HANCOCK COUNTY — All Hancock County school superintendents from Mt. Vernon, Southern Hancock, Greenfield Central, and Eastern Hancock have collaborated with a larger taskforce of community organizations and developed a vision to bring vocational education access within Hancock County. Through several meetings, the vision that has been developed and endorsed by all stakeholders is: “Every Hancock County resident has an opportunity for career success through relevant workforce training.”
The county’s vocational task force believes that all Hancock County residents deserve access to workforce training and Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways. This can best be achieved through partnerships among schools and other Hancock County stakeholders. Currently, the four county school districts send students to five different vocational schools outside of Hancock County. A stand-alone career center in Hancock County, supported by our schools, businesses and county leaders, allows for the highest level of collaboration in achieving the vision. The task force also believes that communicating opportunities, as well as messaging the value of workforce training and CTE pathways should encompass school-aged children, their parents, and other Hancock County community members.
Dr. Jack Parker, Superintendent of Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation expressed, “We are delighted to see that our county leaders are looking in a similar direction and hope that this vision will come to fruition. Now is the time to merge the vocational education needs of our school districts and our county. Our students and residents deserve to have this vocational training opportunity within our county; our businesses, students, and residents will benefit from a county-wide initiative.”