ARC NEWS ROUND-UP | MAY 4, 2017

In this Issue

•	ARC Spotlight
•	Appalachia in the News
•	Investments in Action
•	Upcoming Events

ARC SPOTLIGHT

Career Center Open for Business in Alabama

The West Alabama Works (WAW) Career Center in Brookwood was opened for business with a ribbon cutting this week. This new 36,000-square-foot facility is home to training programs in the critical areas of automotive and advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and other in-demand fields. High school students from four different school systems across the region will be able to take classes and dual enrollment during the day. At night, the center will be used to provide training for adults. WAW's vision is to develop a comprehensive, integrated workforce development system, which will help develop a skilled workforce that better meets the needs of employers and leads to a better quality of life for residents of Alabama.

The Brookwood Career Center is part of a bigger regional effort to meet the critical needs of a growing automotive and advanced manufacturing industry that must be met by the year 2020, while responding to the needs of communities which are severely impacted by the downturn in the coal-economy. ARC has invested $1.5 million into WAW’s 2020 Initiative through POWER funding. More than 2,400 jobs are expected to come to the region as Mercedes Benz or automotive suppliers grow their workforce in West Alabama. WAW anticipates that 1,250 trainees, workers, or students will be impacted by programming at the Career Center.

APPALACHIA IN THE NEWS

Cool & Connected Program Offers Erwin Direction, The Erwin Record, Erwin, Tennessee

Talking About Paradise: Workshop Highlights How to Use Historic Building, Martinsville Bulletin, Martinsville, Virginia

Grants Address Flooding Issues, Times Daily, Florence, Alabama

Displaced Workers Get a Boost from Training Program, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Appalachian Food Revolution, Blue Ridge Outdoors

Join business and community leaders seeking market-based solutions that also help solve community and environmental problems across Appalachia at the
2nd Appalachian Conference on Social Enterprise
May 19–20 | Morgantown, WV
Learn more and register now!

INVESTMENTS IN ACTION

School for Deaf Children Gets New Tech

Improving the education, knowledge, skills, and health of residents to work and succeed in Appalachia is a key goal in ARC’s strategic plan. Part of achieving that goal is a commitment to providing adequate resources, tools, and equipment for local governments, nonprofit organizations, and other eligible entities to effectively serve the citizens of Appalachia.

Recently, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance (NEPA) and Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) presented The Scranton School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children in Pennsylvania with a $25,000 ARC grant for a project to enhance the school’s technology to meet the unique and individual needs of its students.

With matching funds from the Margaret Briggs Foundation, the funds were used to purchase SMART panels, specialized lighting, computers, a drone, and editing software that allows deaf and hard of hearing children to improve their skills using technology, expressive communication skills using American Sign Language, Sign-Supported English, and Spoken English. This technology also allows the students to virtually interact with the student body at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and elsewhere. The Scranton School is a specialized, nonprofit, tuition-free school that serves students from sixteen Appalachian counties in preschool through eighth grade. The school promotes teaching through an all-inclusive communications environment that includes American Sign Language and Sign-supported and spoken English, preparing students for all aspects of life through a continuum of high-quality, individualized educational and extra-curricular programs.

The NEPA Alliance, PA DCED, and Pennsylvania state representatives join leaders with the Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children to present a grant to enhance the school’s technology.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Ohio University Diabetes Summit
Athens, Ohio
May 10

Appalachian Conference on Social Enterprise
Morgantown, West Virginia
May 19–20

TechConnectWV 2017 Women and Technology Conference
Charleston, West Virginia
June 26

Appalachian Higher Education Network 2017 Annual Conference
Daniels, West Virginia
June 27–29

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 420 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.

Appalachian Regional Commission
1666 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20009-1068
www.arc.gov | info@arc.gov

Add us to your address book

Update your preferences | Unsubscribe from this list

Past Issues of In the Region | View this email in your browser