West Grove, PA - Although Pennsylvania’s first dual-enrollment high school, the Chester County Technical College High School, won’t open until September 2008, it’s principal, Mr. Seth Schram, is already hard at work. The Chester County Intermediate Unit Board of Directors approved Mr. Schram’s hiring at its monthly meeting on June 19, 2007.
Mr. Schram will serve as the assistant principal at Center for Arts & Technology Brandywine Campus until December 2007 and assume his duties as principal of the Chester County Technical College High School on January 1. In the meantime, he will oversee a number of activities associated with the new school, including: developing curriculum; hiring staff; recruiting students; and ordering supplies and equipment.
Schram began his career in education at Avon Grove High School as a student teacher in the late 1980’s. A chef turned teacher, Schram received his degree in secondary education at West Chester University.
“I have been in education for 18 years,” said Schram. “I am a chef by trade, and formally trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. I spent several years as a chef in hotels and restaurants including a stint as the catering manager at the University of Delaware. It was there that I discovered I could combine my two degrees when I worked with hotel and restaurant management students on the job.”
In 1994, Schram was hired as the culinary arts instructor at the Center for Technical Studies in Montgomery County. In 2000, he was promoted to supervisor of vocational education and assistant director. That same year, he was named the Pennsylvania Vocational Teacher of the Year. When the position for the principal of the Chester County Technical College was announced, Schram saw it as a great opportunity and applied.
“I am a West Chester resident, and have strong ties to the community so naturally I wanted to play an integral role in career and technical education in Chester County,” said Schram. “Plus, I consider it an honor to be named the principal of the first hybrid school in Pennsylvania.”
Located in Penn Township in the Avon Grove School District, the Chester County Technical College High School is a joint venture of the Chester County Intermediate Unit and Delaware County Community College. It is scheduled to open in September 2008 and will feature three distinct yet interrelated programs of study:
• traditional career and technical programs such as the ones now offered at the Center for Arts & Technology Brandywine Campus in Coatesville and Pickering Campus in Phoenixville;
• associate degree programs from Delaware County Community College; and,
• dual-enrollment programs that blend high school programs with for-credit college courses.
According to Schram, all education is vocational in nature: “All students strive to become successful adult citizens who are gainfully employed,” he said. “The difference is that in career and technical education, students learn skill sets that are task oriented along with the theory that puts them academically ahead of the curve. It’s a wonderful combination.”
