Montgomery Advertiser:
Work on Montgomery Public Schools’ advanced manufacturing career academy building officially started Wednesday, and officials framed the occasion as a testament to partnerships across Montgomery and as a milestone for the area.
The $1 million facility, which is being funded through the city’s bond issue, is expected to open by January. The 3,500 square foot building, located on the George Washington Carver High School campus, will include welding machines and ventilated booths, as well as pneumatic and hydraulic training stations.
About half of the project’s budget will pay for the construction of the pre-fabricated building and the other half will fund equipment for the building. The space will also have an office for the academy instructor, as well as restrooms. There is also space reserved for future machine tools.
The academy and its new facility aim to give students hands-on, real-life skills for electrical and mechanical engineering; electronics; welding; pneumatics and automobile maintenance careers.
The Montgomery Public School career academies seek to provide students with specialized skill sets so they can seek highly skilled jobs straight out of high school or get a leg up on whatever higher education they choose to pursue. MPS has seven such academies, which the school system and the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce have worked to bolster in recent years.
Officials said during a groundbreaking ceremony for the new building that the facility coming to fruition is important not only to the school system, but to the community at-large because it will go a long way toward educating a future workforce.
“This is really something very close to my heart,” said Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean, who noted he is a Carver alumnus. “Today what do you see? It’s not just a school building, but an institution. This is what we need. (Students) will be ready for these jobs.”
Dean and other officials in attendance at the groundbreaking said Montgomery is poised for growth and the advanced manufacturing building and program would only further facilitate that growth.
Mayor Todd Strange said Montgomery has “just begun” and this new building speaks volumes about the area’s commitment to education.
“We talked a good game for many years,” Strange said of the commitment to education, “but now we’re putting our money where our mouth is.”
Superintendent Barbara Thompson said one component of the initiative that she believes is critical is the fact that the school system will be teaching students skills employers have specifically said are necessary.
“This is what they told us they want,” she said.
Thompson also said having that qualified workforce will be an asset to Montgomery and a way to bring businesses to the area.
“It’s such a pivotal point in what we’re trying to do in Montgomery,” she said of the creation of the new facility.
Thompson, along with the other officials who gave remarks Wednesday, made a point to thank the many agencies that have been involved with the project and the establishment of the system’s career academies.
Board President Charlotte Meadows also underscored that sentiment.
“We want to thank you for everything you’ve done for the school system,” Meadows told those who gathered for the groundbreaking. “More than anything this building represents partnerships.”
The link to the original Montgomery Advertiser article can be found here.
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