GRANT AWARD ANNOUNCED

On September 23rd, Adams County/Ohio Valley Schools received official notification from Lieutenant Governor, Nancy Hollister, that their School-To-Work Systems grant had been awarded. The grant of $85,984 is to initiate systemic change using technology to transform our school system into Information-Age Schools That Work. The project is a collaborative effort with local businesses, labor, parents, and community-based organizations that are members of the Adams County School-To-Work Action Partnership.

During the 1997-98 school year, the STW Action Partnership and the school system identified the need to prepare technology-literate workers. Nationally, a recent study projected that only about 22% of people entering the labor market possess the technology skills that will be required for 60% of the new jobs in the year 2000. The Information-Age Schools That Work project is an attempt to help prepare our local students to meet the demands of the workplace for today and in the future.

Information-Age Schools That Work features integrating software into the K-12 curriculum that promotes critical thinking and problem solving. It will also help enhance our industrial technology program through career explorations and job shadowing opportunities. The current internship and apprentice programs will also be expanded through the Cisco Academy networking program that started this year at the Ohio Valley Vocational School and is open to students at all the high schools. Grant money will be used to provide additional materials and supplies for Cisco Academy. In addition, the grant will support curriculum development in the area of technology and relevant professional development activities are built into the initiative.

Work on the proposal began in late spring with input from school personnel and members of the Adams County STW Action Team. This input guided the work of Nancy Darby, ABCAP and Linda Stepp, AC/OVS, as they prepared and submitted the proposal in July. A team from the state School-To-Work office will be visiting Adams County on October 26th to review progress on School-To-Work initiatives and offer technical assistance for successful implementation of this new grant.

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