The Tennessee Department of Education has announced over $800,000 in grant funding has been awarded to 34 districts for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, middle school career and technical education (CTE), and high school school-based enterprise projects.
Funding is provided through Governor Lee’s Future Workforce Initiative, which boosts access to CTE, STEM, and Work-Based Learning (WBL) in the classroom. For the past two years, the department awarded start-up and expansion funding for middle school STEM and CTE programs and included a high school opportunity to qualify for school-based enterprise funding to increase enrollment in WBL courses.
Middle School STEM Start-Up & Expansion Grants have been awarded to 52 schools, and Middle School CTE Start-Up & Expansion Grants have been awarded to 29 schools. Seven schools will receive High School School-Based Enterprise grant funding. To view a list of grant recipients, click here.
Middle School Career and Technical Education Start-Up & Expansion Grants 2023 Recipients includes Cannon County Schools with Cannon Middle School getting $10,000.00.
“Tennessee continues to provide more pathways to help students transition from middle to high school, and these grants help ensure students have increased access to high-quality work-based learning opportunities, STEM, and career technical education,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn.“We are thrilled that we can make these opportunities happen over the last two years and help students be successful during high school and into their postsecondary and workforce careers.”
For the past four years, the Middle School STEM Start-Up & Expansion grants have directly supported the goal of the Future Workforce Initiative (FWI) to add an additional 100 new middle school STEM programs by 2022. High School School-Based Enterprise grants support the FWI by helping to eliminate barriers for students who can’t participate in off-campus WBL placements due to transportation and scheduling challenges.
Districts were allowed to apply for all three grants this year. In their applications, grant recipients demonstrated the ability to align courses from middle school to high school, provide meaningful career guidance and advisement, and expand upon employer partnerships to create pathways for students.
For more information about the Middle School STEM Start-Up Grants, CTE Career Exploration Grants, or High School School-Based Enterprise Grants, visit the department’s website. Learn more about the Governor’s Future Workforce Initiative here, which has already impacted nearly 400,000 Tennessee students and over 2,000 educators.