.png)
NEWPORT — Newport High School’s Career and Technical Education Program was recently awarded a $144,200 Career Preparation and Launch Grant from the state to purchase its own driving simulator.
The school previously relied on a driving simulator loaned from the Educational Service District, program director Saraya Pierce wrote in a news release. This grant allows the school to purchase a permanent, high-tech simulator, which will remain in the district.
The purpose of this grant is the purchase and installation of CTE equipment like a driving simulator that expands career-connected and work-integrated learning opportunities. According to the news release, such equipment is not limited to longhaul trucking, featuring modules for fire trucks, ambulances, forklifts, excavators and timber cranes. Through this investment, Newport students may gain hands-on experience and industry confidence across multiple, high-demand fields before they even graduate.
This year, the school’s Commercial Driver’s License Preparation course has expanded to include 12 Newport students, including one enrolled from Garfield Palouse, and nine Colville High School students.
The program uses a hybrid learning model: from their respective school libraries, students Zoom in for instruction from state Department of Transportation and CTE-certified instructor for Drive509 in Spokane. By graduation, these students will have completed about 80 of their required 160 hours, allowing them to finish their “behind-the-wheel” training just two weeks post-graduation at a reduced tuition cost. Furthermore, the partnership with Colville has lowered costs for Newport — a trend the district expects to continue as more schools join the initiative.
