The Logan County School District along with Russellville Independent Schools has been awarded the New Skills for Youth Grant. The New Skills for Youth (NSFY) grant supports the creation of regional career academies to prepare young people for high-skill, high-demand (HSHD) careers with funding from JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase launched its NSFY initiative in states to strengthen career readiness approaches, giving students pathways to training and education beyond high school. The pathway that was chosen for the local regional career academy is health sciences.
Through collaboration of the two school districts, the Logan County Career and Technical Center, a postsecondary partner, a community partner, and employer engagement, this initiative seeks to transform the delivery of career and technical education in Kentucky by:
*Increasing student access to dual credit opportunities and seamless postsecondary pathways
*Allowing students to earn industry recognized credentials
*Providing students Work-Based Learning (WBL) experiences
The postsecondary partner that is currently working alongside the two school districts and the LCCTC is Southcentral Community and Technical College. The business and industry partners are currently Logan Memorial Hospital and Graves Gilbert Clinic. As a result of the collaboration with the postsecondary partners and the business/industry partners, this academy has the potential to provide students with medical certifications and prepare them to continue their pathway at the university level with an associate’s degree, which may lead them more quickly to obtain a bachelor’s degree.