Penta Earns Purple Star Award
Penta Career Center has been recognized by the Ohio Department of Education with the Purple Star Award for its commitment to students and families connected to our nation’s military. Pete LuPiba, commissioner of Ohio’s Military Interstate Children’s Compact, presented the award on January 16. Penta is one of several schools in Ohio to be designated a Purple Star School in 2020, but is one of only a few career-technical schools to be a recipient of the award.
“We are so pleased to receive this honor,” says Edward Ewers, superintendent of Penta Career Center. “Our staff and students have always been dedicated to organizing activities that support the military and this recognition validates our continued commitment to being a military-friendly school.”
Over the past several years, Penta has supported the military through various events and activities. Each September 11, Penta students and staff in the Criminal Justice and Firefighter programs organize a Patriot Day Ceremony. In addition, Penta students and staff organized a Heroes in Action Drive in which snacks, clothing and hygiene items were collected for troops overseas. In 2017, Social Studies students organized an interview day in which they interviewed veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq wars. Last year, Penta’s National Technical Honor Society wrote and delivered 75 thank you letters to area veterans in nursing homes.
According to the Ohio Department of Education, there are 34,000 children in Ohio with one or more parents serving in the military. This includes the children of active duty, reserve and Ohio National Guard members. Some of these children will attend six to nine different schools throughout their K-12 educational experience. Frequent moves and family separations through deployments, as well as reintegration issues make life especially challenging. Ohio offers a number of programs to assist military families.
Posted: Tuesday, January 21, 2020