Local Career and Technical Schools Win $620,314 in Grants

HARRISBURG PA – Eight career and technical education centers across Montgomery, Berks, and Chester counties will soon receive a total of $620,314 in competitive equipment grants, the Pennsylvania Education Department reports.

The money is intended to enhance local career and technical education programs that provide students with skills and knowledge in classes and hands-on experiences. It will allow them to obtain what 146th District state Rep. Joe Ciresi calls “high-priority occupations.”

“Thanks to this money, students will leave school even more prepared to apply what they learned at school to real-world problems,” Ciresi said.

Under the program, grants of up to $85,000 are awarded to school entities to update or purchase equipment used in approved student training. The equipment must align with employers’ needs, and their studies must provide students with hands-on use of the equipment.

Grant Recipients and Their Amounts

Receiving grants, and the amounts awarded, are the:

• Western Montgomery Career and Technical Center, which serves the Pottsgrove, Spring-Ford Area, and Upper Perkiomen school districts, $85,000;
• North Montco Tech Career Center, which in part serves the Perkiomen Valley and Methacton school districts, $85,000;
• Pottstown School District, which operates its own program, $30,314;
• Central Montco Technical High School, which in part serves the Norristown Area School District, $80,000;
• Chester County Technical College High School, which provides services through the Chester County Intermediate Unit, $85,000;
• Eastern Center for Arts & Technology, serving eastern Montgomery County, $85,000;
• Reading-Muhlenberg Career and Technical Center, serving a portion of Berks County, $85,000; and
• Octorara Area School District in Atglen PA, which operates its own program, $85,000.

Overall, $4.5 million in competitive grants were awarded to 58 career and technical centers, and school districts, statewide.

“This is a major investment into the programs and education that ready our students for jobs in the trades, 147th District state Rep. Donna Scheuren adds. “I have spoken many times on the need to expand our technical schools, and these students will be even more prepared for the jobs vital to Pennsylvania’s economy.”

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