Blountstown High School is proud to announce it is now offering another vocational opportunity to its students. We are now partnering with the Florida Department of Corrections to offer the HOPE program, or the High School Seniors Opportunity for Professional Employment program. The HOPE program is available to any senior on Blountstown High School’s campus that passes the basic abilities test, drug test, physical exam, background check and has a valid driver’s license.
The students will complete the 220 hour program on the BHS campus and will be able to work an OPS job at a Corrections facility after graduating high school until they turn 19. At that point, when they pass the fire-arms safety test, they will start their career as a Correctional Officer for the State of Florida earning $32,500 per year plus benefits.
On the first day of school, Mr. Michael White, Region One Training Manager along with Officers Sewell, Millard and Hill met with Blountstown High School seniors to discuss this opportunity with them. Many students are excited about this program that will enable them to stay close to home while earning a good quality wage with benefits.
The HOPE program joins several vocational programs at BHS. Several years ago, the Calhoun County School Board began a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program at BHS. Our students train during the first semester on campus with our instructor Wendy Byrne and then go into the field (nursing homes and hospital) for hands on training the second semester. At the end of the second semester, the CNA students take a two part certification exam and then go on to become a high school graduate making $15 per hour, plus a signing bonus for many.
The HOPE and CNA programs are just two of many vocational programs at BHS. Our Technology programs are award winning and are led by instructors Amanda McGhee and Jonetta Dawson. Through our Aeronautics Technology program, students can become licensed private pilots of manned and unmanned (drones) aircrafts. Students can be trained in film production, programming and coding, and aerial photography. The aerial photography students are responsible for the BHS Live Stream that allows those that aren’t able to attend our events, like football games and graduation, to live stream it from their computers or Smart TVs at home. Amanda McGhee also trains the engineering students in VEX robotics and Arduino, where the students design, build and program robots, even the underwater variety. The more traditional side of Business Technology is taught by Jonetta Dawson and includes the Microsoft Office Suite, as well as Adobe and animation software. The students also are taught public speaking and entrepreneurial skills as well.
To round out our vocational programs we also have Culinary Arts, which is responsible for the restaurant The Tiger’s Table that is open to the community once a month; Building Construction Technology and welding, where our students are taught everything from plumbing and electrical to carpentry and roofing; and the Ag Technology and foundations program, where they learn about live stock management, farm business management and the agriculture sciences.
We at BHS are quite proud of our vocational programs. During our School Accreditation process earlier this year, the committee commended Blountstown High School for having so many quality vocational programs for being such as small school. Other districts have even visited to try to emulate our success. This, to us, is just another reason to think that it is great to be a Blountstown Tiger!
