The St. Vrain Valley School District is the recipient of the Opportunity Now grant in the amount of $7 million that will be used to boost career pathways throughout the region.
Gov. Jared Polis announced the recipients of the Opportunity Now Colorado grants on Thursday. The grant program is designed to “support the creation and expansion of innovative workforce and talent development initiatives across the state,” a news release from Polis’ office states.
“Across the state, employers are looking to hire the top talent that Colorado is known for. The Opportunity Now Colorado grant recipients announced today will help Coloradans develop the skills and experience our growing industry partners need and unlock access to good paying jobs,” Polis said.
In total, 46 grants were awarded, broken into three categories: planning, seed and scale.
Planning grants included funds of around $50,000 and were awarded to organizations that are still in the planning stage of their innovative idea.
Those granted Seed grants received funding between $500,000 and $1 million for ideas that are ready to go through the first steps of implementation.
SVVSD was one of five organizations to receive a Scale grant. Scale grants were awarded to programs ready to grow their programs in education and workforce development while also increasing the program’s economic mobility.
SVVSD was awarded $7 million to expand its Breakthrough Pathways program. It is the largest grant held by a public school district. This program will support three career pathways — teaching, advanced manufacturing and cloud IT— already established in the SVVSD system.
The St. Vrain Valley School District will be the lead coordinating district to establish these pathways through the region. It will begin with partnerships with Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Weld RE-3J School District and Estes Park School District, said Dian Lauer, chief academic officer for SVVSD.
Students from these school districts will be able to attend courses remotely alongside SVVSD students as the district build their own pathways to career programs, Lauer said. For classes that require more hands-on learning, Laurer said SVVSD will assist the other districts in finding local businesses to develop partnerships with.
“We are honored to be part of this multi-district effort to develop robust, accessible pathways for students to secure a career in education. The responsibility for ensuring a pipeline of highly-qualified, diverse educators lies with each and every one of our districts. We're confident this grant will expand and accelerate career opportunities for students for years to come,”said Adams 12 Five Star Schools Chief Academic Officer Beau Foubert.
SVVSD hopes to double the number of students enrolled within its own district within the next three years, Lauer said.
The partnerships between education, industry and workforce development centers will significantly accelerate industry credentialed workers in the state's most in-demand careers. The program will also offer students a smooth transition from high school into college or the career of their choosing.
“The Breakthrough Pathways project is the culmination of more than a decade of work to create a strong, competitive advantage for St. Vrain Valley Schools students and, by extension, our families, community, state, and nation,” said St. Vrain Valley Schools Superintendent, Dr. Don Haddad. “We are very grateful to this incredible group of partners, which will build on our existing programming and support the most comprehensive public education workforce readiness system in the country. With an impact across multiple communities, including rural areas, we are proud to receive this award and lead our nation’s next advanced manufacturing, teaching, and technology workforce.”
