YOUNGSTOWN — Mayor Jamael Tito Brown on Friday presented a proclamation honoring Dr. Michael Saville, director of Choffin Career and Technical Center, for the school’s commitment to career and technical education.

The proclamation was given to Saville at an event celebrating Black History Month and officially recognizing February as Career and Technical Education in Youngstown.

Brown thanked Saville directly for his commitment to the community.

“On behalf of the citizens of Youngstown, Ohio, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued dedication to our students,” Brown said to Saville. “You’ve given them a different pathway for careers and opportunities, but also been a shining example to your staff.”

Saville said “in the past, career and technical education has been put on the back burner, but the state is now embracing it more than ever.” He said it is important for the Youngstown City School district to bring that type of education to its students.

“We need to bring that to our kids; our kids rely on career and technical education,” Saville said. “It’s very important for them to build the city from the ground up.”

Saville said the importance of the school is to provide its students not just with technical skills, but life skills and better employment opportunities as well.

Saville said the acknowledgment from the city was greatly appreciated.

“Symbolically, it’s very important to us,” he said. “It shows a commitment to support career and tech education. For decades, there’s been a focus on academics, which is important of course. But there’s a great opportunity and option for building our infrastructure in the city using career and tech education.”

CCTC is celebrating Black History Month and Career and Technical Education Month with various events throughout the rest of February.

Throughout the month, stakeholders, area business leaders and local officials are scheduled to visit Choffin’s high school program labs and tour the building, in addition to other educational and cultural events for students, according to a news release.

“February is Black History Month, but we wanted to recognize career and technical education as well,” Mary Boyd, CCTC’s social worker and the coordinator for the school’s Black History Month celebration, said. “Black history celebrates all inclusions and diversities and so we wanted to spotlight that education.”