Westminster Community Foundation donates to local schools for career training

WESTMINSTER — The Westminster Community Foundation recently gave $35,000 to the Westminster Public Schools Foundation to support career and STEM programming at the Ranum Reimagined campus. The donation will be used to offset the costs of tools, supplies, and equipment, and is offered as a challenge to others to similarly donate.

“One of WCF’s top priorities is youth development. Ranum Reimagined is a vision for the future, where K-12, higher education, and industry work collaboratively to prepare students for a pathway to success,” Natalie Martinez, WCF’s executive director, said in a news release.

Students can enroll in career and technical education and science, technology, engineering and math courses, earning both their high school diploma and college credit and/or industry certificates, the release said. With that diploma, students can begin lucrative careers, continue their technical education, or attend college.

“CTE students are more likely to graduate from high school, and over 75 percent continue their educational journey.  Colorado’s numbers are higher,” Martinez explained in the release. 

Ranum’s pathways are designed to meet Westminster’s specific needs, ensuring students and adult learners are equipped with the skills and knowledge important to the local job market, the release said. They will include advanced manufacturing, health and biotechnology sciences, construction engineering, cyber security, aviation engineering and drone technology, and more.  These programs require state-of-the-art equipment that is very costly.

“As our country’s manufacturing sector grows and modernizes and we face critical labor shortages, the Iver C. Ranum Campus is a game changer for Westminster Public School students,” Martinez said in the release.