High School CTE Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources Completers, 2020-21

Source: P20 Connect, TDOE high school CTE completers 2020-21, and TDLWD unemployment insurance (UI) employment and wage records.

STUDENTS FROM TENNESSEE COLLEGE OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGY (TCAT) CRUMP

Sparc

Supporting Postsecondary Access in Rural Communities (SPARC) is a targeted grant program for high school and adult learner populations with a specific focus on Career and Technical Education (CTE). This program strategically identifies economically at-risk and distressed communities and is intended to address the associated education and workforce factors that designated them as at-risk or distressed and to remove common barriers to postsecondary access.

Morgan County has partnered with Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Oneida to offer an evening welding program within the Morgan County Career and Technical Center using a SPARC grant. This evening class allows students to work during the day and attend class after traditional work hours. This program has allowed recent high school graduates to complete training that was started while in high school, and it has allowed adults an opportunity to learn new skills or train for a new profession. At the conclusion of the 2022-2023 school year, six students will have completed the program. In addition to the evening welding program, SPARC has also assisted Morgan County in expanding dual enrollment opportunities within other CTE programs. As of the fall 2022 semester, roughly 23% of high school students were attempting post-secondary credits within the Morgan County Career and Technical Center.

The Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) is designed to foster long-term regional partnerships between Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs), community colleges, industry, economic development/workforce agencies, and K-12 to identify and address “skills gaps” in local workforce pools. The GIVE program facilitates the alignment of local workforce and education partners through a competitive grant process with awards up to $1 million.

One example of a successful GIVE grant project is the development and implementation of a Farming Operations Technology (FOT) program at TCAT Crump. The FOT program provides students with the skills and knowledge needed for today’s agricultual operations including row crops, animal agrculture, precision agriculture, and forestry. Thus far, this program has produced 17 completers with a 100 percent job placement rate. The implementation of this program has allowed TCAT Crump to increase its dual enrollment presence to approximately 1,238 students, 837 of which are enrolled in the FOT program. Finally, TCAT Crump entered into an articulation agreement with the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM) to award FOT graduates up to 30 credit hours into UTM’s General Agriculture Bachelor’s degree program.