Kecoughtan High School receives $37,500 career & technical education grant

Kecoughtan High School has received one of 16 state-funded Career & Technical Education (CTE) Competitive Innovative Program Equipment Grants for High-Demand and Fast-Growth Industry Sectors in the amount of $37,500.

“Your program at Kecoughtan High School will serve as a model for providing students with classroom experiences relevant to the 21st century workplace,” said George Willcox, director of operations and accountability with the Virginia Department of Education Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education.

Seth Black, director of Hampton City Schools career and technical education said, “The Competitive Innovative Program Equipment Grant funds will be used to expand on the modern equipment available to our young entrepreneurs and give them access to technology that is currently being used in the business and marketing industry. The new equipment will naturally synergize with the existing equipment and will enhance the learning experiences for teachers and students using the Makerspace.”

Currently, students learn to understand the product development cycle, create their own unique business proposal, and deliver multiple pitch presentations. To assist in the unification of instruction, hands-on production skills, and team collaboration, funds will be used to purchase technology which will allow student creations to be shared digitally, or reproduced physically on various mediums. This allows the students to produce innovative market-based solutions to assist in the launch of their entrepreneurial ventures. As their experience grows, students will have the opportunity to collaborate with other KHS academies. The equipment will allow collaborative opportunities with other KHS academies, such as making hands-on manipulatives or interactive designs for the Academy of Early Childhood Education, creating customized engravings or models for students in the Architectural Engineering Pathway, and creating props or costume elements for the Performing Arts Academy. In addition to increasing collaborative arrangements within the high school, students will have increased opportunities to collaborate with other Hampton academies and to offer their creative services to external customers.

“I am ecstatic to learn that we won this grant for our students. Our team worked hard to put together a great package that is going to be an immense benefit to the CTE program; especially my Academy of Entrepreneurism and Information Design (AEID) marketing and entrepreneurship track students. This grant will allow them to be further immersed into the field of entrepreneurship and give them the ability to utilize real-world tools that the grant will provide. What a great opportunity we have been given,” said Michelle McDaniel, AEID teacher.