Board opening for Greentek Career Academy

By Kerry Knodle
Executive Director/CEO, Comprehensive Community Solutions, Inc.

GreenTek Career Academy Charter School, an Illinois nonprofit organization, is seeking volunteers to serve on the board of this proposed dropout recovery charter school. An application for approval of a charter will be submitted to Rockford School District 205 in late July. The organization is recruiting prospective board members and seeking general community support.

The GreenTek Career Academy Charter School, if approved, would function as an independent high school providing a full array of academic subjects taught through combining remediation with educational challenges and high standards. It would also serve as a career academy where students receive intensive job preparatory training in green construction and related occupations, urban agriculture and computer technology through classroom and occupational skills training (e.g., building affordable housing, urban farming and computer refurbishment). The school’s program would be academically rigorous, focused on environmental issues, green building and cutting-edge technology, with a goal of preparing young people for responsible, sustainable citizenship, and careers in green collar occupations. It would focus on at-risk and out-of-school students ages 17-21 through a multi-faceted program of educational, social and employability supports that provide youth with the full range of resources they need to transition from “street to work” or “street to school” effectively.

GreenTek Career Academy Charter School would be governed by a board of directors consisting of not fewer than seven nor more than 13 volunteer community members. Board members would be selected from a pool composed of community leaders, parents, school graduates, educators, and people with significant experience, knowledge and success in providing services to the targeted at-risk student population.

In particular, the organization seeks candidates with backgrounds in alternative education, fundraising, accounting/financial services, marketing, workforce development, housing development, construction or education.

Interested candidates are invited to call (815) 963-6236 for further information.

From the June 27-July 3, 2012, issue