High school students can earn free college credits while enrolled in Luzerne County’s three career and technical centers.
Luzerne County Community College on Wednesday officially launched the LCCC Career & Technology Academy, in partnership with the Hazleton Area Career Center, Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center and West Side Career and Technology Center.
The academy allows high school students to earn college credits free of charge through a $1 million Dual Credit Innovation Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and $150,000 in private scholarship support.
The initiative aims to transform workforce development in the region by "creating accessible, affordable and high-impact educational pathways for students pursuing skilled trades," according to LCCC.
“Today, we dispel the myth that students gifted in skilled trades don’t have a path to college,” LCCC President John Yudichak said in a news release. “With the Career & Technology Academy, we are empowering over 2,000 CTC students across Luzerne County to earn post-secondary credentials while still in high school. It’s a bold, necessary innovation that will transform our regional economy and individual lives.”
The $1 million state grant will fund tuition, upgrade LCCC’s Advanced Technology Center and expand lab space for high-demand programs such as welding, HVAC and electrical technology.
The academy’s first class included 27 students who attended LCCC in the spring at no cost, thanks to a $100,000 William Rinaldi Career & Technology Academy Scholarship and the $50,000 Joseph Yudichak Career Pathway Scholarship provided through the Luzerne Foundation.
“This is a first-of-its-kind partnership,” Thomas Duffy, chief administrator of West Side CTC, said in the release. “By centralizing resources and leveraging the strengths of all three CTCs with LCCC, we’re creating unprecedented opportunities for our students.”
Anthony Guariglia, administrative director at Wilkes-Barre Area CTC, highlighted the “real-world confidence” the model provides.
“Students get to transition to college-level courses with their peers and build on skills they’ve already mastered,” he said in the release. “It gives them the confidence to succeed in college and beyond.”
Brian Uplinger, Hazleton Area superintendent, pointed out how the program relieves capacity issues at overcrowded CTCs.
“We have limited seats,” he said in the release. “This program opens up opportunities for more students to participate in CTC training by moving some students to LCCC.”
