Luxemburg-Casco learning director Snowberry wins national award for career-based programs

LUXEMBURG - Mike Snowberry has been recognized at a national level for career-based programs he helped launch as director of learning services for the Luxemburg-Casco School District.

Snowberry was named the winner of the 2022 Walter G. Turner Award, which is given by the Association of Educational Service Agencies to individuals who work to expand regional educational programs at the regional, state or national level. He will receive the award during the association's annual conference taking place Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 in Atlanta.

“I am humbled to receive a respected national honor such as the Walter G. Turner Award,” Snowberry said in a press release from the school. “I have a passion to help students find their individual career and life paths. Apprenticeships in support of a career-based curriculum really are a game changer for high-school students and, in some cases, become the purpose for attending school. I am appreciative of the many colleagues, educators, partners, area employers and industry leaders who have made our successes possible.”

Snowberry has been instrumental in several career-readiness efforts based at Luxemburg-Casco that began over the past four years for high school students not just at L-C but other schools in Kewaunee and Door counties.

It began with the launch of the Ahnapee Regional Youth Apprenticeship program in 2018. After having five students in its first year, the program grew to offer paying apprenticeships to a record 284 students from its seven participating high schools in the 2021-22 school year.

That program evolved earlier this year into the Northeastern Wisconsin Apprenticeship Program, or NEWYA, which was created through a partnership between the Ahnapee apprenticeship program, the Greater Green Bay Chamber and Cooperative Educational Service Agency 7 (CESA 7) with a grant from the state Department of Workforce Development. The resulting Academic and Career Planning program is customizable to individual school districts and is meant to provide a streamlined process to connect students and employers.

Snowberry also worked with recently retired L-C Superintendent Glenn Schlender to partner with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and create the Ahnapee Automotive and Ahnapee Diesel programs in 2020 and '21, respectively, for students at L-C and several other area schools. Students in either program can begin career paths as automotive or diesel maintenance technicians during their junior and senior years. At the time of its opening last fall, Ahnapee Diesel was the first credit-bearing, diesel-only high school education program in Wisconsin.

To make the auto and diesel programs feasible, Snowberry helped raise more than $500,000 in financial and in-kind contributions through direct community outreach and engaged with more than 30 local and regional companies to build partnerships for them.

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A new initiative led by Snowberry that is getting underway in 2022-23 is the Bellin College Healthcare Academy. The partnership with Bellin Health, the largest employer in neighboring Brown County, provides students from L-C, Kewaunee and Denmark high schools with career explorations and pathways in the health care field.

“You are to be commended for your outstanding leadership, which facilitated the growth and extension of the program beyond your home district," AESA Executive Director Joan Wade said in notifying Snowberry of the award. "Your commitment to advancing career- and college-ready high school graduates ... in your school district, the CESA 7 region and the state of Wisconsin is outstanding.”

The Association of Educational Service Agencies is a professional organization that serves more than 550 educational service agencies in 45 states in the U.S., reaching more than 80% of public school districts and private schools.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Luxemburg-Casco learning director Snowberry wins national award for career-based programs