Kody Hendricks
Roel Godinez
In the beginning of the 2018 fall term, many Mission Vista students were impressed by the renovations that were completed in the photography and graphic design rooms. These rooms are now equipped with desktop iMacs, hardwood floors, and standing desks with tall chairs to match. All of these upgrades were installed over the summer As much as students enjoy this new and expensive technology, some have began to wonder where the funding came from. Photography teacher William Salley has the answer.
Salley explains, “Two years ago CTE (Career and Technical Education) received a CTEIG grant to update equipment and to modernize classes. It’s important that students are ready for a college environment.”
CTEIG is an acronym for Career Technical Education Incentive Grant that has in previous cases, such as when the school opened in 2008, been used to pay for technology used across the campus. This includes overhead projectors, computers, smartboards, and a wide variety of educational tools.
Perkins, a federally backed organization, has been generous to provide Mission Vista with the grant for these renovations. The grant comes with strict guidelines as to what can and cannot be done with the funding provided. Consumables like paper and food are not covered under the grant. The grant must be used to purchase permanent additives to the classrooms like standing desks, powerful computers, and expansive shelving.
According to the Perkins Collaborative resource network, “The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV) is a source of federal funding to States and discretionary grantees to develop more fully the academic, career, and technical skills of secondary and post secondary students who enroll in career and technical education programs across the nation.”
Some students say the donations were well needed and well received. Senior Justin Mason, a student who has taken one of the three photography classes in his junior year, says, “The new shelving is great. The tripods used to just be in a pile in the corner of the room.” Many other students and staff say that they are “Thankful for these well needed changes.”