Springdale awaiting grant for food industry academy
Posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008
SPRINGDALE — School district administrators are awaiting news about a grant to create and implement an academy to instruct students in food preparation, processing and promotion in cooperation with local businesses and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
The academy would include an articulation agreement with UA and other post-secondary institutions, allowing students to earn dual credit for high school classes, and job-specific vocational training for companies located in the region.
“This is a viable area of student interest and also one that this Northwest Arkansas region lends itself to,” assistant superintendent Don Love said at a Springdale School Board meeting Tuesday night.
Results of a skill cluster survey administered at Springdale High School show that 47. 4 percent of students are interested in careers in food production, processing and promotion.
Springdale Public Schools expects a decision on the $ 20, 000 grant from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Education later this month, Love said.
The grant will be used to fund agriculture teachers’ visits to ex- isting academies in other states in the process of developing program specifics. Uses for the money include travel expenses and substitute teachers. Administrators hope to develop the program in the next year and implement the new curriculum in the 2009-2010 school year, creating a national program model that could be implemented in other districts, Love said.
The academy would be a cooperative program among area agricultural and food processing companies, such as Tyson Foods Inc., UA and Springdale schools, the application states. Teachers plan site visits to Chicago’s AgScience School, which has won national recognition as a model for bringing in business leaders to public and post-secondary education.
“That’s what started the thinking down this road,” Love said. “And of course, we’re uniquely situated for an academy that focuses on food.” Agriculture teacher Chad Burkett pointed to locally rooted companies such as Tyson, Cargill Inc., Simmons Foods and Bird’s Eye Foods Inc. as potential corporate partners, who will shape the curriculum with their recommendations of necessary skill sets for future employees. Agriculture teachers have visited the Tyson Discovery Center to brainstorm possible curriculum. “We have such a plethora of industry partners here,” he said. “Part of it is to form a consortium between these companies and have a constant awareness of where our curriculum needs to go.” The district’s application highlights a large population of English-language learners and special education students as populations that need curriculum that is “both rigorous and relevant to the specialized needs of those students.” Burkett hopes the academy model will offer a range of options for students entering directly into the workforce and those focused on college and corporate careers. “We serve such a variety of students,” he said. “We want to offer a range of paths for them.”
To contact this reporter: eblad@arkansasonline. com
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