COPPERAS COVE, TX (February 14, 2023)—More than $300,000 in Texas Jobs and Education for Texans grants will add to the continually expanding list of certifications that students at Copperas Cove High School are able to obtain so they are college and career ready beyond high school.
Copperas Cove High School received a grant for $175,522 to further train students in the manufacturing career pathway. The grant funding will help purchase and install equipment to initially serve 208 students, providing training in the occupation of Packaging & Filling Machine Operators and Tenders.
“We plan to utilize the equipment for students to learn fundamental robot operation and programming as well as various industrial applications surrounding robotics such as sensors, electrical controls, pneumatics, vision, and more,” CCHS Career Technology Education Coordinator Sandra Perry said. “From basic robot and industrial safety procedures to the most commonly found robot programming functions, students get hands-on experience on industry's most popular technologies.”
The robot cart will expand students' experience in principles of engineering courses, basic electricity courses, sensors, pneumatics and more and will prepare students for industry micro credentials around robotics and automation.
CenTex Technologies President and CEO Abdul Subhani submitted a letter of recommendation for CCHS to be awarded the grant.
“This type of resource can be invaluable for the students of CCHS to better understand, train, and use as part of their growth in the Manufacturing programs. The benefits for students are learning that careers in manufacturing involve innovation and there are a diversity of technologies and opportunities available to them,” Subhani said. “Earning certifications in high school gives students the opportunity to be more diversified in technology and makes them more marketable in the industry.”
Students will have opportunity to earn certifications as a Robot Operator I, Mastercam Associate Level Certificate, Industrial Maintenance Mechanic, and Industrial Technology Maintenance-Maintenance Operations.
“Advanced Manufacturing and Machinery mechanics focus on the assembly, operation, maintenance, and repair of electromechanical equipment or devices,” Subhani said. "After the students complete their programs of study, they may work in a variety of mechanical fields, gaining knowledge and experience in robotics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and industrial engineering.”
CCHS also received a $136,325 grant to help purchase and install equipment to initially serve 183 students, providing training in the occupations of Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse.
“In our plant science program, students will have the ability to learn greenhouse operation and management by learning the concepts of the greenhouse industry, growing structures, plant science basics, plant growth and propagation, plant health, and greenhouse basic management,” Perry said. “Math and Science classes can analyze data by graphing, temperature setting, data collection, and width and height measurements that are involved in a functioning greenhouse.”
Copperas Cove ISD expects to break ground on the greenhouse this Spring. Students will be able to work both in the greenhouse and the robotic manufacturing operation in the 2023-2024 school year. CCISD was the only Central Texas school to receive JET grants.
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