BRIDGES in Ashe, Alleghany and Wilkes Counties
BRIDGES (Building REAL Interest in Developing Greater Entrepreneurship Systems) will 1) provide quality professional development for teachers in pilot high schools and their feeder middle schools in Ashe, Alleghany and Wilkes counties to prepare them to teach entrepreneurship and infuse entrepreneurship skill sets into courses and projects and will 2) bridges the communities more intentionally to the schools with opportunities and add value to entrepreneurship education.
The project will work in two areas: Teachers in pilot high schools and their feeder middle schools from the three counties will benefit initially from entrepreneurship training, including local information about community resources, emerging industry clusters, and community support. The school/community college/community partnership will benefit from strengthened collaboration among the schools, communities and Wilkes Community College. Students will benefit from entrepreneurship education and value-added experiences in the community. The communities themselves will be the ultimate recipients of better qualified youth recognizing opportunities within the counties.
BRIGES is a grant funded by GoldenLEAF Foundation. NC REAL will partner with Wilkes Community College, Ashe, Alleghany and Wilkes County Schools, NC Department of Education, LEARN NC, and ConnectInc.
