The career and technical education programs at two school districts in North Texas just got a major boost.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that four Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grants had been allocated to Venus ISD and Weatherford ISD. The state taxpayer-funded grants amount to over $1 million.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Abbott announced last December that 152 JET grants would be distributed to Texas school districts, charter schools, and state, community, and public colleges by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), totaling $54 million.
The point of the grants has been to proactively expand career opportunities in high-demand fields, such as nursing, automotive repair, and welding, to ensure Texas meets its future workforce needs.
The grants come at a time when many public school systems in North Texas are struggling to prepare graduates for life after high school.
Venus ISD earned a score of 62% for College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) during the 2021-2022 school year. Weatherford ISD clocked 67% in CCMR. For its part, Dallas ISD scored 59% in the metric, below the statewide average of 65%.
Still, both Venus ISD and Weatherford ISD logged significantly better on-time graduation rates than Dallas ISD that school year, graduating 88.1% and 97.1% of seniors in four years, respectively. Almost 20% of Dallas ISD students in the graduating Class of 2022 failed to earn a diploma in four years despite the hard work of the district’s dedicated teachers and principals.
This summer, eight JET grants totaling more than $3.5 million were distributed to six North Texas schools, as covered by The Dallas Express. Such institutions included Collin College, Commerce ISD, Farmersville ISD, Grayson College, Lovejoy ISD, and North Central Texas College.
The most recently allocated JET grants for Venus ISD and Weatherford ISD will benefit over 1,200 students, helping them gain skills for careers in mechanical engineering, bus and truck mechanics, and food service management.
More specifically, 77 students at Venus ISD will be trained as mechanical engineers through a grant of $398,125 and collaboration with Hill College.
The remaining $618,508 is going to Weatherford ISD through three separate grants. The consequent programs will be implemented in partnership with Weatherford College.
One grant amounts to $337,354 and will be used to train 298 students to be front-line mechanics supervisors. Another for $151,813 will school 225 students on bus and truck mechanics. The final grant of $129,341 will go towards training 647 students to be food service managers.
“The State of Texas continues to provide pathways toward good-paying careers for hardworking Texans by investing in meaningful educational opportunities for our students,” Abbott said in the press release announcing the grants. “It is more important than ever that Texas students have the tools and training needed in high-demand industries that will keep Texas the No.1 economy in America.”
