District Receives $2 Million Workforce Development Grant

District Receives $2 Million Workforce Development Grant
Posted on 10/29/2024
District Receives $2 Million Workforce Development Grant

The School District of Lee County is excited to announce it has received a $2 million Workforce Development Capitalization Incentive (Workforce CAP) Grant from the state of Florida. The grant will allow the District to add four new career programs and expand 10 current ones that provide students the essential skills required for success in high-demand occupations. 10 high schools and three charter schools will benefit from the funding.

The District will use the grant to add an Applied Robotics program at Island Coast High School, a Solar Academy at Estero High School and Environmental Water and Reclamation at Cypress Lake High School. The grant also allows for the expansion of the Veterinary academies at Gateway High School, Mariner High School and South Fort Myers High School and to enhance the agriculture programs at Bonita Springs High School, Buckingham Exceptional Student Center, East Lee County High School and South Fort Myers High School. The Outboard Marine Academy at Fort Myers High School will also be able to grow with this grant.

“The goal is to increase student access to CTE programs and continue to enhance graduates whose post-secondary plans enable them to follow one of the 4 E’s – Enrollment, Enlistment, Employment, and Entrepreneurship,” said Adult and Career Education Director Brian Mangan. “Applied Robotics and Environmental Water and Reclamation are new programs that are aligned with local and regional needs. They both can also support other related career clusters. For example, Applied Robotics fits in Engineering but also in Manufacturing.”

Three charter high schools, Coronado, Island Park and North Nicholas will use the Workforce CAP Grant to add Certified Nursing Assistant programs for their students. All three charters are operated by Accelerated Learning Solutions.

The District will now work with the Florida Department of Education to finalize the grant and implement the proposed academies and expand the current ones.

This is the second Workforce Development Grant awarded to the School District this year. In February the District received $1.2 million to add the first Manufacturing Program in Lee County at Gateway High School, add three Medical Laboratory Assisting programs at Estero, Gateway and South Fort Myers high schools and expand both the Firefighting Academy and Automotive Technician Academies at East Lee County High School, Ida S. Baker High School and South Fort Myers High School.