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DES MOINES -- Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education recently awarded $2 million in grants to Ellsworth Community College and Iowa Western Community College through the state's Career Academy Incentive Fund. The grant funds will be used to establish two new regional centers, empowering more Iowa students with multiple pathways to postsecondary success.
The Career Academy Incentive Fund, spearheaded by Reynolds in 2019 and administered by the Iowa Department of Education, creates and supports partnerships among community colleges, schools, local businesses and community stakeholders. The new regional centers at Ellsworth Community College in the Iowa Valley Community College District and the main campus of Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs will serve students from 11 school districts and two nonpublic schools providing access to 11 career academy programs.
A regional center must provide access to at least four career academy programs and serve either a combined minimum of 120 students from at least two school districts or a minimum of four school districts. Career academies link secondary career and technical education to a postsecondary education program through concurrent enrollment and coursework that provides a foundation to pursue a postsecondary credential of value.
Work-based learning participation in Iowa has reached a record high, with 45% of Iowa high school seniors in the class of 2025 completing at least one work-based learning experience. This marks a significant increase from 31.7% in 2024 and 25.5% in 2023, reflecting a nearly 20 percentage point rise in student attainment and a rate of increase of 76% over the past two years.
To further increase access to career academy programs in high-demand fields through new or expanded career academies and regional centers, both Ellsworth Community College and Iowa Western Community College will each receive $1 million through the Career Academy Incentive Fund.
Ellsworth Community College will use the funds to create a new regional center by remodeling and renovating existing lab facilities and classrooms, and constructing new facilities to support the career academies. The site will host career academies in construction technology, agricultural science, welding and entrepreneurship. Located in the northern and most rural portion of the Iowa Valley Community College District, it will expand access to CTE coursework for students in the Iowa Falls-Alden, AGWSR, BCLUW and Eldora-New Providence Community School Districts.
Additional information can be found on the Department's Career Academy Incentive Fund webpage.