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Austintown schools get $100K grant to fund jobs program
YOUNGSTOWN
A $100,000 Ohio Department of Education grant awarded to the Youngstown/Warren Chamber will help one local school district implement job-readiness programs while two other large Valley districts lose out on the money.
Austintown Local Schools will receive the grant to fund the Community Connectors job-preparedness program, while Youngstown and Warren city schools were denied the money to continue funding the programs at their schools.
The Community Connectors program provides soft-skill job training – such as resume building and how to properly fill out a job application – and connects students with entry-level job opportunities.
Youngstown City School District received the grant for the past two years, and Warren schools received the grant for the 2016-17 school year, but were denied their requests for the grant for the 2017-18 school year.
The ODE suggested that the school districts work toward funding the Community Connectors program on their own.
The program exceeded expectations in the Youngstown schools: Though 100 students were expected to enroll in the program, the final number of enrollees was 150.
All 150 were placed into jobs after the program.
District spokeswoman Denise Dick said that while it is unfortunate the city’s request for the money was denied, the district plans to continue the program.
“It’s an important program that has been very valuable to our students,” Dick said. “We plan to continue the program. We’ll find the money.”
Brittany Halpin, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Education, said the grant wasn’t intended to be a permanent source of funding for the program.
“It’s meant to be seed money to get the program started, but the districts are expected to sustain it from that point on,” she said.
Halpin said the grants were “competitive” and were chosen by an independent review of the districts’ applications. She did not elaborate on the specific criteria used to select recipient schools.
Nick Santucci, the manager of education and workforce development at the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, works alongside school district officials to implement the program.
“We’re willing to work with Youngstown and Warren to help them continue the program in their schools,” he said.
Santucci said it is important to the chamber that the programs continue at the schools both for the edification of the students and for the impact the program has on local employers.
“Anything we can do to serve the kids, we’re willing to do,” Santucci said. “Our companies need a qualified and capable workforce, and this program helps provide that.”