Grants Support Innovative Career and Technical Education

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education has announced that twenty-one Perkins IV Secondary Reserve Fund grants will be awarded for the 2011-2012 school year. Distributed by the department’s Division of Postsecondary Access and Success/Career and Technical Education, a total of thirty-three school districts across the state, both individual and in consortium, will use these funds to support new and innovative career and technical education opportunities.

 

“We want to encourage our students to form real-world connections that motivate them to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to achieve more in the global economy,” Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman said. “These grants build on Tennessee’s opportunity to transform our schools and create a more seamless path between high school, postsecondary education or training, and the workforce.”

 

The Perkins IV Secondary Reserve Fund will supply a total of $1.6 million in funds to career and technical focused activities in this year’s awarded districts. Districts were awarded on a competitive basis and will receive grant awards ranging in from $5,000 to $100,000 based on their proposal. The 2011-2012 recipients are:

 

 

Districts will use funds towards such initiatives as developing secondary to post-secondary transition programs,  implementing new or innovative programs of study that include STEM and Green technology, integrating rigorous standards and learning communities built on First to the Top initiatives, and increasing enrollment and completion of non-traditional students in career and technical education.

 

For more information, contact Amanda E. Morris at (615) 253-4754 or Amanda.E.Morris@tn.gov          .

 

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