GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – Greene County Schools was approved for a $6 million grant for enhancing Career Technical Education, or CTE, programs.
$1 million of the grant went to the county high schools and $500,000 went to middle schools.
North Greene High School has already received new technology with the funding that teachers are now using in their course curriculum.
Some of the new technology includes a 3D printer, screen press, robotic arm, and engineering software. Tanna Stansfield, a CTE Teacher at the high school, said she will be using the screen press to teach her students about marketing.
“The kids can kind of learn to design and figure out what the product they’re wanting to sell is and then also promote that product,” Stansfield said. “They’ll learn how to keep inventory and how to use it in real life.”
Stansfield told News Channel 11 that getting experience with these technologies will open students’ minds to other opportunities and career paths they could pursue.
Renee Light, another CTE Teacher at North Greene, is using her technology to teach students engineering.
“The first project, they have to make and design a prosthetic leg,” Light said. “And then they go and they build in the SolidWorks program and start 3D printing parts.”
North Greene has always offered engineering classes but Light said that with the new programming students can be better prepared in the field.
“Our trade industry needs to grow I mean, we have a lot of trade positions open and we need to fill those,” Light said.
Amanda Weems, principal of North Greene, said she was excited when she found out about the grant funding because it will greatly benefit students.
“I think students miss the connection between what they’re doing here at school and what they’re going to be doing later in life,” Weems said. “By getting this new technology in here kids can start using it. I’m hopeful that they’ll get excited about learning and see that what the skills they’re learning now are going to lead to employment in the future.”
