DEL NORTE- In January of this year, the Upper Rio Grande School District (URGSD) was awarded $50,000 through the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). The school is excited to be able to use the funding awarded through the Concurrent Enrollment Expansion and Innovation Grant not only helps students with transportation costs and equipment costs pertaining to specific curriculum but also to help several teachers achieve their master’s degree in a wide variety of topics.
According to a description of the grant, “The purpose of the grant is to provide funding to partnering local education providers and institutions of higher education that seek to begin offering, or to expand their capacity, to offer concurrent enrollment opportunities to qualified students.”
URGSD already offers seven college level courses on-site with the help of qualified, trained teachers that have the degrees necessary to provide higher level education to qualified students. This grant will allow the school to expand its courses by helping with costs associated with gaining a master’s degree for several teachers. As of right now, the school offers several literary courses that change from Introduction to Literature and Shakespeare, as well as, courses in English, creative writing, college level algebra and environmental biology. Some of the courses include trade skills like welding and mechanics.
“We are able to offer these courses because we have partnered with area colleges including Adams State University, Trinidad State Junior College and Western State University. The grant is dispersed on a one-year cycle and can be reapplied for in coming years. So far, we have three teachers participating in the master’s degree program and once completed, will be able to offer even more to qualified students at our school,” said URGSD High School Principal Russell Randolph.
The grant will also help students who may be struggling to afford books, pay for fees that come with certain programs and even aid in transportation costs associated with programs that require students to travel to attend classes or spend time with professors off campus. “We struggle with transportation here. Even though we can provide our students with transportation, sometimes it comes with time restraints. With the help of this grant, they will be able to travel on their own to classes or to the college to get help with coursework. We had one student who needed the equipment necessary for a cosmetology course. Through this grant we were able to help purchase the equipment she needed.”
The grant was made possible through the combined efforts of Curriculum and Special Projects Director Aaron Horrocks who took the lead on the application, High School Counselor Elise Lovato and Principal Randolph. According to the school, almost 30 other schools across the state also received the grant and it is beginning to rise in popularity which will make it a highly competitive grant to obtain in the future.