CPPS to begin 21st Century learning centers
By Terry Murry on Friday, March 12th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
COLLEGE PLACE – College Place Public Schools is awarded a $1.8 million grant from the Nita M. Lowery 21st Century Learning Center program. The learning centers will be established at all three schools in College Place and will open this summer. The funding is to cover five years of operations.
CPPS has hired Martin Fortney as the learning center program director. He was the site coordinator of the same program at Pioneer Middle School in Walla Walla for more than eight years and has developed several programs that have proven successful there.
The program offers federal funding to establish community learning centers that provide academic, artistic, and cultural enrichment opportunities during non-school hours. It is particularly aimed at students who are enrolled at high-poverty and low-performing schools in order to bring students up to state and local standards. The College Place program will focus on English language arts and mathematics.
“I am excited to transition to College Place in this new role,” Fortney stated. “We are going to be able to provide more enrichment and experiential learning programs to students and families in the valley who previously did not have access to the high-quality 21st Century programs offered in Walla Walla.”
