

“Often the school is one of the biggest employers,” he said. “You have to be aware of how you go about it because it can impact rural communities. “

Hissem told the story of his first day as superintendent, the first day Van Buren and Harmony began their consolidation.

“People before me have had many difficult meetings to get us to this point,” he said. “It was a good thing for all the districts in this county. It is a very difficult process for a community to go through, but it was a blessing for us financially as a district. But it is a very arduous process. with the look of this timeline. “

Centerville School Board President Marty Braster was less optimistic about the consolidation. He noted that the district has lost over 200 students during his 12 years on the council.

“In my opinion, right now this is our future,” he said. “But we have the ability to make that future different. There is no answer to where the bottom is. There will be no Moulton-Udell, maybe no Moravia or Seymour. Unless we do something about it.

“Indian Hills has a huge role to play in ensuring that our part of the world makes this future different from what I project. I hope I am completely wrong.”

Several panelists believed that promoting student achievement beyond test scores was essential for schools.

“How students are successful academically is only part of it,” said McGrory. “I think school districts have to be aggressive in promoting other aspects of growth, like the number of people going into post-secondary, all kinds of data points that you can show your community, and be proactive that way. . “

“One of the things we’re judged on is the graduation rate, but what we never get is what they do five years later,” Eakins said. “We never talk about it. We have two students who will be graduating from the construction trades. That makes 42 college credits completed. There are people here with welders who will graduate, some NACs. They are already moving forward.

“But we don’t talk about it a lot.”