Ciresi announces nearly $200K for Pottstown School District, WMCTC
Rep. Joseph Ciresi August 7, 2020 | 12:15 PM
ROYERSFORD, Aug. 7 – State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, announced grants for a pair of local educational institutions to assist in the resumption of operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A CTC Equity Grant of $72,294 was awarded to Western Montgomery Career & Technology Center, while a Continuing of Education Equity Grant of $123,605 was awarded to Pottstown School District.
Based in Royersford within Ciresi’s 146th Legislative District, WMCTC is among a number of career and technology centers across Pennsylvania to share approximately $10.5 million in CTC Equity grants aimed at supporting effective continuity of education programs and industry credential assessments for students negatively impacted by COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
“Western Montgomery Career and Technology Center has long provided students of our community the opportunity to learn and grow and become even better citizens,” Ciresi said. “So, I am thrilled this great institution will be on the receiving end of this critical help. The ability of our schools and education centers to adapt and provide safe, quality instruction is crucial to helping our entire commonwealth steer its way through this pandemic.”
The CEEG grant for Pottstown School District is designed to help provide access and inclusion for all learners by bridging the gap for students who are currently limited in their ability to participate in continuity of education.
“Schools are the heart and soul of communities, and this grant for Pottstown School District will help ensure that students lacking equal access to resources are given the opportunity to learn with the help of technology otherwise not available to them,” Ciresi said.
The CEEG funding can be used to purchase computer equipment, such as laptops, tablets and internet hot spots, or it can be used toward providing instructional materials, such as paper lessons and coursework.
“Pottstown School District and the community are extremely grateful for all the support we’ve received to advance our students’ educational opportunities,” Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez said. “We plan to put this resource to good use for our students immediately.”
The CTC grants, which were delivered via the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funds via the federal CARES Act, were calculated based on the allocation for federal Perkins CTC grants, which take into account the population of students aged 5-17 and the percent of poverty within the same age group.
“I was excited to receive notification that the Western Montgomery Career and Technology Center was awarded $72,000 through the [Department of Education] GEER grant,” WMCTC Administrative Director Chris Moritzen said. “These additional funds will greatly assist us as we move forward into the 2020 school year.”
The funds can be used toward the safe reopening of schools, including the purchase of protective equipment, hand sanitizer and/or cleaning products; equipment or technology to take classrooms online; installation of barriers or other protective devices in building structures; or to purchase health apps to assist in contact tracing and monitoring of students.
More information about these grant programs is available by contacting Ciresi’s office at 484-200-8265.