SIDNEY — Representatives from the Midwest Regional Education Service Center provided the Sidney Rotary Club with an update of several programs during a recent meeting.

Tom Roll, co-coordinator of the Opportunity School, provided the overview of the school’s success. The school is in its 18th year of operation. During that time, there have been 1,256 students enrolled in the program. Almost 900 (71 percent) of these students graduated from high school because of this school.

According to Roll, there is a current enrollment of 69 students. The school assists those who are short of the number of credits needed to graduate from their home schools by providing other opportunities to earn the educational credits needed. The school provides tutors along with mentors from local businesses who lead career-readiness programs. The mentors assist with writing a resume and interviewing for a new job, skills needed to prepare students for life after high school.

Opportunity School Co-coordinator Tom Clark talked about a new collaboration between Sidney Rotary and the Midwest Regional ESC that will recognize local teachers for their work in and out of the classroom. The Excellence in Education award was created to identify those in education, countywide, who improve student achievement, are innovative, have developed best practices and provide masterful teaching in the classroom. To date, there have been 18 applications submitted for this honor. Three will be selected as award winners.

Clark informed the club that part of the Opportunity School is educational credit catch-up or recovery, which can be provided by an online source. The computer is the educator and there is no teacher interaction. Assistance in some of the tougher classes is provided by small study groups and is facilitated by an adviser and teacher/mentor.

The final part of the presentation concerned the Career Quest Mentoring Program, a collaboration of local industry, Midwest Regional ESC, Edison Community and Rhodes colleges, Sidney High School and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Shelby and Darke County. The program provides career mentors to students for one or two hours per week. The goals of this program are to prepare the student for a career, build character, develop pathways to achievement, build a sense of resiliency and believing in a positive future.