The Houston R-I School District is excited to announce it has been awarded a $400,000 Career and Technical Education (CTE) Limited Access Grant (Round 2) from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). This funding is part of a larger $2 million allocation awarded to six local education agencies across the state. As you may recall, the district also received $400,000 from the Round 1 Limited Access Grant earlier this year. Both grants involve a 25% local financial match.
The CTE Limited Access Grant was established through the passage of Missouri House Bill 2 and signed into law by Governor Mike Kehoe. It is designed to address barriers to CTE programming in Skilled Technical Sciences and Health Science Education, particularly for districts that lack local access or require students to spend excessive time commuting to area career centers.
Currently, Houston High School sophomores and juniors are participating in CTE programs through the Piney River Technical Center. Students have access to a variety of hands-on skilled courses including Agriculture, Business, Building Trades, Family & Consumer Sciences, Graphic Arts, Health Science, and Welding. The newly awarded grant will allow Houston R-I to strengthen and expand these opportunities locally, reducing the need for travel and increasing access to vital career skills.
"We are extremely excited to hear of the recent CTE Limited Access Grant award announcement," said Dr. Justin Copley, Superintendent of Houston R-I Schools. "In the upcoming weeks, we will be working aggressively to review the award parameters and local match feasibility and to potentially start aligning the project from the first award to the second award. With a local 25% match on each grant, the District will need to consider the most fiscally responsible approach to this opportunity."
Houston R-I Schools extends sincere appreciation to DESE and Missouri’s state leadership for recognizing the critical importance of career and technical education and for making this vital investment in the future of our students and workforce. The district would also like to thank the many individuals within the Houston School District whose dedication and vision made the success of our current CTE programs possible. Special thanks go to those who assisted in securing this grant opportunity.
The image above is a draft plan of the Piney River Technical Center (PRTC) with Limited Access Grant (Round 1) funds. Bid package information on this project will be released in the upcoming days.