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DWD Grants Help 16 School Districts Purchase Technical Education Equipment

MADISON – The Department of Workforce Development is helping 16 Wisconsin school districts purchase equipment to prepare students for careers in advanced manufacturing fields. Districts across the state are receiving more than $440,000 from DWD through the Expanded Wisconsin Fast Forward Technical Education Equipment Grant Program. The grants reimburse school districts for the purchase and installation of equipment, software, and instructional materials used in advanced manufacturing vocational and technical education.

"As Gov. Evers says, 'What's best for our kids is what's best for Wisconsin,'" DWD Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek said. "We are working to ensure our state's high school students get critical training in advanced manufacturing fields to help address Wisconsin's skilled worker shortage. It's a real investment in our future."

The grant program not only helps students transition from high school into the workforce by supporting technical education, it also reduces higher education costs by providing dual enrollment credits, industry-endorsed certificates, and technical endorsements on high school diplomas.

You can find video from 2020 grant recipient Webster High School in Burnett County here. The grant helped Webster purchase equipment like this Computer-Numerically-Controlled (CNC) Milling Machine and Robotic Arm, helping students learn how to fabricate custom parts, read blueprints, use inspection equipment, and design and program parts on a computer, as well as the fixtures that hold the parts.

Below is the full list of 2021 Expanded Wisconsin Fast Forward Technical Education Equipment Grant recipients:

1. Cuba City School District was awarded $9,601 to support its project, "Cuba City High School Career and Technical Education Enrichment Program," which will reimburse the district for the purchase and installation of equipment used in advanced manufacturing, including a Torchmate 4400-FC80 CNC Plasma Cutting Table, instructional materials, and software.


2. Southwestern Wisconsin School District was awarded $49,900 to support its project, "Regional Equitable Access in Additive Manufacturinig through Augmented Reality," which will reimburse the district for the purchase of two augmented reality welding training systems.


3. Owen-Withee School District was awarded $16,000 to support its project, "Technology Education High Tech Expansion," which will reimburse the district for the purchase and installation of equipment used in advanced manufacturing, including a CNC plasma cutter/router and a CNC mill.


4. Benton School District was awarded $10,007 to support its project, "Personal Protective Equipment and Credentialing: Southwest Wisconsin Style," which will reimburse the district for the purchase of 3M Worker Health and Safety Awareness Program PPE Kit, instructional materials, and instructor training.


5. Cornell School District was awarded $50,000 to support its project, "Educational Technology Expansion," which will reimburse the district for the purchase of equipment used in advanced manufacturing, including a laser engraver, a CNC mill, and a 3D printer.


6. Richland School District was awarded $49,900 to support its project, "Regional Equitable Access in Additive Manufacturing through Augmented Reality," which will reimburse the district for the purchase of two augmented reality welding training systems.


7. New Holstein School District was awarded $5,119 to support its project, "Fab Lab Manufacturing Learning Center," which will reimburse the district for the purchase and installation of a Grizzly G0750G 12” X 36” Gunsmithing Lathe.


8. Kohler School District was awarded $8,418 to support its project, "Robotics 2 Equipment Update," which will reimburse the district for the purchase of the 990-EC1F Portable Electric Relay Control (Programmable Logic Controller (including the multimedia curriculum and instructor resources kit with instructor training) and 990-SN1 Portable Electronic Sensors learning systems.


9. Waterford School District was awarded $50,000 to support its project, "Machining," which will reimburse the district for the purchase of six digital readout lathes, with additional tooling, and four knee mills with digital readouts.


10. Prairie du Chien Area School District was awarded $49,900 to support its project, "Regional Equitable Access in Additive Manufacturing through Augmented Reality," which will reimburse the district for the purchase of two augmented reality welding training systems.


11. Delavan-Darien School District was awarded $19,987 to support its project, "Comet Manufacturing Advancement Program," which will reimburse the district for the purchase and installation of equipment used in advanced manufacturing, including two metal precision lathes with digital readout systems and centers and two vertical knee mills with digital readout systems and tooling.


12. Osseo-Fairchild School District was awarded $6,500 to support its project, "Mechatronics Pathway Development," which will reimburse the district for the purchase of the 990-ACDC1 Portable Electrical and 990-EC1 Portable Electric Relay Control learning systems, as well as a 990-PN1 Portable Pneumatic Learning System, with hand tool package.


13. Sevastopol School District was awarded $44,040 to support its project, "Advanced Automation Lab," which will reimburse the district for the purchase of several Amatrol Tabletop Smart Factory Upgrades, including RFID/Sensors, Portable PLC Troubleshooting, Mini PLC Programming Software, Ethernet, Barcode, and Visual Communications learning systems; a Flexible Workstation Package; and a Tabletop Variable Speed Conveyor.


14. Oconto Unified School District was awarded $8,250 to support its project, "Oconto High School Metal Manufacturing Expansion Update," which will reimburse the district for the purchase and installation of a Baileigh BS-350SA semi-automatic band saw.


15. School District of Athens was awarded $13,000 to support its project, "CNC Milling," which will reimburse the district for the purchase and installation of a CNC Mill.


16. Random Lake School District was awarded $49,958 to support its project, "MFG 4.0 Cooperative Capstone Course," which will reimburse the district for the purchase of a 95-MSB2AB Skill Boss Smart Factory, with hand tool package; three software licenses; a tabletop mechatronics learning system; three elearning curriculum leases; and the multimedia curriculum and instructor resources kit with instructor training.

For more information and learn about the next round of WFF grants, please visit http://wisconsinfastforward.com/wff_standard.htm