Schoon to lead Garrett Career Development Program
Article by Jeff Jones | KPC News | January 18, 2022
GARRETT — New Career Development Program director Corey Schoon brings a diverse set of experiences to his role.
He wants to add to the solid foundation built by departing director Chad Sutton, who left the Garrett-Keyser-Butler school district at the end of the first semester to take on a new role in Alabama.
Schoon served in the military and the last 10 years in education, most recently teaching at Eastside Junior-Senior High School. He grew up in an agricultural background and maintains a family farm.
In addition, he is a partial owner in Ashley Industrial Molding and has sat on the Northeastern Indiana Workforce Development board for several years.
“That really opened my eyes to the divide between industry and education, what I would call the real world and what’s going on in high school hallways,” Schoon said of serving on the workforce development board.
“Having my foot in both for quite a while, I see it. This program is a great way to start to bridge that divide between what employers want, what the world wants, what the area needs and what’s happening in the hallways of high schools.”
First and foremost, Schoon hopes to pick up “as seamlessly as possible” from where Sutton left off. “Number two, make sure the kids who are getting ready to leave these hallways are set up for success.
“The third goal is to make sure we have a solid plan in place come August when the kids walk back in these halls to make it go seamlessly.
“I’ve known Chad for a while through coaching, through football, through track. When I heard him leaving for Alabama, I’ve always had one foot in the private world and one foot in education and always danced between those lines of personal interest.
“It seemed like a heck of an opportunity to build off what Chad has already created, the success he’s had, and being able to take this ball and run with it.
“I threw my hat in the arena, and Garrett and Mrs. Weaver (Garrett-Keyser-Butler Superintendent Tonya Weaver) were kind enough to tap me as the next guy.”
Schoon has met 1-on-1 with every teacher in the Career Development Program and “really let them tell me what they’re excited about in this program.
“There’s a lot of excitement around here. I want to become part of it and help it flourish,” Schoon said.
“The vision for this program, I think, is still being developed. There’s tons of regional support for programs like this, and it’s becoming the new trend in education with industry partners and local partners,” he said.
“The end vision? I don’t know what it is. I think it’s ever-evolving and it needs to be ever-evolving with the economy and what’s going on in today’s job market.
“I guess the end goal for me and for Garrett is to be proactive to what the labor market needs and not reactive.
“What that is, I don’t know yet.”
The key, he said, is to have open lines of communication between industry and partners and use their input to chart a course.
“Hopefully, we’ll be on the forefront of getting our kids in places where they can be successful for themselves, their families and the community,” Schoon said.
Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/garrettclipper/article_3e811fcf-4364-5700-af8e-d46307394a7f.html