Reynoldsburg, Ohio

for training and career development for students and learning adults to prepare them for positions with employers like these. Reynoldsburg City Schools are interconnected with neighboring districts as part of the Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools. The city has also partnered with local colleges, like Columbus State Community College and Mount Carmel College of Nursing. Columbus State hosts Reynoldsburg students and adult learners, who skip long commutes for a local campus that offers night-time associate degree programs to pursue higher education on their own time. Meanwhile, Mount Carmel provides students with a direct link to practical work experience as part of the Trinity Health System. Students from the district are entering these programs with a STEM education after studying at STEM- or STEAM-certified academies from kindergarten through 12th grade. First, they attend one of three elementary schools, like Herbert Mills Elementary, and then choose one of four academies or the 9X Impact Academy with the career pathways of health sciences and human services, business, education, law, and leadership, performing and design arts, and environmental science, technology, engineering, and math. The schools combine traditional high school classes with vocational training and college-level courses so they can graduate with a high school diploma and associate degree. Bowsher explains, “It’s not just about education, but it’s also preparing them for a life outside of school, if they choose to take that path, or they can take those college credits and be one step closer to a college degree.” The program helps students dodge expensive education tuition fees, enrol in a four-year school, and graduate with a bachelor’s degree in half the time. The robust school system isn’t the only beacon for residents. Leveraging its agrarian past, recently elected Mayor Joe Begeny established the green initiative ‘the Green Tomato’. In