Slippery Rock high school awarded $20,000 grant for special education careers
A $20,000 grant is meant to help the Slippery Rock Area School District support students interested in special education as a career.
Slippery Rock Area High School was one of 26 Pennsylvania schools to receive a Developing Future Special Educators grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network.
According to the district, the grant will support secondary students by providing them opportunities to explore special education careers.
The grant will help the district develop programs that combine “career exploration, instructional learning and meaningful social experiences,” while partnering with higher education institutions to create “sustainable educator pipelines.”
“The purpose of the DFSE Grant is to inspire the next generation of special educators by providing secondary students with structured, educator-led, experiential learning opportunities that introduce them to careers in special education,” a district news release said.
Mikayla McKinley, a special education teacher at Slippery Rock Area High School, was responsible for writing the grant and was instrumental in securing the grant award for the school. She is optimistic about the impact the grant award will have on present and future Slippery Rock students.
“Our hope is that these funds will provide authentic, hands-on experiences that benefit all students involved. The grant will support expanding inclusive programming and initiative, increase learning opportunities for students interested in becoming educators and create experiences where students can develop leadership, collaboration and career readiness skills,” McKinley said.
The school district will collaborate with Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, Butler County Community College and Robert Morris University to provide college-level coursework, career exploration experiences, guest speakers and exposure to educator preparation programs.
The initiative is expected to engage about 40 secondary students annually through a combination of classroom instruction and field experiences, the district said.
