08/05/21

Introducing KRESA's Career Center Principal

We are excited to announce that Isaac Carter has been tapped to helm the new Career & Technical Education (CTE) Career Center as its principal. Carter will be at the heart of the county's CTE system redesign. He will lead career center programming implementation, hire new staff and help with the design of the new facility, which we hope to open in the fall of 2024. Carter’s task will be to oversee the facility’s operations and create a welcoming, inclusive and safe school culture for all students that simulates real-world workplaces and allows them to develop their leadership, academic and technical skills. Carter will also be providing leadership to some of our current EFE/CTE programs. 

Carter is a graduate of Princeton University and has extensive experience in the field of education having served Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for 17 years as an educator and school administrator. In his most recent role, Carter supported CPS as Campus Manager/Administrator of the district’s Chicago Builds program, an off-campus CTE training program for high school students interested in pursuing a career in construction after graduation.

Another of Carter’s key objectives will be to draw upon regional economic and employer data to design and implement state-of-the-art programming in fields that lead to local high-wage, high-demand jobs. His 14 years in the private sector prior to becoming an educator will serve him well as he works to forge partnerships with local employers, school districts and community members to continually align countywide career-learning services and programming with the ever-evolving talent needs of employers.

"We are so excited to add Isaac’s experience, expertise and perspective to KRESA’s CTE initiative,” said Eric Stewart, assistant superintendent for career and talent development at KRESA. “I couldn’t think of anyone better to help establish a strong and comprehensive CTE system for all students in Kalamazoo County.”

KRESA’s public/private partnership with Southwest Michigan First remains strong. A site for the new Career Center has not yet been determined, but priority will be given to a location with proximity to local employers to remove barriers for young people to participate in work-based learning experiences and ensure convenient access for each high school in the county.