Written by: Aaron Anderson - CTE Director
Progress is being made on establishing the Southwest Area Career and Technical Education Academy(SWACTEA). On Oct 1st, we submitted our application for the Federal Coronavirus Career and Technical Education Capital Projects Grant. These are funds that were allocated by the North Dakota Legislature in the 2021 Legislative Session. It is a competitive grant with a potential award of up to $10 million to help us transform the DPS North Campus (former Haliburton complex) into a state-of-the-art education facility for the region. We are confident in receiving this grant award to help make this project a reality for our students.
We continue to gather feedback from our stakeholders to help in the planning of the programming at the CTE Academy. In mid-October, two online surveys were launched. One focused on the students from SW North Dakota, and the other was businesses in the region. Over 750 students responded from 9 schools giving us some great feedback on programming interest and course delivery. We have also received feedback from over 70 businesses in the region. A large focus of this survey was to prioritize the skill development of future employees, employment needs, and opportunities for collaboration and partnerships.
In addition to the surveys, we will be holding four round table events in November where we will bring in local business leaders, workforce development groups, community leaders, and other stakeholders to have a discussion on workforce needs, Academy programming, and expanding training opportunities for the region. We are excited to wrap up our comprehensive needs assessment and move forward with a final programming plan, and secure architectural and construction services for the project over the coming months.
On November 3rd, 7 pm at the DPS North Campus, the organizational meeting of the SWACTEA will take place, officially establishing this entity. We are excited to currently have six schools as a part of the project, with hopes to expand to additional schools as programming starts. The following are our current member schools; Dickinson High, Trinity Catholic, Killdeer, South Heart, Belfield, and New England. The governance board will be made of school board members from each of the respective schools. These individuals will help move the project forward to enhance career and technical education for the region to impact students and serve the business community.