PRAIRIE GROVE -- A $12,000 United Way grant will empower Prairie Grove High School through its Conversion Charter program to train students in nursing skills.
According to the Prairie Grove superintendent's office, while Prairie Grove was getting a certified nursing assistant program for its conversion charter, Carmel Perry, director of the district's coordinated health program, applied for the grant. The final award went up a little bit from the initial proposal.
United Way of Northwest Arkansas awarded 38 two-year grants totaling about $2.9 million in June to 31 organizations in the area. The funding is part of United Way's program called Children Living in Poverty with a stated goal "to create a pathway out of poverty for every child in Northwest Arkansas."
Prairie Grove will receive $6,000 the first year and $6,000 the second year. The funds will be used to pay for materials and supplies for the CNA program, which starts this year. The classes will be located in the building that once housed second grade. The rest of the building has been demolished.
In February of 2016, the district submitted a letter of intent to establish a conversion public charter school in order to offer career and technical courses that lead to business and industry certification for juniors and seniors. The strategy is to give students an opportunity to graduate from high school with a diploma that demonstrates they have skills to pursue immediate employment or future education or training.
United Way received 56 letters of inquiry about the grant program and 41 were invited to submit applications. A panel of 34 community volunteers rated and scored the applications and selected 38 to be funded, according to Melody Timinsky, vice president of community impact.
General News on 08/09/2017