Kalamazoo RESA

Happy New Year! There are many monumental milestones to look forward to in 2025, one of which is the opening of the Career Connect Campus, which is Number 9 on this list! Applications are now open for the 2025-26 school year! Visit kresa.org/apply

Attention Kalamazoo County high school students! Applications are now open for KRESA Career Connect's high school classes and programs, including Career & Technical Education (CTE), Education for the Arts (EFA) and the Early/Middle College (EMC) program. CTE applicants can be a part of the inaugural class at the new Career Connect Campus, opening to students in Fall of 2025! See the full 2025-26 course catalogue online: https://bit.ly/3VUU5io Learn more and apply at kresa.org/apply

Grow on our team as an Associate Teacher or Classroom Aide! Be part of a nurturing and inclusive environment where you can help plant the seeds of success for little learners. Earn a generous signing bonus and continuous support for training and education to help you GROW in your career. Ready to make a difference? Learn more and apply today at kresa.org/jobs.

Thank you to Edwards Garment for giving students a behind-the-scenes tour of their facility during an Industry Tour through our Career Connect program! Students from Portage Community High and Gull Lake High School learned more about the roles and skill sets involved in the areas of Finance, Distribution, Product Development, Marketing, Quality, and Customer Service. They also discussed the development of company culture. Students even had the chance to print their very own Career Connect shirt to take home with them! We are thankful for industry partners like Edwards Garment for providing these career exploration experiences for the youth in our community! #KRESA #CareerConnect #IndustryTours #CareerExploration #ExploreEngageExperience #GetCareerConnected

Congratulations to two outstanding young performers and participants in KRESA Career Connect’s EFA Musical Theatre Program! Carly Rose Koch, a senior at Portage Central High School, and Courtney Gardner, graduate of Kalamazoo Central High School, have been awarded the Adam F. Carter Young Artist Award, which recognizes and encourages the next generation of artists in our community. Named after a young artist whose life was cut short, but whose contribution to the arts community of Kalamazoo provided an example that age doesn’t matter when making a difference in the arts. Read the full bios of Carly and Courtney, and all the recipients, and learn more about the awards at https://bit.ly/3VvBY2y Join in the celebration at the Community Arts Awards presentation on Tuesday, December 10 at 7:00 pm at the Dale B. Lake Auditorium on the campus of KVCC - all are welcome! RSVP to attend the free celebration! https://lnkd.in/gCaSHeBw And we would be remiss if we didn’t give an honorable mention and thanks to the work of Instructors Denene Mulay Koch, Kris Stahl, Whitney Weiner, Corlyn Schreck and Tissie Hughey for their mentorship in the EFA Advanced Musical Theatre program! Congrats to all!

Congratulations to EFA Teaching Artist Mary Whalen for being awarded the 2024 Community Medal of Arts Lifetime Achievement Award through the The Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Whalen is director of the photography and digital imaging program at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts where she teaches several classes. She is also a teaching artist in Kalamazoo area schools with Education for the Arts (EFA), a program of Kalamazoo RESA Career Connect. Join in the celebration at the Community Arts Awards presentation on Tuesday, December 10 at 7:00 pm at the Dale B. Lake Auditorium on the campus of KVCC - all are welcome! RSVP to attend the free celebration, read the full bios of all the recipients, and learn more about the awards at https://bit.ly/3VvBY2y

Thanks to all who joined us at the Air Zoo on December 3 for the KRESA Career Connect Open House! It was so great to see so many young people come out to meet our instructors and current students and learn more about our many high school classes and programs, such as Career & Technical Education (CTE), Education for the Arts (EFA), Early/Middle College (EMC), and the many career planning programs available. Not to mention the Discovery Lab was there for all to enjoy! Thank you to everyone who came out and to the hard-working Career Connect team for making this another amazing community event! Applications are NOW OPEN! CTE applicants can be a part of the inaugural class at the future Career Connect Campus Opening Fall of 2025! To learn more and apply visit kresa.org/apply #KRESA #CareerConnect #OpenHouse #CTE #EFA #EMC #DiscoveryLab #ExploreEngageExperience #GetCareerConnected

The KRESA Foundation supports initiatives like Targeted Assistance Grants (TAG). TAGs are part of KRESA's strategic commitment to foster educational excellence, aimed specifically at nurturing a diverse pool of talented, non-certified staff who have demonstrated the potential and desire to advance their careers as educators. Consider donating to the KRESA Foundation during #GivingTuesday. Your generosity provides us with the necessary funds to continue this work and help transform futures. ➡️kresa.org/GivingTuesday✨ "After my first year with Head Start, I immediately knew that I had found my calling. I love seeing the children's faces when they recognize their names on various objects around the room, or when they color their infamous self-portraits, or the occasional "this is what YOU look like" pictures! With the help of the Targeted Assistance Grant, the support of my administrators and coworkers, I have been able to complete my Bachelor of Social Work and in February, will also complete my Master of Social Work degree." - Nicole Tuesley, Associate Teacher with Head Start

The KRESA Foundation supports initiatives like WoodsEdge Learning Center, a special education center-based school that provides service to all nine districts within Kalamazoo County. At WoodsEdge, parents can expect helpful, passionate staff who are willing to help them understand their child's strengths, needs, and ways to teach the skills that will help them be as independent as possible. Consider donating to the KRESA Foundation during #GivingTuesday to help us continue to transform the futures of Kalamazoo County’s learners and educators. ➡️kresa.org/GivingTuesday ✨ "We have a son with multiple impairments, including significant developmental delay, who was part of the Early On, in-home program before attending Croydon at the age of 2 1/2. He is now an 18-year-old at WoodsEdge and we expect him to move onto the Young Adult Program in the next 12 to 18 months. We are very grateful to have such amazing resources in our community!" - Mark & Mary Appelgren, parents of Jack

The KRESA Foundation supports initiatives like MyCity, a seasonal youth employment program that serves as the gateway to paid internships and work experience. Today during #GivingTuesday, consider donating to the KRESA Foundation to help us continue providing support such as student scholarships and grants for educators. ➡️Visit kresa.org/GivingTuesday for more information ✨ "MyCITY is a fantastic program that allows us the opportunity to mentor the next generation of teachers. We love watching our interns grow right along with our students and hope that someday they return to us as future teachers." - April Kelly, Preschool Assistant Director and MyCITY Mentor