State Board Awards GRCC Centers of Excellence In Education Funding

The State Board of Community and Technical Colleges has awarded Green River Community College $99,000 to establish a Center of Excellence in Education. GRCC will have the first, and only, Center of Excellence in Education in Washington State.

Centers of Excellence are required to serve two purposes: 1) provide support in their expertise area to all community and technical colleges in Washington; 2) operate as “one stop shopping centers” for a given industry. The state board acknowledged that Green River is already operating in many ways as a Center of Excellence in Education, as evidenced by our strong early childhood education programs, Para-educator program, Project TEACH academic transfer program, and partner program for teacher certification with Central Washington University.

The Center of Excellence funding will allow GRCC to establish a new integrated STARS (training for childcare providers) and ABE course, as well as to design specific developmental math assistance for Para-educators. According to Leslie Heizer, Project TEACH Director, “We’re honored to have received this funding and title from the state board and look forward to continuing to fulfill our role as the leader in innovative education programs at community colleges.”