Pulaski County Schools awarded $125,000 grant for CTE Skilled Trades work

PC SChools roundRICHMOND — Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons recently announced the awarding of $3 million in competitive state grants to 24 school divisions for career and technical education skilled trades programs. Each school division will receive $125,000 to establish, expand or restore skilled trades programs in middle or high schools. The one-time grants will support programs offering industry-recognized certifications or credentials that are in demand by regional employers and that lead to employment opportunities.

“In Virginia and across the nation there are high-paying jobs in the skilled trades that go unfilled due to a shortage of qualified applicants,” Coons said. “I want to thank the General Assembly for recognizing the need to prepare more young people for these career opportunities and providing the funding for these grants.”

The awards, by school division and school, are as follows:

  • Pulaski County to upgrade the automotive technology, electricity, and engineering programs at Pulaski County High.
  • Amherst County to purchase high-quality welding equipment for Amherst County High.
  • Arlington County to expand career clusters in architecture, construction, transportation, distribution and logistics for the Governor’s STEM Academy.
  • Buckingham County to restore the automotive program at the Buckingham County High.
  • Caroline County to modernize the carpentry program for Caroline County High.
  • Chesapeake to purchase nursing assistant equipment for the Caring for Our Aging Population Program at the Chesapeake Career Center.
  • Danville to purchase heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment for the HVAC program at George Washington High.
  • Dinwiddie County to purchase virtual reality labs for health and medical sciences and agricultural education programs at Dinwiddie High.
  • Fairfax County to purchase energy-efficient welding equipment for Fairfax County High.
  • Halifax County to modernize the electricity and automotive programs at Halifax High.
  • Hampton to purchase welding equipment for the New Horizons Regional Centers.
  • Mathews County to revitalize the carpentry program at Mathews High.
  • Montgomery County to purchase welding equipment and provide teacher training for the Governor’s STEM Academy.
  • New Kent County to expand the small-engine program at the Bridging Communities Regional CTE Center.
  • Patrick County to purchase energy-efficient cooking, storage, display and marketing equipment at Patrick County High.
  • Prince Edward County to modernize career clusters in health sciences and arts and audio-visual technology and communications at the Prince Edward County CTE Center.
  • Richmond to modernize the motorsports technology lab at the Richmond Technical Center.
  • Rockbridge County to purchase and upgrade manufacturing systems equipment at Rockbridge County High.
  • Rockingham County to purchase and enhance equipment for health and medical sciences programs at the Massanutten Technical Center.
  • Russell County to modernize the automotive technology lab at the Russell County CTE Center.
  • Shenandoah County to purchase HVAC equipment for Triplett Tech Career Center.
  • Southampton County to expand the cosmetology program at Southampton Technical and Career Center.
  • Stafford County to purchase HVAC and plumbing equipment for Stafford High.
  • Wythe County to purchase programmable drones with electronic image stabilization cameras for Fort Chiswell High and the Wythe County Technology Center.

The 2022 General Assembly appropriated $3 million to provide grants to school divisions to expand skilled trades programs that lead to students earning industry-recognized certifications or credentials.