WACC Welding, Machining Receives $350K Grant
During Monday evening’s Warsaw Community School Board meeting Ronna Kawsky, director of the Warsaw Area Career Center revealed that WACC was the recipient of a large grant that would revolutionize the machine and welding program at the career center.
According to Kawsky, the grant was given by the Indiana Center for Education and Career Innovation in the amount of $350,000 to update the welding and machining areas of the Warsaw Area Career Center.
Kawsky noted in her address to the board that the grant will be used to create cutting edge curriculum and to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, allowing students to acquire the current workplace skills needed for today’s advanced manufacturing companies. The grant was the highest awarded amount in the state and will revolutionize the learning in the WACC welding and machining programs.
The curriculum will be based on a combination of models utilizing classroom instruction, extensive hands-on laboratory project time and work-based learning.
“We are excited by this announcement and the advancements in STEM that it will bring the students at the Warsaw Area Career Center. The awarding of this grant by the CECI is an investment in the future employees and industry of our entire community. I would like to extend a special thanks to WACC Director Ronna Kawsky and teachers Matt Alexander and Jeremiah Paseka for their vision and commitment to propelling these areas of career and technical education forward,” stated Dr. David Hoffert, Warsaw Community Schools superintendent.
Ronna Kawsky, Warsaw Area Career Center Director noted, “WACC hopes to use this grant as a launching pad to solidify partnerships with local industries so that our students leave equipped for the careers of their dreams.”
Kawsky noted work has already begin on the project and welding machinery will be ordered for the center tomorrow. The new and improved welding and machining program is expected to be in full launch this fall.
Kawsky also noted that the changes and machine additions being made will correlate well with the orthopedic industry’s work in Warsaw, noting that students will be both hirable and desirable to employers after exiting the program.