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Changes abound at county career and technology center
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MIKE STAUGAITIS
STAFF WRITER
mike_s@newsitem.com
COAL TOWNSHIP — The Northumberland County Area Vocational-Technical School is no more — in name that is.
It will now be know by its new moniker: The Northumberland County Career & Technology Center.
With that name change comes a new administrative director for the center, Alexander Choman.
Choman, as his first order of business, implemented the name change at the behest of the state Department of Education’s (PDE) Bureau of Vocational Education, which decided a few years ago such schools statewide should reflect changing times. The bureau itself decided to change names, too, as it’s now known as Bureau of Career & Technical Education.
“It is a process that can only be done between June 15 and August 15 that you can change the name of a school. I recommended to the board that that action would be appropriate at this time and they unanimously agreed,” Choman said.
He added, “The reasons for the name change are two fold. Number one, it reflects the technology of the 21st Century. Number two is to do away with the stigma of the older ‘vo-tech’ name.”
Choman was appointed as administrative director during the July meeting of the school’s Joint Operating Committee. He comes to the area from Wilkes-Barre, where he still resides.
For the past 32 years he worked at Wilkes-Barre Area Vocational-Technical School, where he taught an audio visual program that included radio, television and photography, and also served as school administrator.
At present, he proctors an online class in music appreciation at Lycoming County Community College (LCCC).
Choman is a graduate of Kings College, where he earned a degree in English communication. He performed graduate work at Temple University with a focus on vocational education.
Outside of education, Choman is a confessed music lover. As a hobby, he was a contributing writer for Times~Shamrock Communications (which owns The News-Item) where he wrote concert reviews as a music critic for the Scranton Times-Tribune, Wilkes-Barre Citizen’s Voice and, on occasion, the Hazleton Standard-Speaker.
“When the opportunity presented itself, I applied for the position,” Choman said of his new post at the county career and technology center. “There were other jobs available, but I like this one. I have always heard good things about this school.”
In his first year on the job, Choman and the school itself face two big challenges: create a five-year strategic plan for the school and undergo a compliance review by PDE.
The Act 339 Compliance Review will be held in April, with representatives of the state Department of Education spending two days at the school to evaluate all facets of its operations.
“The teachers, administration and staff will spend the year preparing for the evaluation,” Choman said.
“Another goal is going to be, with the tremendous support the board is giving me, is the opportunity to asses what is working well and to make recommendations in the areas that need changing. Also, we want to create a heightened community awareness of all the great things at the school, including having fairs, community projects and an open house.”
Choman also wants to reestablish a Business Advisory Committee at the school consisting of local business and community leaders — something he feels has fallen by the wayside.
Another project worth noting at the school is the retrofitting of all exterior and interior lighting. The goal is to create a more efficient lighting system in preparation of the 2010 rate cap expiration on electricity. All that work will be done after school hours as to not interrupt the students’ education, Choman said. Included in that will be a new ventilation system for the welding shop.
There is only one teacher change for the 2008-09 school year. Ruth Ann Helfrick will replace Nancy Troxell as health occupations teacher. Troxell now serves as school nurse at the Shamokin Area School District.
Enrollment is estimated at approximately 350 students.
STAFF WRITER
mike_s@newsitem.com
COAL TOWNSHIP — The Northumberland County Area Vocational-Technical School is no more — in name that is.
It will now be know by its new moniker: The Northumberland County Career & Technology Center.
With that name change comes a new administrative director for the center, Alexander Choman.
Choman, as his first order of business, implemented the name change at the behest of the state Department of Education’s (PDE) Bureau of Vocational Education, which decided a few years ago such schools statewide should reflect changing times. The bureau itself decided to change names, too, as it’s now known as Bureau of Career & Technical Education.
“It is a process that can only be done between June 15 and August 15 that you can change the name of a school. I recommended to the board that that action would be appropriate at this time and they unanimously agreed,” Choman said.
He added, “The reasons for the name change are two fold. Number one, it reflects the technology of the 21st Century. Number two is to do away with the stigma of the older ‘vo-tech’ name.”
Choman was appointed as administrative director during the July meeting of the school’s Joint Operating Committee. He comes to the area from Wilkes-Barre, where he still resides.
For the past 32 years he worked at Wilkes-Barre Area Vocational-Technical School, where he taught an audio visual program that included radio, television and photography, and also served as school administrator.
At present, he proctors an online class in music appreciation at Lycoming County Community College (LCCC).
Choman is a graduate of Kings College, where he earned a degree in English communication. He performed graduate work at Temple University with a focus on vocational education.
Outside of education, Choman is a confessed music lover. As a hobby, he was a contributing writer for Times~Shamrock Communications (which owns The News-Item) where he wrote concert reviews as a music critic for the Scranton Times-Tribune, Wilkes-Barre Citizen’s Voice and, on occasion, the Hazleton Standard-Speaker.
“When the opportunity presented itself, I applied for the position,” Choman said of his new post at the county career and technology center. “There were other jobs available, but I like this one. I have always heard good things about this school.”
In his first year on the job, Choman and the school itself face two big challenges: create a five-year strategic plan for the school and undergo a compliance review by PDE.
The Act 339 Compliance Review will be held in April, with representatives of the state Department of Education spending two days at the school to evaluate all facets of its operations.
“The teachers, administration and staff will spend the year preparing for the evaluation,” Choman said.
“Another goal is going to be, with the tremendous support the board is giving me, is the opportunity to asses what is working well and to make recommendations in the areas that need changing. Also, we want to create a heightened community awareness of all the great things at the school, including having fairs, community projects and an open house.”
Choman also wants to reestablish a Business Advisory Committee at the school consisting of local business and community leaders — something he feels has fallen by the wayside.
Another project worth noting at the school is the retrofitting of all exterior and interior lighting. The goal is to create a more efficient lighting system in preparation of the 2010 rate cap expiration on electricity. All that work will be done after school hours as to not interrupt the students’ education, Choman said. Included in that will be a new ventilation system for the welding shop.
There is only one teacher change for the 2008-09 school year. Ruth Ann Helfrick will replace Nancy Troxell as health occupations teacher. Troxell now serves as school nurse at the Shamokin Area School District.
Enrollment is estimated at approximately 350 students.
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