Challenging the Status Quo

Story by Josie Donohue

Photos by Aziz Al Fadha

Southeast Ohio schools make efforts to provide a holistic approach to preparing students for both college and the workforce.

Tiffany Arnold, spending a regular day in the office on March 29th, 2022, after teaching Interdisciplinary Health Studies classes.

Lack of resources in rural southeast Ohio school districts leaves education systems wishing they could provide more support to their students. Students from the area tend to struggle more in their journeys from becoming high school graduates to college students or employees.

Meigs and Logan high schools challenge the status quo and provide an abundance of opportunities for its students to succeed after graduation. Here’s what the professionals have to say about resource allocation in southeast Ohio high schools.

Tiffany Arnold, an assistant professor of instruction at Ohio University, spent more than 15 years working with federal TRIO programs, which provide support for low-income and first-generation college students. As a graduate student, she conducted studies and wrote her graduate dissertation about barriers that Appalachian students face.

Arnold says, economically, the people who earn a college degree are more likely to leave their rural hometowns to find jobs that complement their majors of study or to make more money. However, those who choose to have degrees and stay within their community face a different reality.

“It's really alienating for the people who left and want to come back because they don't feel welcome there. They don't feel like there's anything in the town for them anymore,” Arnold says.

Brain drain is a phenomenon in which the “best and the brightest” move away from a community for better financial and social opportunities. A 2019 study from the Economic Development Quarterly defined it as: “Put in a broad perspective, brain drain is an occurrence in which talented or skilled individuals leave a region due to limited educational opportunities, lack of job prospects or economic instability and other factors.”

Appalachia spans 13 states in the U.S., so it would be difficult to generalize all of Appalachia as having a single shared experience due to regional differences. Therefore, all southeast Ohio schools do not share the same educational experiences, according to Arnold.

Abby Harris, a guidance counselor at Meigs High School, says the school strives to provide options for whatever pathway students choose after graduation, which includes college, the workforce or the military.

Meigs High School hosts not just college fairs, but also career fairs, and brings in military recruiters so students feel they are not limited, according to Harris. It also hosts signing days for students entering trades and the military, so signing is not limited to just incoming collegiate student athletes. That is done to provide an inclusive environment for all students in making their post-graduation decisions.

About 45 miles away, Michele Schein says Logan High School also provides opportunities for students to explore all possible pathways after graduation. Schein is one of the three counselors at Logan High School. 

Logan High School offers career and technical programs for students through Tri-County Career Center. Students who take vocational classes at Tri-County then create capstone projects during their senior year, which prepares them for careers after graduation, according to Schein.

When comparing the resources high school students in southeast Ohio have, Arnold says it is dependent on what school district a student lives in.

“There is some social stratification [and] there are differences in socio-economic status that others may not realize,” Arnold says.

In a study published in 2019 by the Journal of Career Assessment, a team conducted research to see what barriers high school students have in rural Appalachia. Some of those barriers include regional issues such as infrastructure barriers and lack of work opportunities or physical health issues, such as higher rates of depression.

In terms of career and college preparatory measures, students face barriers such as living in low-income areas, having less access to diverse career choices and career role models in the community and lack of academic preparation.

The research team for this study, led by faculty at the University of Tennessee, found the issue comes from a lack of resources and the students’ lack knowledge about postsecondary education and career options. Students in rural areas who do not obtain all the information they need to succeed will either think they can figure college out on their own or they go straight into the workforce.

“I think college is a wonderful opportunity for many people but it’s not for everyone,” Harris says. “It’s not the only pathway to have in your career and make a living. I will always be an advocate for trade schools.”

Students from the area who may not have resources such as College Credit Plus classes, Advanced Placement (AP) classes, or a variety of course options typically end up struggling with independence and study skills in college, according to Arnold.

Tiffany Arnold is experienced in Ohio Department of Education teaching license, Adolescent to Young Adult Social Studies. Photograph taken on March 29th, 2022.

“Just because of a lack of resources, which all schools in southeast Ohio have, and all schools in the Appalachian region are faced with, schools may struggle to prepare students for college,” Arnold says.

Gracie Walburn, a junior studying Middle Childhood Education, Math and Language Arts, graduated in 2019 from Jackson High School, which is 40 miles from OU’s Athens campus.

Walburn says Jackson High School did a good job of providing resources to students such as offering a college success class, AP classes and a free ACT waiver for all students. However, she wishes she would have received more guidance adjusting to college such as educating students about how to navigate freshman year.

“[OU has] this really huge orientation [with] thousands of people,” Walburn says. “It’s just overwhelming.”

She says freshman orientation was a stressful experience and wishes she would have learned some of that information in high school before starting college.

“If I would have heard it from people that I trusted from a small town before I came, I think it would have resonated more,” Walburn says.

From 2013 to 2017, the Appalachian average college completion rate was 23.7 percent, while the U.S. average was 30.9 percent, according to the Appalachian Regional Commission.

In a typical senior class at Logan High School, about 65 percent of students attend either a four-year college or two-year college, and about 35 percent go into the workforce or the military, Schein estimates.

In a typical graduating class at Meigs High School, about 30 percent of students go to a four-year college, 20 to 25 percent of students attend a trade school or community college and about 50 percent go straight into careers or the military, Harris estimates.

“From the outside, there’s a perception that we prioritize college more, but I think it’s just the culture today,” Harris says. “I think it’s turning around, and people are realizing that we need people in trades. I think we do a good job here at Meigs High School to focus on careers, and it’s not just [about] college.”

Meigs High School takes part in a program called “Meigs County Career Compass,” which connects all three high schools within Meigs County with local businesses. In the MC3 program, students can participate in internships, pre-apprenticeships and job shadows with local businesses such as Farmer’s Bank, Front Paige Outfitters and Mark Porter Chevrolet Buick GMC in Pomeroy.

Although Logan High School finds a balance between providing resources for students in the post-graduation career journey, Schein notes they have recently put a stronger emphasis on emotional counseling by eliminating the term “guidance counselor” and replacing it with “school counselor.”

“Now we have evolved from a focus on post-graduation planning to creating and maintaining comprehensive school counseling programs,” Schein says. “Most of our day is spent addressing emotional support, family issues, social development, academic guidance and college and career planning.”

Both Harris and Schein say if they could do anything else, they would like to spend more time individually with each student to be able to form stronger relationships and provide more personalized guidance.

The benefits of counseling have been known for decades. Sarah J. Snider, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee in 1979 found that if schools allowed a relationship to form between a student and a teacher, then the student would realize their unique Appalachian heritage, which could then help them better socialize within and outside the rural landscape.

This acceptance, both personally and with an educator, could allow rural students to have mutual respect for themselves and others, according to Snider.

High schools in the area strive to provide a holistic educational experience and provide various employment opportunities to students throughout their career. The lack of funds in the area means schools may not be able to support students economically, but the schools can provide emotional and social support throughout their high school career and beyond. 

When asked if she had any advice for southeast Ohio schools, Arnold says schools should try to implement education about the history of Appalachia. She says there is value in knowing about the region and living in it.

Tiffany Arnold posing on the third floor of Grover Center on March 29, 2022.

“If you’re looking holistically at personal development and student development, schools need to incorporate more education about Appalachia’s history,” Arnold says. “When you know about [the history], it really instills a positive identity with being Appalachian that you’re not getting anywhere else.”

Walburn hopes to return to Jackson to teach fourth or fifth graders after she graduates and wants to help prepare them for their futures, even at a young age.

“I hope [by] being a teacher that I can instill that in them from a young age,” Walburn says. “If you don’t want to go to college, you can learn a trade or whatever works best for you, but don’t sell yourself short. I’m proud to be from Southeast Ohio. So, I think becoming a teacher here, I’ll get the opportunity to share that.”