Charles Chattin

Opinion

Discussion

February 10, 2012

Charles Chattin

He was a pioneer in quality vocational education in area

Anonymous The Independent The Daily Independent Fri Feb 10, 2012, 06:00 AM EST

ASHLAND — Before it merged with Ashland Community College to form Ashland Community and Technical College as a result of the 1997 Higher Education Reform Act, the Ashland Area Vocational-Technical School compiled an impressive record for teaching job skills to young adults and placing more than 85 percent in jobs for which they were trained.

Charles Chattin deserves much of the credit for that success as the former long-time vocational education director for Region 10, which made him the head of the vo-tech school on Roberts Drive.

Chattin died Monday at age 90, but the impact he had on quality adult education in this community continues. Scores of area residents are earning good money as plumbers, electricians, pipefitters, carpenters, mechanics, cosmetologists, etc. because of the excellent training they received at the old vocational-technical school. While they may not have known Chattin personally, he was a major reason why the school thrived.

Chattin constantly worked to expand the role of the vocational-technical school. If an area employer needed workers with specific skills, Chattin would see that the school helped meet that need by providing the necessary training.

Chattin was a pioneer in vocational education in this region. He was hired by the Ashland Board of Education in 1954 to direct vocational education. While technically an employee of the city school system, his influence extended beyond the boundaries of the district to include all of northeast Kentucky. He was named Region 10 director in 1968, the same year the vocational-technical school was completed with the support and help of Gov. Ned Breathitt and U.S. Rep. Carl D. Perkins. A lifetime Democrat, Chattin was not shy about using his political influence to advance vocational education in this region.

While he retired in 1989, Chattin continued to be intensely interested in vocational education and he supported the merger of the community college and the vocational-technical school. He recognized that the training programs at the vocational-technical school required more instruction in computers, mathematics and other academic fields and that a merger with the community college made sense.

In many ways, Chattin’s career in vocational education paralleled the career of the late Dr. Robert Goodpaster, the long-time director of Ashland Community College. They paved the way and the success of their years of dedication to the schools they headed can now be seen in the growing and thriving Ashland Community and Technical College.

Because he retired almost 23 years ago, many of today’s educators have little or no memory of Charles Chattin. But those of us who do remember him know what a positive and influential source he was in this community.

Text Only

Opinion

Just click it
As they travel on Memorial Days and the week after the holiday that traditonally marks the beginning of the summer vacation season, drivers would be wise to make sure that they and their passengers are buckled up.

May 25, 2013
Congress listens
For those who think our politicians in Washington, D.C., seldom or never listen to their constituents, particularly when it is comes to federal regulations, we offer a note of encouragement.

May 24, 2013
In Your View
Letters to the editor

May 23, 2013
Resentencing
The U.S. District Court of Appeals has rightly ruled that even those sentenced for crack cocaine violations before the approval of a 2010 law that restored a bit of sanity and fairness to federal sentencing laws can be resentenced under the 2010 law.

May 23, 2013
It's the law
On Jan. 22, Greenup County voters — or at least those who took time to cast ballots in the special referendum — rejected a proposal that would have allowed the legal sale of alcohol in the county by a rather convincing margin of 4,872-3,830.

May 22, 2013
In Your View
Letters to the editor

May 22, 2013
Retiring
As members of the Ashland Board of City Commissioners look for a replacement for retiring City Manager Stephen W. Corbitt, they should seek someone just like Corbitt.

May 21, 2013
In Your View
Letters to the editor

May 12, 2013
On the increase
It’s certainly good news that a new report by Kentucky’s Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet has found the economic impact of tourism grew by 5.2 percent in eastern Kentucky in 2012, outpacing the overall statewide growth rate. However, we would be more excited bout the report if we had more confidence in how tourism spending is calculated by state government.

May 12, 2013
After the crash
Like thousands of other Kentuckians, we remember well May 14, 1988, when a drunken driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton struck a church bus returning home to Radcliff after day at King’s Island, causing one of he most deadly vehicle accidents in this nation’s history. The horrific crash killed 27, many of them teenagers, and injured 34 others.

May 10, 2013
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

Discussion

Charles Chattin

He was a pioneer in quality vocational education in area

Site Map

Contact Us