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Daniel Hall, dean of Miami University Hamilton, speaks during the annual State of the Schools Red Carpet Luncheon on Thursday, Jan. 8, at Miami University Hamilton.Click to enlarge

HAMILTON — New programs, new buildings and new courses were among the topics discussed Thursday, Jan. 8, at the annual State of the Schools Red Carpet Luncheon.

The event, sponsored by the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, the Lindenwald Kiwanis of Hamilton, the Hamilton Rotary and Butler Technology and Career Development Schools, showcased what's going on at area schools.

Hamilton City Schools Superintendent Janet Baker, Miami University Hamilton Dean Daniel Hall, Badin High School Principal Frank Margello, and Dan Schroer, Butler Tech's vice president of secondary work force education, touted their schools' successes and future events.

"Next year at this time we will have opened four new elementary schools, and four additional elementaries will be under construction along with Wilson Middle School and a new high school gymnasium," Baker said.

New initiatives, Duel Credit Courses — which give students high school and post-secondary credits — and the Honors Academy, will complement 11 advanced placement courses in place at the high school, Baker said.

Schroer shared the news that Butler Tech is now the largest career-technical school district in the state of Ohio and also has the lowest cost per pupil.

Land has been purchased at Cincinnati-Dayton Road and Interstate 75 for construction of a biomedical high school for students interested in becoming skilled health care professionals — industries that are "the future of southwest Ohio and America," he said.

Describing Badin as a college preparatory high school, Margello said that almost 98 percent of Badin students attend college. The Class of 2008 amassed $8.1 million in academic scholarships.

The curriculum includes 10 advanced placement classes and a number of honors classes, Margello said, adding that 85 percent of Badin students passed the AP exam earning college credits. Nationally, 50 percent passed the tests, he said.

A total of 100 students from Miami's Hamilton and Middletown campuses were enrolled for the fall semester of the new Bachelor of Integrated Studies program.

"While the BIS is the cornerstone of our bachelor's degree initiative, it is just the beginning," Hall said. "In addition to our bachelor degrees, we will continue to offer lower division courses and associate's degrees in areas where the market demand is high."

A newly approved course that allows students to earn an associate degree in criminal justice already is at student capacity, he said.

"As such, we have plans to recruit new faculty in the next year to allow us to expand the program," Hall said.