High school students at five school districts in western Iowa now have increased opportunities to pursue education and training in high-demand fields thanks to the new regional career center in Denison.
Officially dedicated on Sept. 8 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the Denison Regional Career Center will serve students from the Denison, Boyer Valley, Maple Valley Anthon Oto-Charter Oak UTE (MVAOCOU), Odebolt Arthur-Battle Creek Ida Grove (OABCIG) and Woodbine School Districts.
“Regional centers offer career and technical education (CTE) programs and resources that individual school districts may not be able to provide on their own,” said Bureau of CTE and Postsecondary Readiness Administrative Consultant Heather Meissen. “These partnerships between a community college and several school districts result in the pooling of resources, allowing students in participating districts, regardless of their location, to have access to high-quality CTE programs.”
Funded in part by a total of $2 million in Career Academy Incentive Fund grants from the Iowa Department of Education, the nearly $7.5 million facility, hosted on Western Iowa Tech Community College's Denison campus, will house instructional space and resources for career academy courses in automotive technology, nursing, agriculture, business and education and expand access to workforce training in these critical fields.
"We are deeply grateful to the state of Iowa for supporting this vision with $2 million in Career Academy Incentive Funds. That investment reflects a strong belief in the power of community colleges and the critical role that we play in preparing Iowa's workforce," said Western Iowa Tech Community College President Dr. Terry Murrell. "This building is also a symbol of partnerships. We are proud to work alongside our partner school districts who share our commitment to expanding access to high-quality career and technical education together and opening the doors for our students to gain skills and experiences that will serve them for a lifetime."
Murrell also announced that, pending board approval, the facility would be named the Rick and Marla Franck Regional Career Center for their contributions and impact in community education and student opportunity. Rick Franck served on the WITCC Board of Directors for 43 years and guided WITCC through nearly every stage of its development.
Regional centers such as Denison's are required to host at least four career academy programs and serve students from multiple school districts. The career academy programs offer concurrent enrollment courses, allowing students to earn both high school and college credit, building a solid foundation for entrance into a postsecondary program following graduation.
Western Iowa Tech Community College offers 25 classes to the more than 300 students from the region enrolled at the Denison Regional Career Center.
"It's an opportunity for students to graduate a lot faster and really be able to stay within their communities," said Sandy Velasquez, director of the WITCC Denison Campus and Southern Service Area. "I think it is also an opportunity for us to be able to get them here and really know us and then continue their education in our community."
Allowing students to remain in the community while earning their degrees is critical to creating and maintaining a skilled workforce in the region.
"From a community and economic development standpoint, this is a great facility that is going to be a great asset for the community, county and the whole western Iowa region," said Paul Plum, director of the Denison Chamber of Commerce.
Local students who are among the first to use the regional center or will be in the near future were also excited about the promise and opportunities the center provides close to their home district.
"It will give students more advantages in the future with dual credit classes and will help lead them toward what they want to do after high school," said Denison senior Kysa Neddermeyer.
Opening the regional career center in Denison had extra significance for Murrell and WITCC, as he noted that Denison was the first district that WITCC partnered with to offer concurrent enrollment courses to students.
Having WITCC as the host of the regional career center and receiving $2 million in funding from the state of Iowa allows the five partner school districts to expand and elevate concurrent enrollment and career opportunities that they would not otherwise be able to provide to students as effectively.
"We couldn't have done this on our own," said Denison Community Schools Superintendent Kim Buryanek. "We wouldn't have enough funding to build lab space like this, ag classrooms or auto body facilities. Not only are we providing new programs, but we're providing better programs than we were before thanks to this partnership."
Community colleges and school districts interested in creating or expanding their career academy offerings are encouraged to apply for the next round of Career Academy Incentive Fund grants. Applications for the fall grant cycle are open through Nov. 14, with priority consideration given to applicants who focus on programming delivered to at least four school districts. The Department will also consider tier 2 proposals that improve or expand existing career academies delivered through a regional center.