Jon Groth, director of Porter County Career and Technical Education, was honored by fellow CTE directors last month.
These are the criteria for the AAAVD/IACTED Hall of Fame award, which was presented at the annual Career/Technical Education directors’ conference in Brown County, Indiana:
Nominees will be selected based on having demonstrated service and notoriety in Career and Technical Education for 10 or more years. Individuals are to be inducted into the Hall and should exemplify acclaim for CTE excellence. They will have given of their time and talents to improve the effectiveness of CTE in the state of Indiana for the teachers and students. They have demonstrated their service has been for the success of students and not for their own aggrandizement. Both service and performance shall be considered in making selections. The honor is designed to recognize perseverance, ability and service that set the highest standards of achievement. *The number of inductees is limited to two per year. *Selections will be made by the IACTED Executive Board the first five years of the Hall of Fame Award. Members of the Hall of Fame will make all selections in subsequent years. *Any IACTED member may make a nomination.
Groth also serves as principal of the Porter County Career and Tech Center. In Groth’s professional capacity he administers more than 35 career and technical programs across Porter County that have an enrollment of about 1,100 students coming from 10 different high schools.
Groth has a B.A. and M.A. from California State University at Long Beach. He received his school administrator license from Purdue University. He is an Army veteran, returned Peace Corps volunteer and a green technology advocate. He is a pas t two-year president of the Indiana Association of Area Career and Technical Districts, former president of the Indiana Council of Vocational Administrators, and he has been a school administrator for 24 years.
He is married to Kathy, who is employed in the Office of Institutional Advancement at Valparaiso University. They have two daughters, Valerie Groth (school social worker, Chicago Public Schools) and Laura Groth (doctoral student at George Washington University and research associate at the National Institute for School Leaders).
In addition, Groth is actively involved in the following community organizations: Past President of Valparaiso Kiwanis Club, Chair of Special Kids Fundraising Committee, NIPSCO Community Advisory Panel, the One Region One Vision Assessment Team, the Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable and Valparaiso High School Key Club Advisor. He is a member of the Porter County Sheriff’s Department Merit Board and a trustee for the Sheriff’s Department Pension Plan.
Following are some of Groth’s recent commendations: -Inducted into the NWI Society of Innovators for Alternative Energy Demonstration Project, October 18, 2012 -ValpoLife.com Good Life Awards Winner, 2012 -Distinguished Hoosier Award from Governor Mitch Daniels, 2008 -Special Service Award, 2008 from IACTED (Indiana Association of Career and Technical Education Districts) -Received Tom Paul, Vocational Director of Year Award (2000) by Indiana Association of Area Vocational Districts