Project Overview

The Shihadeh Innovation Center is a hub of workforce development for the community – preparing students and the community to meet the demands of the regional job market.

The average age of skilled workers is 56 years old, and by 2025, there will be a 10 million job shortfall in the skilled labor market in the US. Rising to meet these challenges, the new Emil and Grace Shihadeh Innovation Center will prepare Winchester Public Schools students and community members for the new workforce of tomorrow. The project is a product of multiple funding sources, including private donations, grants, and an unprecedented amount of state funding. A radical transformation of an existing unused elementary school, the mission of the Center is to ensure that every student is prepared and empowered with a marketable skill that leads to full, high-paying employment and that every regional industry has access to dedicated, skilled workers that will sustain and improve their business model.

A joint venture with Laurel Ridge Community College and local industry partners, the Shihadeh Innovation Center will be a hub of workforce development for the community. Using hands-on learning strategies, students will develop the necessary skills that will lead to marketable certifications. Industry partners will play an active role in the development of the program of study while also committing to work-based learning opportunities for students. Laurel Ridge Community College will provide instructors and equipment for certification and credit bearing courses.

The Center will embody Winchester Public School’s motto of “Learning for all, whatever it takes.” The culture at the Center will be interdisciplinary and organized into industry themes where CTE teachers, academic teachers, and students will be working together on real-world problems. All John Handley High School students will have an opportunity to apply their academic knowledge to practical skills at the Center, and adults and professionals wilh have the opportunity to mentor youth interested in their professional field or learn a new trade to re-enter the workforce.

Shihadeh Innovation Center

The Innovation Center occupies a transformed 1970’s elementary school located a short walk from Handley High School.

John Handley High School

Originally built in 1923, Handley High School was conceived with powerful, progressive ideals at its core. Handley’s legacy focuses on the heritage of the school as a central civic institution and a focus of regional programs and pageantry. The majestic landscape and powerful 2010 renovation (by VMDO) in many ways reinforces Winchester’s “educational promise” to the surrounding community.