Appalachian Regional Commission grant of $1.314M
Trending
WOODSFIELD, Ohio -- A grant for $1.314 million was announced Wednesday for Switzerland of Ohio Local School District from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
The announcement was attended by members of the commission, Sarah Keeler, district director for U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, Rural Liaison for the Appalachian Imitative Office for Improvement and Innovation Dr. David Cloud, Switzerland of Ohio Local School District (SOLSD) board members, Director of Swiss Hills Career Center Dr. Matt Unger, Buckeye Hills Regional Council member Melissa Zoller, and Superintendent of SOLSD Phil Ackerman.
The POWER grant provides $1.314 million to the Switzerland of Ohio Local School District. POWER stands for Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization and is an initiative from the ARC. John Carey, director of the ARC, said it is a federal-state commission for 13 states, that works within rural counties to submit projects in the Appalachian region.
Carey said POWER is a competitive grant that helps poor impacted communities. He said the grant will help give a competitive advantage to other areas that have received these resources.
Mark Romick, project coordinator for SOLSD, said the grant has five key components including manufacturing, transportation, electrical, maritime, and professional development. Romick said the grant has provided the opportunity to collaborate with Washington State Community College.
"The adult education did not have a presence for years in this county and with WSCC, that's gonna give us that availability," he said.
Romick said the grant is tied to workforce development, training and certifications. He said two more instructors, one for maritime and one for manufacturing, will be able to be hired with the grant money.
"But I mentioned opportunity, this grant does provide us an opportunity for workforce development for building a workforce. It's, it's gonna be for our students, this school district, our entire region, as we embrace that opportunity and we're accountable for it," said Ackerman.
Ackerman said the training that will be provided to staff and students wouldn't be available without the grant, as well as the equipment that they are going to procure. The equipment will help provide hands-on experience.
"That's what we are talking about here is making a difference and having an impact in young peoples' lives, because it needs to be student focused and it will be," he said. "But this grant will enable us, empower us, to enhance the efforts that we already have."
He said this grant is an instrument to help students be ready for the next step on their educational journey, whether that be a kindergarten student moving on to first grade or a senior graduating. He said the grant will help students achieve what they want and compete locally, statewide, regionally, nationally, and maybe even internationally.
Beth Clodfelter, ARC representative for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, said the grant will help prepare graduates from Monroe County to join the workforce in that area, as well as help the small businesses and manufacturers.
"So I think … what you have done by taking the initiative and submitting such an excellent grant is going to benefit many, many people in this community for a long time," said Clodfelter. "And it's just wonderful to see it happen."
James Dobbs can be reached at jdobbs@newsandsentinel.com