Delaware City Schools was named an Ohio Career Technical Education Equipment Grant Program recepient and awarded $1,026,817 that will be used to help launch three career pathway programs at the district.

Delaware City Schools was one of 34 school districts announced as part of the second round of the grants awarded last week. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Misty Swanger said the district applied for the grant because career pathways and exposure to career opportunities is a component of its strategic plan.

“The district has been working on building community partnerships with local businesses to help meet economic demands as well as investigating how to integrate more career pathways within our school curriculum and current school settings,” Swanger said. “When the announcement of a second round of the CTTE grant was released, we thought it was a good fit to help jump-start the programming. The timing seemed perfect for DCS to apply for the funds and to be able to make changes needed to expose more students to a wide variety of careers and to give high school students the skills needed to directly enter the workforce after graduation.”

Swanger said the grant will fund three career exploration labs for Dempsey Middle School and Hayes High School students.

“These labs have various equipment to assist in the exposure of the same equipment used in many work settings,” Swanger said. “The labs include equipment to teach about hydraulic arm robots, solar energy control panels, pneumatics trainers, electricity panel training, drone technology, automotive circuit trainers, medical and dental imaging, engine assembly, medical devices, and biotechnology research and design.”

Swanger said the three career pathways that will be offered in the future will be advanced manufacturing, health sciences, and a teacher academy. She outlined what equipment will be purchased for each one using the grant funds.

“The advanced manufacturing pathway includes high-end computers for student use,” Swanger said. “These stations include computer-aided design learning systems, portable electric relay control systems, portable hydraulics, tabletop mechatronics, CNC machines, mechatronics servo robots, welding learning stations, equipment simulation, 3D printers and more. The grant will fund micro-electro mechanical fabrication equipment and supplies similar to the Columbus State labs for engineering. Items that will be available in the classroom include solderless breadboards and wire kits, switches, thermocouples, mini boards, Logic probes, IC chips and more.”

Swanger said the health sciences pathway will include medical lab equipment, patient mannequins, beds, medical imaging equipment, information management stations, sports medicine, and therapeutic services and said the teacher academy pathway will have less equipment but will include updated computers and iPads for the classroom.

She added the grant will help “jump-start” the career pathways at the district, and the grant was written with the support and “full blessing” of the Delaware Area Career Center.

“We’re not competing with them,” Swanger said. “We’re looking at programs they aren’t offering or don’t have the space to offer.”

Swanger said the pathways will be able to give students a taste of those careers during high school and can help students figure out if they actually want to pursue that career.

“We’ll be able to get students into the field earlier and save families time and money,” she said.

Superintendent Heidi Kegley said the goal of the career pathways is to increase offerings to students.

“This is just really allowing us to expand what is available to our students to provide them with what they need to reach that next level of success,” Kegley said. “Now everyone understands the benefits of career technical education. Every career center is out of space because that’s what students are wanting to have the opportunity to experience. We have a natural partnership and such incredible communication and collaboration with the Delaware Area Career Center.”

Kegley said even if students don’t pursue their specific career pathway, they will still graduate with universal knowledge.

“They may choose to take that path when they leave us, but the skills they gained will transfer to whatever path they choose to take,” Kegley said. “It’s providing them the foundation and skillset.”

Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.