Education Day was held November 17, 2017 on the Olympic College Bremerton campus and gave class members insight into education from birth to adult continuing education in Kitsap County. The day began with Board member Dr. Dora Summers-Ewing (LK12) facilitating our Positive Leadership discussion on the leadership capacity of Purpose – the “why” behind what we do as leaders. Kitsap Community Resources Executive Director, Larry Eyer and Early Learning & Family Services Director Connie Mueller (LK01) shared the importance of early learning and early childhood development.
Corrine Beach, K-12 STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math) Outreach Coordinator at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & IMF; Andrea Tee, West Hills STEM Academy Assistant Principal; and Angela Dorsey, Olympic College Advising shared the exciting and innovative ways STEM is being taught in our local schools and encouraged as an area of study at Olympic College.
Debora Welch (LK15), Olympic College Program Development & Worker Retraining Director, expanded the conversation and shared how Olympic College supports workforce development for local companies and regional growth industries.
Marlaina Simmons, Network Manager Graduate Kitsap Mason shared how Graduate Kitsap Mason is focused on building a College-Going Culture in our region and increasing the number of Kitsap and Mason County students who complete a post-secondary degree (2-year or 4-year) and/or certificate.
Bremerton High School Assistant Principal, Mark Mayfield introduced and facilitated a panel of Bremerton High School Seniors in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. The program’s mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing ALL students for college readiness and success. The program begins in elementary school and goes through high school in the Bremerton School District. The impressive group of students were all highly motivated to be successful in school and beyond.
Following lunch prepared by Olympic College Culinary Arts students, the class had the opportunity to tour Olympic College’s state-of-the-art engineering lab facilitated by Olympic College Engineering faculty Dr. Jeff Brown, WSU Professor and Program Coordinator Dr. Marvin Pitts, and WSU Electrical Engineering Professor Dr. Murari Kejariwal. The Mechanical and Electrical Engineering programs are a partnership between Washington State University and Olympic College to offer four-year Mechanical and Electrical Engineering degrees in Bremerton.
Kitsap Regional Librarians: Shelby Barnes, Youth Services Assistant; Megan Burton, Teen Services Librarian; and Nathan Jones, Youth Services Librarian divided the class into two groups and rotated the groups through several library programs while discussing the various opportunities for continuing education for all ages at the library.
Thank you to our Education Day Sponsor the Olympic College Alumni Association who sponsored our venue and delicious meals prepared by the Olympic College Culinary Arts Institute.