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Category: California News

Sacramento, California - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson awarded $244 million in grants today to 40 programs that blend academic and career technical education, connect employers with schools, and train students for jobs in high-demand fields, such as health care, advanced manufacturing, information technology, and software development.

The grants are provided through the California Career Pathways Trust (CCPT) program, which is the largest program of its kind in the nation. The program is providing nearly $500 million in career tech grants over a two-year period.

"My top priority is to better prepare California students for college and careers in the 21st century," Torlakson said. "Career Pathways provides vital support for innovative, practical, and effective career tech programs that keep students engaged in school and prepared for real-world jobs."

The state Legislature created CCPT in 2013 and allocated $250 million for the program in the state's 2013-14 budget. Last year, Torlakson awarded grants to 39 recipients. After seeing the program's popularity—the state received 123 applications requesting $709 million in CCPT grants last year—lawmakers approved an additional $250 million for this year. The program builds on Torlakson's Career Readiness Initiative.

CCPT grant recipients are tasked with creating sustained career pathways programs that link businesses, K–12 schools, and community colleges to prepare students for the 21st century workplace. Under Torlakson's leadership, the California Department of Education (CDE) administers the program. The department worked with the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office and the California Workforce Investment Board to identify the strongest applications based on a rigorous evaluation process.

"Career Pathways not only provides students with specific skills and training needed in modern industries, but it also helps employers fill high-demand jobs created by the new economy," Torlakson said. "These college- and career-ready students are what employers need to grow the regional economies of California." 

CCPT-funded programs involve many dynamic sectors of California's economy, such as health care, engineering, transportation, agriculture, and public service. Companies participating include Kaiser Permanente, the giant health maintenance organization; Qualcomm, a global firm that designs and markets wireless telecommunications products and services; the Port of Los Angeles, which is part of the busiest port complex in the nation; and Intel Corp., a large multinational company that develops and manufactures semiconductor chips.

Career Pathways programs connect education to business through work-based learning that allows students to explore and experience real jobs under the mentorship of professionals in these industries. Work-based learning provides students with valuable opportunities to learn what is involved in various jobs, what kinds of skills are needed to be successful, and whether they want to pursue a similar job for a career.

"With the Career Pathways program we are strengthening partnerships among industry, K-12 public schools, and community colleges, and we are providing students with the type of career technical training that employers will reward with good paying jobs," said California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris.     

Today's awards are in addition to the $4.2 million announced in April. Four examples of grants awarded today are:

Listed below are the fiscal agents for each of the 40 grant recipients, all of which have multiple partners. More information on each of these grant awards is available upon request.

Up to $15 million per award regional grant category:
  1. Alameda County Office of Education.
  2. Galt Joint Union High School District.
  3. Kern Community College District.
  4. Los Angeles Community College District.
  5. Riverside Community College District.
  6. San Diego County Office of Education.
  7. San Jose Evergreen Community College District.
  8. Sutter County Office of Education.
  9. Ventura County Office of Education.
  10. West Hills Community College District.
Up to $6 million per award regional grant category:
  1. Fortuna Union High School District.
  2. Metropolitan Education District.
  3. Templeton Unified School District.
  4. Visalia Unified School District.
Up to $6 million per award local grant category:
  1. Chico Unified School District.
  2. Clovis Unified School District.
  3. Downey Unified School District.
  4. East Side Union High School District.
  5. Eden Area Regional Occupational Program.
  6. Fresno Unified School District.
  7. Imperial Community College District.
  8. Inyo County Office of Education.
  9. Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District.
  10. Northern Humboldt Union High School District.
  11. Pasadena Unified School District.
  12. Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.
  13. Porterville Unified School District.
  14. San Francisco Community College District.
  15. San Luis Obispo County Office of Education.
  16. Santa Ana Unified School District.
  17. Santa Clarita Community College District.
  18. Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District.
  19. SIATech.
  20. Siskiyou Joint Community College District.
Up to $600,000 per award local grant category:
  1. Delhi Unified School District.
  2. Irvine Unified School District.
  3. Merced County Office of Education.
  4. Patterson Joint Unified School District.
  5. River Oaks Academy Charter.
  6. Sacramento Academic and Vocational Academy.