Career and Technical VPSC Partnership Grant Announced - Palm Beach County

Article Submitted by: Liz Shapiro, Career Education Specialist, Palm Beach County Schools

Mark Hooper, Coordinator of Career and Technical Education, has recently received information that the Monroe County School District, in partnership with the School District of Palm Beach County, has been awarded a 5 year, $1,570,000 Voluntary Public School Choice (VPSC) grant. This project will replicate and disseminate The School District of Palm Beach County’s nationally recognized, award winning West Boca Raton High School’s Culinary Career Academy at Marathon High School.   This Interdistrict Agreement will strengthen the availability, accessibility, and equity of educational choice options for parents to secure a high quality education for their children.

According to the 2007-08 Regional Targeted Occupations List for Monroe County and the State of Florida’s High Skill/High Wage List, the number of jobs for Chefs, Head Cooks, and Food Service Managers will continue to rise.  “We look forward to working with Palm Beach County and are excited that we will be taking our Culinary program to a higher level which will directly benefit our students, parents, and the community,” stated Mark.

This VPSC project will be implemented as a Smaller Learning Community (SLC) of choice within the larger, comprehensive Marathon HS to offer MHS students an SLC Career Academy of Choice in replication of the Career Academy Choice Model at the higher performing West Boca Raton High (WBRHS) in the School District of Palm Beach County. For this project, Palm Beach and Monroe County school districts have entered into an Interdistrict Agreement to replicate and disseminate the West Boca HS Culinary Arts Career Academy choice model as a choice model to offer a real and viable choice for students at Marathon HS. Throughout the multi-year project, Monroe’s Marathon HS students will be transported to Palm Beach’s West Boca HS Career Academy to “buddy up” with the West Boca Culinary students for hands – on learning activities, peer partnering, and team projects. Teachers and students from both districts will partner to make learning connections in culinary arts and academics within the SLC Culinary Career Academy of Choice at West Boca HS. Additional key elements in the design of the SLC Culinary Career Academy at Marathon HS will be the National Career Academy Standards of Practice and the ProStart Industry Certification Guidelines.

Connie Scotchel-Gross, Manager of Career Education, School District of Palm Beach County, “Sharing our vision and knowledge with Monroe County is an invigorating experience.  We look forward to working with the teachers and students as well as the interaction between our two school districts.”

Pictured left to right: Palm Beach County - Chuck Green, Program Specialist, Connie Scotchel Gross, Manager of Career and Technical Education, Neva Jordon, CTE Office Manager, Elizabeth Shapiro, Program Specialist, and Mary Helen Arbogast, Grant Writer Monroe County - Mark Hooper, Career and Technical Education Coordinator.