Princeton’s Work Ethic Certification Program was developed with the needs of businesses in mind. Local business leaders met to share advice and career expectations resulting in six tenets of focus for the Work Ethic Certification Program. The WEC program provides students with connections to “real-world” career exploration, identifies the elements of sound work ethic, and describes to students how skills are represented through high school requirements.

A weekly Speaker Series, Workforce Wednesdays, along with a monthly Career Lunch & Learn series, focus on topics driven from the six tenets of:

• Communication

• Dependability/Reliability

• Adaptability/Trainability

• Decision Making/Initiative

• Customer/Relationship Focused

• Teamwork

Past Speaker Series topics have included financial planning, community service, volunteering, attendance, self-discipline, punctuality, respectfulness, dressing for success, and interviewing skills. The Speaker Series has led to after-school clubs and extracurricular activities including the Construction Club, Educators Rising, Flex Factor, InnoVation Girls, and Safety Services Junior Explorers Programs. Students involved with the DECA program are also highly involved in the WEC Program. Project-Based and innovative learning practices immerse our students into the work world to get them excited about career pathways. The WEC program exposes our students to real-world problems, as it blends STEAM focus areas to entrepreneurship in a project-based learning approach. It develops personal and professional skills needed in the workplace, and better informs students, staff, and faculty about workforce initiatives.  

Quarterly, Princeton High School students, local community leaders, and business partners have an opportunity to interact and learn from each other at the Business & Community Partner Breakfasts. This networking event is a way for our businesses to work with our students. It is an opportunity for Princeton students to learn about local businesses, types of jobs, internships, experiential learning, and employment opportunities. Business partners who collaborate in the program are asked to guarantee an interview for qualifying open jobs in their company for Princeton High School students who graduate with the certification on their diploma.

On behalf of Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted, regional representative Joshua Tovey addressed an audience at a Princeton breakfast on Ohio’s commitment to economic growth and delivering more opportunities for innovative workforce practices, including encouraging schools to develop and manage work-based learning opportunities for students.

“We all have to work together,” stated Tovey. “Which is why I am grateful to see programs, like this one here at Princeton, that focus on raising a culture of innovators.”

A few high school students spoke about different pathways they plan to pursue after graduation and how Princeton prepared them along their educational journey - Andrew Edrington is enrolled to attend Clemson University; Jonathan Helton has enlisted to serve in the United States Navy; and JoJo Lopez has recently started a co-op with Jurgensen Companies. Each of these students emphasized the choices available to them to pursue while in high school as being an advantage to their future goals.

“Every day is a learning adventure,” Lopez said about her internship at the headquarters of Jurgensen Companies in Sharonville. “There is always something new to learn and people to meet. I am grateful for the experiences the internship provided me because I feel more prepared. After graduation, I will be continuing to work at Jurgensen to expand my career and life opportunities.”

Princeton's Work Ethic Program looks at the six tenets of the SHRM