Nov. 5, 2008
 

LIVINGSTON, Ala.--The University of West Alabama’s Division of Outreach Services and the Sumter County Board of Education recently received a $200,000 competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish an elective program strengthening high school students’ science and technology skills and exploring careers in the transportation industry.

Sumter County Superintendent Fred Primm and UWA President Richard D. Holland established the Sumter County Transportation Academy through a partnership between the school system and the University, while John McCarter and Kenneth Walker, standing, were instrumental in securing a federal grant to support the program.

Beginning in January 2009, 26 students from Livingston High and Sumter County High will enroll in the Sumter County Transportation Academy, focusing each semester on a specific mode of transportation – water, air and land – and discovering the career options found in our nation’s dynamic transportation industry. 
 
“The overarching goals of this program include encouraging students to pursue rewarding careers in transportation and giving them the capacity to obtain the post-secondary education needed to realize their dreams,” said John McCarter, UWA workforce development manager.
 
Every student in the program will receive a laptop computer to aid them in their studies. In addition, class field trips will include the Birmingham International Airport, the Port of Mobile and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to view firsthand where national transportation funding originates.
 
“Because of where we live, our students are sometimes not exposed to a variety of promising career paths,” said Sumter County Superintendent Fred Primm. “The Transportation Academy is exciting for our students because it allows them another avenue of exposure.
 
“The school district always enjoys partnering with UWA as we solidify our relationship and improve the education offered in Sumter County and the Black Belt,” Primm continued.
 
McCarter says the multidisciplinary Transportation Academy will give the students a historical perspective on the development of the nation’s transportation systems, while also exploring the technologies and careers that make the whole system work.
 
“We will study careers such as pilots and train engineers, but we’ll also concentrate on many of the behind the scenes operators, including traffic planners, logistics planners, importers/exporters and options in military transport careers,” McCarter said.
 
“Partnerships between UWA and the Sumter County School District are natural connections, and we are excited about the technology training and travel opportunities this program will afford the students,” he continued.
 
The Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Education Program grant will fund the Transportation Academy for two years, but McCarter says he expects to secure this funding again to continue the program.
 
Participants will take the Transportation Academy elective for four consecutive semesters beginning in the second semester of their 10th grade year. Sumter County high school students interested in participating in this program should contact their guidance counselors to apply. 

For more information about the Transportation Academy, please contact John McCarter at 205-652-3857 or jmccarter@uwa.edu.