JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley School District will be able to place a greater emphasis on helping students figure out their future, thanks to a grant.

Jeff Roberts, the district's supervisor of gifted education and student services, told the Seneca Valley School Board on Tuesday that the district won a $5,000 Career Readiness Mini Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

The grant money will enable the district to teach elementary students about post-secondary options and strengthen the district's career advisory council through relationships with local and regional employers. It will also allow for the exploration of vocational and technical career fields and give students a chance to travel among chosen career clusters to worksites in areas of interest.

Roberts said he hopes to reach students earlier, before they have a plan in place. That way, they can learn about another career path which may be a better fit for them.

The stages in the new program include showing fourth grade students college campuses, eighth grade student vocational and technical schools and coming up with career-based plans for 10th grade curriculums.

Read the full story in Thursday's Butler Eagle.