Lapeer Community Schools (LCS) is proud to be among the latest Marshall Plan for Talent Innovation grant recipients. The nearly $14 million in grants, announced on Friday, will be shared among 13 talent consortia and over 500 entities. Consortia shaped their applications around five key high-demand, high-wage sectors: healthcare, information technology/computer science, manufacturing, and other professional trades.

The Great Lakes Advanced Manufacturing Consortium, including entities from, Lapeer, Genesee, Huron, Lenawee and Sanilac Counties, will receive $3 million – the largest share of the overall award. Of that total, $500,000 will be granted to Lapeer Community Schools. Funds will be used to purchase equipment, ensure quality professional development and set up a shared STEM trailer to enrich individual site programs. All programming will be problem-based and focus on advanced manufacturing learning opportunities for students.

 “This is a crucial investment in the future of Lapeer, our schools and our entire community,” said LCS Superintendent Matt Wandrie. “This is also a testament to what can be accomplished when we share our resources for the betterment of our entire state.”

Students will have increased access to industry standard equipment and more opportunities to earn credentials that will provide them with post-secondary experiences in growing, highly-technical, fields like CNC and robotics. 

“Fundamentally, the aim is to create well-rounded learners with transferable, lifelong skills,” said Jaime Ratliff, the District’s STEM Coordinator. “This is a major step toward fulfilling that goal on a much larger scale.”

Marshall Plan for Talent was signed into law on June 26, 2018, to improve the talent pipeline in Michigan. The focus of the Marshall Plan is two-fold: to build meaningful partnerships between business and education and develop innovative programming that can best prepare students for high-demand, high-wage careers. Since December 2018, $29 million has been awarded to entities across Michigan.