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Three Local Career Education Centers Win State Grants

Three Local Career Education Centers Win State Grants

HARRISBURG PA – Eight southeastern Pennsylvania career and technical education centers, including three that serve local students, each won substantial state grants Wednesday (April 30, 2025).

They are expected to help expand learners’ knowledge of and access to professional development in computer science, and science, technology, engineering, and math.

The regional winners are among 55 different organizations in 29 counties that received portions of a total $10.35 million in funding. Pennsylvania’s Department of Education announced distribution of the funds under its PAsmart grants program.

The state’s “commitment to Career and Technical Education … equips students with the skills, credentials, and hands-on experiences they need to excel in high-demand fields,” department Acting Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe reports. It also reflects continuing progress of the Shapiro Administration to create “more opportunity for Pennsylvania students,” she adds.

Locally, grant winners were the:

  • YWCA Tri-County Area in Pottstown, $75,000;
  • North Montco Technical Career Center in Lansdale, which in part serves the Perkiomen Valley and Methacton school districts, $75,000; and
  • Oley Valley School District in Oley, $75,000.

Five Other Regional Recipients

Also receiving grants in Montgomery County were the Eastern Center for Arts and Technology, $450,000; in Berks County, Alvernia University, $450,000; Fleetwood Area School District, $75,000; and Brandywine Heights Area School District, $75,000; and in Chester County, Lincoln University, $450,000.

Those receiving $450,000 or $400,000 grants have planned innovative projects to expand access to computer science and STEM experiences for both students and adults, the department says.

Grants of $75,000 support collaboration between schools and a local or regional education provider. They may also help communities design and plan local or regional approaches to expand career education.

By 2028, according to Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry projections, about 157,000 more occupations in Pennsylvania will require mathematics knowledge. A additional 125,000 occupations will need knowledge in computers and electronics. The grants are intended, Rowe says, to ensure students “meet the demands of a rapidly evolving job market.”

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