A proposed lab school for students in Charlottesville and central Virginia has won support from the Virginia Department of Education. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Piedmont Virginia Community College, or PVCC, in Charlottesville has received a grant of almost $150,000 from the Virginia Department of Education. Over the next year, administrators will use those funds to work with seven local school districts to design the "Pathways to Tech Lab School." It's projected to open in the fall of 2024.
The program would allow 11th and 12th graders to enroll in either advanced manufacturing or information technology classes at the community college.
JEAN RUNYON: This just made sense to provide this opportunity to students as part of creating that pipeline for talent in the communities that we serve.
Jean Runyon is PVCC’s president. The college has already invested in its manufacturing and I.T. programs by constructing a new, [quote] "state of the art" instructional space, which is slated to be finished by the end of the year.
John Donnelly, vice president of instruction and student services, said the college's administration saw an opportunity for local high schoolers to share that space after Governor Glenn Youngkin announced his proposal to spur the creation of new lab schools. PVCC's proposed lab school would award students an associate degree in applied science just one year after they graduate high school.
JOHN DONNELLY: Which is a great opportunity to save tuition dollars and to get employed in this region making a nice wage.
The college's partners in this endeavor include the public school districts of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson.
