Investing in the Future with Marshall High School

Unistrut Midwest recently hired five graduates from Marshall High School in Middletown, Ohio. Marshall is an alternative high school for students who haven’t found success in traditional schooling. Students at Marshall simultaneously earn their high school diploma and achieve industry-recognized certifications that set them up for success post-graduation.  

Sarah Grimm is the Regional Career Technical Education Quality Assurance Liaison at Oakmont Education, the network of schools that includes Marshall. She supports the career tech program at Marshall and recently provided us with more information about the school's mission and programming.  

What is Marshall High School? 

Sarah describes Marshall as a dropout recovery school for students aged 15 to 21 with any level of high school education, from no credits to nearly ready for graduation. Unlike traditional four-year high schools, Marshall is, on average, a two-to-three-year program that allows students to self-pace their academics and earn their high school diploma.  

Alongside their academic courses, Marshall students enroll in a career tech pathway, an industry-specific training program that prepares students for employment immediately after graduation. With specialized programs for construction, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, business, and culinary, students build up familiarity in their desired industry, establish relationships with industry partners, and earn valuable credentials that will set them apart as they enter the workforce.  

These programs involve classroom training as students work towards certifications, as well as on-site experience via industry partners. These on-the-job experiences help students become comfortable in a new environment and teach soft skills like communication, time management, and accepting feedback.  

"This gives the students a real opportunity," Sarah said. "It's not just something we do at school; they can actually get a career out of this. So many of these kids come from low-income, food insecurity, and housing insecurity, and the career tech programs let them see what's possible. They see that there are people who want to support and give opportunities."  

What is the Marshall Construction Program? 

Unistrut Midwest's recent hires are graduates of Marshall's construction career tech program. The construction track introduces students to the realities of a job site and teaches basic safety techniques, construction math skills, how to read basic construction drawings, and appropriate procedures for material and equipment handling.  

Students also earn industry credentials that will give them a leg up in the job market upon graduation. In a classroom setting, construction students earn their OSHA-10 card, NCCER Core certification, and pre-apprenticeship certification. Once they have earned their NCCER Core certification, they can move on to practical training on a real construction site. 

These hands-on lessons are conducted on a job site in partnership with SELF, the state-designated Community Action Agency for Butler County, Ohio. Alongside SELF, Marshall construction students help renovate a home, from gutting the existing structure to framing, laying flooring, installing windows and siding, and completing finishing touches like cabinetry and tilework. This work gives students the opportunity to see what a project looks like, from managing schedules to adapting to weather conditions.  

This on-the-job training is only possible through relationships with industry partners, which is where Unistrut Midwest comes in.  

Marshall High School and Unistrut Midwest 

Marshall relies on industry partners to provide students with real-world job experience. After meeting and hiring Marshall students through the ACI job fair, Unistrut Midwest is getting involved in the Marshall construction program. 

"Ideally, we find partners who are willing to hire our graduates. They [partners] sit on our workforce advisory committee and help us determine how our students can be hireable by these companies. Our CTE programs can evolve and grow to fit the needs of our partner companies," Sarah said.  

Unistrut Midwest is now an active member of the Marshall Workforce Advisory Committee, giving our team the opportunity to participate in mock interview days and career fairs, and advising construction students on techniques and best practices. We have provided Marshall students with blueprints and designs from our engineering team to help expose them to additional construction concepts outside of traditional residential construction. Moving forward, we hope to bring Marshall students into our warehouse for on-the-job shadowing.  

"We're glad that Unistrut Midwest is ready to acknowledge and invest in our youth, and we're impressed that they want to support these programs," Sarah said.   

Marshall is actively seeking to add more construction partners to their career tech program. If you're in the industry and interested in supporting these hardworking students, contact Sarah at sgrimm@oakmontedu.org or (937) 239-6110 to learn more.