YEC dean takes Turning Technologies post

By Harold Gwin

The principal of Athena school will serve as interim dean for the rest of the year.

YOUNGSTOWN — The dean of Youngstown Early College has resigned to accept a position with Turning Technologies.

John L. Wilson, who served as YEC dean for only a year and a half, won’t be totally divorced from the field of education.

His new position is director of Turning Technologies’ newly created Education Foundation.

In that capacity, he will be helping schools across the country find funding to implement programs using technology produced by Turning Technologies.

Wilson said his first project is to assist both the Youngstown and Warren city schools toward that end.

Wilson was executive director of development and community outreach for the Warren City School District and director of its alternative school when he was hired in August 2007 to take the helm at Youngstown Early College. He was given an $84,000 annual administrative contract at the time.

He saw the first YEC seniors graduate last spring and said leaving the school at midyear was a difficult decision.

The school has a good program and a good staff and “I love the kids,” he said. Friday was his last day on the job.

Wilson had spent 30 years in the Warren schools, starting out as a science teacher at Harding High School.

Wilson has strong grant-writing skills, experience that made him an attractive candidate to fill the newly created Turning Technologies post, Webb said.

Wendy Webb, Youngstown superintendent, said another experienced high school administrator, Michele Dotson, has been named interim dean of YEC for the remainder of this school year.

Dotson, who has a strong background in curriculum, has most recently served the city schools as principal of Athena: School of Excellence for Girls.

She had previously served in administrative posts at Wilson High School and Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, Webb said.

The district will continue doing what it needs to do to make YEC successful, Webb said.

YEC has an “effective” rating on its 2008 Ohio local report card, the highest ranking among the city’s schools.

YEC is a collaborative effort launched four years ago by the city schools and Youngstown State University that provides a transition to college for bright but underachieving urban students who might not get that access in a traditional high school setting.

The school meets on the YSU campus, and upperclassmen take college courses in addition to their high school work.

Four of the seniors who graduated last spring had enough credits to be awarded an associate’s degree by YSU.

Webb said she and David C Sweet, YSU president, will set up a committee to conduct a search for a new dean for the school.

gwin@vindy.com