Transition Academy

The students who are age 16 and over who are on The Transition Team take part in an Option IV program, where, besides academics, they learn vocational skills during the school day, and get paid up to 2 hours a day for working.  Mrs. Kasee’s class operates Aiken Diner, a student run, in-school diner where the students shop, prepare, and serve lunch to about 25 staff and community members every Tuesday and Thursday.  

Mr. Gentry’s class is involved in a Cloth Processing Center.  They measure and cut used cloth items to sell as rags to existing accounts.

Seniors participate in job tryouts in the spring through the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation.  Juniors and seniors have the opportunity to spend a quarter (half days) learning about transition at Easter Seals Work Resource Center .  Some students attend the Work Resource Center two days a week to participate in a Work Adjustment program.

The Option IV classrooms are teaching students employability skills, teamwork, independence, math skills, career awareness, and resume writing. The students are learning work related skills that will help them transition to the world of work upon graduation.

Upper Academy

The Upper Academy’s focus is primarily on graduation for seniors and giving the 11 th graders a strong foundation so they can have a successful senior year.

It is our goal that no senior will fail to graduate. The seniors who still need to pass parts of the Ohio Graduation Tests (OGT) go through extensive evaluation, where we determine their weaknesses. They are then paired with a tutor from General Electric. They are also put into small OGT prep classes with regular teachers. All seniors are also assigned an advocate. It is the advocate’s job to meet with their seniors on a regular basis and to make sure they stay on track for graduation and for admission to college.

Our goal for the 11 th graders is that at least 85% will have passed all parts of the OGT and they will all advance to become Seniors. This is accomplished by again analyzing their weaknesses and then placing students into small OGT prep classes where they will get more one on one help. Each junior is assigned an advisor who makes sure that the student stays on track.

For 12 th and 11 th graders who have passed all parts of the Ohio Graduation Test, we offer college classes through the University of Cincinnati. This program allows our students to take UC classes on the Aiken College and Career campus. In this familiar setting it allows our students to get a feel for the rigors of College classes without all the distraction. They also get the benefit of greatly reduced costs. It is possible for some of our students to graduate with up to 36 quarter credits form the University of Cincinnati. These credits can typically be transferred to the college of their choice.

Opportunity Academy

The Opportunity Academy is an accelerated credit recovery and advancement program at Aiken College & Career High School. The academy participates in the state’s C.B.I. (Career Based Intervention), vocational education department. The program – for students who are behind pace - offers the following opportunities toward obtaining high school credits and a high school diploma, and at the same time an opportunity to learn skills necessary for gainful employment during and after high school.

• Access to academic courses via Apex Learning, a computer-assistedinstructional program. Your son or daughter will have access to academic courses from any computer at school, or from any outside computer when absent from school, to complete assignments.

• Opportunity to earn 3 elective credits toward graduation for work experience. Every student in the high school portion of the program may leave school to participate in either paid work experience or the students may volunteer to learn skills through community service. This is a perfect opportunity to earn money and experience while earning high school credits.

• Participate in learning the new literacies only available through working with computers and computer assisted instruction. The technologies today revolve around the use of computers and this program offers students access to all the software and research available on the Internet, an important skill necessary in the workplace both today and in the future.