Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center’s Business Advisory Council earned its third consecutive Three-Star Business-Education Leader Award from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce, with Amy Wood accepting the honor alongside Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel. The recognition covers sustained work linking schools and employers across Crawford, Morrow and Richland counties.
Superintendent Kevin D. Kimmel credited the council’s members, school leaders and business partners for pathways that move students beyond classroom walls into credentials and real jobs.
Amy Wood Accepts the Award in Mansfield
On August 4, 2026, Mid-Ohio ESC announced the Three-Star rating. Wood, who directs grants and special projects and leads the BAC, stood with Tressel and Jeremy Varner, deputy director of career-technical education and workforce.
The council serves 13 school districts and more than 20,000 students. Kimmel called the award proof of partnerships that prepare students for Ohio’s workforce.
- Third straight year at the three-star level (2024, 2025 and 2026)
- One of roughly 20 three-star councils statewide in 2026
- Unfunded facilitation that still delivers bootcamps, credentials and county action teams
The same quiet consistency appears in local honors: a Richland County Economic Excellence Award, a Crawford Partnership Workforce Development Award, and Ohio Senate recognition for educator boot camps.
How Ohio Rates Its Business Advisory Councils
Every Ohio school district and educational service center maintains a BAC. These groups of educators, business leaders and community members align classroom work with local hiring needs and open work-based learning.
The state replaced older letter grades with a star system. Reviewers from DriveOhio, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, manufacturers’ groups and several state agencies score the applications.
| Star Level | What It Requires | 2026 Count (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Four-star | All quality practices year-round plus supporting data; some earn extra Excellence Designation | 11 (4 with Excellence) |
| Three-star | Many quality practices that build a career-focused culture for all students | 20 including Mid-Ohio ESC |
| Two-star | A number of quality practices throughout the year | 8 |
Governor Mike DeWine said the councils make a real impact preparing students for opportunities after graduation. Tressel linked them to broader efforts like WorkOhio that match people to in-demand jobs.
The full 2026 Business-Education Leader Awards list places Mid-Ohio among peers that implement many of the same practices without always reaching the data-heavy four-star bar.
Three Quality Practices Drive the Mid-Ohio Model
The BAC organizes its work around three state-aligned practices: develop professional skills, build strong partnerships, and coordinate experiential learning. County action teams in Richland, Morrow and Crawford meet monthly to tailor events to each local labor market.
Key initiatives include:
- Educator Manufacturing & Technology Bootcamps (summer sessions in all three counties, often with Ashland University graduate credit and 45 seats supported by the Lt. Governor’s office)
- TurboCert program for industry-recognized credentials, hosted with North Central State College at the Crawford Success Center and expanded into Morrow County
- State-recognized pre-apprenticeship pathways with skilled trades and local businesses
- Ready for Hire after-school and summer program covering soft skills, financial literacy, paid internships and credentials
- WAGE Tours that take ninth- and tenth-graders into local workplaces
- YouScience career exploration tool matched to regional openings
- Speech-language pathologist internship/mentorship launched with a $30,000 grant
- Crawford County CEO entrepreneurship program launching for 2025-26
Business partners such as Jay Industries, Gorman Rupp, Major Metals, Avita Health System and the 179th Cyberspace Wing host tours, supply lunch-and-learns, donate equipment (including a FANUC robot for credentials) and co-plan content. Full details live on the Mid-Ohio ESC BAC programs and quality practices page.
This recognition is a testament to the strength of the partnerships we have built between our schools, businesses and community organizations. At Mid-Ohio ESC, we believe that preparing students for success extends beyond the classroom, and our Business Advisory Council plays a vital role in connecting education with real-world career opportunities.
Superintendent Kevin D. Kimmel said those words while specifically thanking Wood and the volunteer members who keep the unfunded work moving.
County Action Teams Match Local Job Markets
Richland, Morrow and Crawford sit across Northwest, Northeast and Central JobsOhio regions. Manufacturing, healthcare and skilled trades dominate hiring needs. Action teams design career fairs, workshops and placements that fit each county’s employers rather than a one-size regional template.
In Morrow County the BAC partnered with Marion Technical College and all local districts for a senior-only credentials program at the Miller Center in Cardington. Businesses supply weekly lunch-and-learns; Goodwill and county Job and Family Services add coaching and work placements. Crawford runs TurboCert and pre-apprenticeship seats. Richland feeds larger employer networks and superintendent manufacturing tours that reset district leaders’ view of available jobs.
New partners in the latest cycle include Team NEO for teacher-as-career-advisor data and additional firms joining the BAC roster. The joint statement filed for 2025-26 scored every major goal a 10 out of 10 on completion or strong progress.
A Track Record Built Over Multiple Cycles
- 2024, First documented three-star Business-Education Leader Award for the Mid-Ohio ESC BAC, covered by the Mansfield News Journal as recognition for student career work in Richland and Crawford.
- 2025, Second three-star rating; MOESC website and local coverage again highlight the same core practices.
- February 2026, State announcement places Mid-Ohio on the three-star list for the third year; formal acceptance photo with Tressel follows in August.
- Ongoing, Parallel local awards, a Senate citation for boot camps, equipment donations and a $30k grant keep resources flowing even though BAC facilitation itself carries no dedicated state funding line.
The pattern shows a model that survives leadership transitions and budget constraints by leaning on volunteer employers and county teams.
Who Gains When the Pipeline Stays Local
Students leave high school with industry credentials that employers actually recognize. Teachers return from bootcamps able to describe real shop-floor expectations instead of generic career talk. Districts gain clearer transition plans for students with disabilities. Manufacturers and healthcare systems in the three counties reduce the need to recruit from outside the region.
Ohio hosts Ohio’s network of over 110 Business Advisory Councils. Most never make national news. The ones that quietly repeat three-star results year after year, like Mid-Ohio, supply the day-to-day talent that larger workforce campaigns later claim as success stories.
Wood’s leadership and the members’ time keep the machine running. The next natural step is pushing the remaining quality practices and data collection that separate three-star from four-star status, while the existing bootcamps, TurboCert seats and action-team events continue without pause.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an Ohio Business Advisory Council?
A BAC is a required local partnership of school, business and community leaders that aligns K-12 learning with regional workforce needs and expands work-based experiences such as job shadows, credentials and pre-apprenticeships; every district and ESC must maintain one.
What do the two-, three- and four-star BAC ratings mean?
Two-star councils implement a number of quality practices; three-star councils implement many practices that create a career-focused culture for all students; four-star councils implement all practices year-round and supply supporting data, with a few also earning an Excellence Designation for coordination of career development.
Which specific programs has the Mid-Ohio ESC BAC run recently?
Beyond the core bootcamps and TurboCert, the council has launched a speech-language pathologist internship with a $30,000 grant, secured a FANUC robot donation for student credentials, added YouScience career matching, and is standing up a Crawford County CEO entrepreneurship track for the 2025-26 school year.
How many students and districts does Mid-Ohio ESC serve?
The ESC supports 13 school districts and more than 20,000 students across Crawford, Morrow and Richland counties with curriculum, special education, related services and the BAC career work.
Who currently leads the Mid-Ohio ESC Business Advisory Council?
Amy Wood, Mid-Ohio ESC Director of Grants & Special Projects, serves as primary contact and accepted the 2026 three-star award; Superintendent Kevin D. Kimmel is the secondary contact and public voice for the recognition.
