Bridging the Gap: Olentangy Schools and BridgEd

Annie Fields

Olentangy Schools will hold a panel discussion tonight at 7 p.m. regarding the merging of BridgEd with OLSD in the Theater at Berlin High School. BridgEd’s mission is to “bridge the gap” between students K-12 and the professional and business world. 

In the panel, members of the OSU Wexner Medical Center, Worthington Industries, Chase Bank, Honda and Elford Construction will be discussing the ways the workforce is changing and how students can be better equipped to join the professional world when they graduate. 

Krista Davis works for Olentangy Schools as a project lead for the integration of BridgEd. Her and her partner “…have been working for three or four months on getting this project off the ground,” said Davis. 

Throughout the summer BridgEd has been talking to Olentangy staff such as principals, counselors and teachers. Eventually BridgEd will be talking to students to “…build that framework and really put these communities as Chris and Christy [founders of BridgEd] say ‘on speed dial’ to work with us,” said Davis. 

BridgEd hopes that this program will expose students to workforce opportunities they may not have been aware of previously. 

“The goal is to really impact workforce development, internships in hiring philanthropic giving like scholarships for students and even perhaps teacher grants and then ultimately student success,” said Davis.