Awarded May 2016
The YMCA/LuK Learning Academy in Wooster is our Outstanding Business Partner. Accepting the award was Daycare Director Lori Colon. The center is licensed through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. As part of the YMCA, it focuses on four core values: caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. Staff are trained in First Aid, CPR, communicable diseases and child abuse recognition. It has been in operation since 2003 and serves LuK USA LLC employees at the Wooster plant as well as the public.
The facility, located on the northwest corner of the LuK campus, accepts children from six weeks old through fourth grade. It has a preschool center, an area for infants and toddlers, grouped by age.
“The Learning Center, formerly Luk’s Launchpad, has been a valuable partner in the past four to five years,” said Early Childhood Education and Care instructor Debra McDonald, who nominated the business for this award. “They routinely hire our graduates and provide an excellent learning environment for field stations for our senior students.”
Katie Troyer, a 2005 Career Center grad, is now one of their administrators, who continues to promote and support the Career Center by initiating the hiring of students, serving on the advisory board, and providing judges for our competitions. She helps arrange for graduates to talk to sophomores during visitations and Open House. This past year, three graduates were hired and all are extremely happy with their jobs. The center is supportive of its staff and continually tries to improve their service to families.