Kevin Fitton offers to share his skills on Tower City Council
Kevin Fitton, at his desk at the Vermilion Country School in Tower.
OCTOBER 25, 2016 — “I just want to help out the city,” Kevin Fitton offered when asked about his Tower City Council election bid.
Mr. Fitton, a young man nearing his mid 30s, with a ton of education, arrived in Tower in 2014 to take over the administrative reins of the Vermilion Country School (VCS). He has settled into the Tower community, purchased a house on the North side of town and is now moving comfortably into his third school year at VCS, the charter school formed in 2012 to provide a local secondary school choice for students from across the area. Kevin is the administrator and general education advisor for the school, serving nearly 50 students and managing a staff of 10.
Kevin has brought with him to Tower a wealth of experience acquired while working in several diverse communities including Villa Park, Illinois, St. Paul, Minnesota, Land O’ Lakes, Wisconsin and Gallup, New Mexico. He even conducted his student teaching abroad, honing his craft in a school in Auckland, New Zealand. His experience in New Mexico, at the Chief Manuelito Middle School, provided him with special skills useful in working with Native American students. Chief Manuelito serves about 85 percent Diné (Navajo) students. This experience serves him well while working with the significant number of Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) students attending Vermilion Country School.
Kevin was raised in Elmhurst, Illinois and graduated from York Community High School in 2001. Following graduation he began his academic career achieving a bachelor’s of science degree in education, with an emphasis on secondary social studies and history, at Northern Michigan University. He achieved his Masters of Education, at the University of Texas at Arlington. His emphasis there was in educational leadership and policy studies.
Prior to achieving his masters, Kevin spent 2001 and 2010 at the University of Wisconsin–Steven’s Point in a pilot program fellowship that combined classes in environmental education with an onsite experience at Conserve School, a premier outdoor education boarding school.
Currently, Kevin is still pursuing his education working on an advanced degree known as Education Specialist or Specialist in Education (Ed.S.) at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, Winona, Minnesota. Laughing, Kevin stated, “If I ever win the lottery, I think I would become a professional student.” In addition to the educational credentials already outlined and his current work at St. Mary’s he has a certificate to teach driving in Illinois from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. He is also licensed to teach in Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and New Mexico. He is a Golden Key Member, an academic honor for the 4.0 grade point average he achieved during his master’s degree work.
Kevin is also president of the board for EdVisions Cooperative, a Minnesota cooperative with an objective to to employ member’s “skills, talents and resources for the development and implementation of quality instructional programs.”
Humbly noting that he is not a politician and will not be doing a lot of campaigning Kevin earnestly emphasizes that he wants to serve on Tower’s city council to “be a neutral person, one not tied to any specific point of view.” He went on to explain that he believes he already has a good relationship with the city having worked closely with the city clerk, maintenance department and elected officials over his tenure at Vermilion Country School which rents its facilities from the city. Kevin also refers to his experience in finance and budgeting and that he understands process, all perennial issues which the city council faces, as attributes which would serve him at the city council table.
“The biggest thing I generally see as needed is perspective. What is best for the city?” Kevin said, referring to a couple of years he spent working in Northern Wisconsin. “There are many parallels between here and there, with the tourism economy. Here I drive around and see For Sale signs. Part of changing that is to create a business friendly environment. Let’s look for alternatives to the way we are doing business now,” Kevin advises. “There is absolutely no reason why Tower cannot be a place of envy for others living in the state. The environment up here is beautiful but the lack of jobs and things to do are hindering any growth potential in town. Students don’t have many options for things to do, families are limited in entertainment and services, and community members often leave town to seek out essentials. Dining options are limited. How can we go about looking at the long term to change that? I foresee a wonderful main street with activity going on, a teen center, lively music events, and available services where a family doesn’t have to leave town for essentials,” Kevin clearly states on his website outlining his platform and vision for Tower. Readers can find his website at KevinFitton.com.