Monroe Co. Schools Awarded $1M to Implement Tech Efforts

(Image courtesy: Pixabay/Gerd Altmann)

Bloomington-based Regional Opportunity Initiatives Inc. has awarded a $1.2 million Ready Schools implementation grant to Monroe County Community School Corp.

ROI says the Ready Schools program helps align school districts with the education and workforce needs of regional employers.

“Throughout the Ready Schools process, MCCSC has embraced the important role it must play in regional economic prosperity,” said ROI President and Chief Executive Officer Tina Peterson.

Peterson said Monroe County school leadership invested 18 months to embrace the ROI design-thinking process and to develop programs within the schools “to equip students from pre-K through graduation with the skills necessary to thrive in regionally relevant careers and 21st-century jobs.”

The school district has developed a multi-faceted plan, such as the creation of a STEM mobile lab to travel to each elementary school, institute makerspaces and digital fabrication lab at each middle school, and installation of a project-based learning model at MCCSC’s Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship

Now with funding, the school district can implement some of the programs and strategies.

“There is tremendous opportunity to expand our curricular and programmatic offerings to meet the needs of our students and provide them greater access to explore post-secondary education and/or career options,” said MCCSC Superintendent Judith DeMuth.

DeMuth said the grant will allow the district to close the gap in its offerings that prevent students from being ready to be successful in any path they choose upon graduation.

Three other school corporations in the Uplands region also received grants from ROI. Linton-Stockton School Corp., Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corp., and White River Valley School District each received a $250,000 Ready Schools implementation grant.

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