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Consider it a sign of the times.
The Omaha Public Schools is seeking a $75,000 grant to develop curriculums to teach students at its Career Center about green technologies, from green construction techniques to hybrid automobile maintenance.
One proposed feature, if the district gets the grant, would be construction of a learning lab that would model green home construction technologies. Another would be creation of energy conservation and weatherization workshops that would train students to walk through homes and give owners ideas for improving energy efficiency.
The application comes at a time when President Barack Obama is touting green technologies and the U.S. Department of Labor is forecasting growth in green jobs. Locally, a group of labor organizations, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, just opened the nation’s second wind power training facility, near 89th and L Streets, with a green jobs grant OK’d by the governor.
Ken Spellman, the OPS career education coordinator, said developing programs involving green technologies “has been on our minds for quite a while.”
The grant would come from a pool of federal money that long has been directed to states for job training and career programs. In recent years, administrators of the federal program have encouraged a focus on higher-wage, higher-demand jobs and innovation.
Some $300,000 is available. The average grant size is expected to be $25,000. Spellman said the district is seeking a higher amount because the career center serves seven OPS high schools, enrolling more than 600 students.
Grants are to be awarded in December. Part of the money would be devoted to getting teachers up to speed in these fields. The programs would be developed next semester.
Career center staff focused on construction technologies because a large number of the green jobs expected to be in demand are construction-related. The learning lab would allow instructors to teach students about a variety of green construction techniques. For the energy conservation workshops, the center is looking to team up with Metropolitan Community College. Students equipped with such knowledge could recommend energy efficiency improvements to homeowners as part of a service learning project.
The center also is interested in working with the electrical union on wind turbines and with area utilities on alternative fuel vehicles, particularly hybrid electric cars. “Our advisory board says we need to prepare kids because they’re seeing them in their shops,” Spellman said.
Other potential options include programs to familiarize students in health care fields to use electronic medical records and to teach automotive students about recycling oil and other fluids.
Contact the writer:
444-1223, julie.anderson@owh.com
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