BURBANK, WA – Columbia School District in Burbank was pleased to accept a $5,000 check this morning through the Rural Community Grant Program of Northwest Farm Credit Services. The grant will fund the school district’s first offering of an Agriculture, Power, and Technology (APT) course at Columbia High School, which began this school year.
The APT course focuses on energy and power production, machine components and design, agricultural structures, the engineering design process, and technical applications of math and science. As a brand-new course offering with 27 students filling the class, it is evident that Columbia students, instructors, and administrators recognize the value of the curriculum in providing a direct pathway to future employment. Columbia High School CTE teacher Holly Kirkendall is leading the school’s new APT class, which is available to 9th-12th grade students as one of four CASE-approved courses students may take as either an occupational credit or lab science credit.
Casci Carpenter, Relationship Manager for Northwest FCS, says, “By putting these tools directly into the hands of students, they will be gaining highly technical skills needed in the areas of operation, repair, engineering, and agricultural tool and equipment design.”
In her role as Director of Career and Technical Education at Educational Service District 123, Keeley Gant works with Columbia School District and their CTE staff and was present at Tuesday’s presentation.
“The grant funds are supporting Columbia’s agriculture program by providing real-world, hands-on, exploratory labs that are embedded into the new APT curriculum,” Gant says.
For more information, contact the Columbia School District Office at 509-547-2136.
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The Rural Community Grant program through Northwest FCS was designed to support safety, economic development, infrastructure, and quality of life projects to care for people within the communities they serve. The funds like those being donated by Northwest FCS are part of their commitment to assist youth in the development of their future career paths and positively influence the future workforce of rural farmers, ranchers, and fisherman. More information is available at www.northwestfcs.com/community/rural-community-grant-program.