HISTORY

In the fall of 2003, interest in pursuing the idea of a regional career and technical center grew from a meeting between the King William Business Association and the King William High School CTE Advisory Council. Following several work sessions involving school divisions in the Middle Peninsula area in the spring of 2004, a steering committee, which included members from the school systems and businesses in each community, began to investigate the feasibility of a collaborative effort to establish a CTE center in a central location. This group worked together for the next two years gathering support for the effort and working out plans to share resources. The primary goal remained to establish CTE programs in closer proximity to students in rural communities as well as the opportunity for adult education through evening programming.

The Bridging Communities Foundation became a reality in 2005. In 2006, a budget amendment authorized a grant of $200,000 from the General Assembly for research and planning contingent on the approval of a comprehensive plan by VDOE, the money was awarded in 2008 and planning for the Bridging Communities Regional CTE Center was under way. Rappahannock Community College became a partner in the project by donating land and offering dual-enrollment opportunities for courses. A feasibility study provided the necessary designs for the future facility and classrooms for CTE programs. However, with the economic downfall, plans for construction of the center halted. In March of 2011, New Kent offered a plan that could establish a regional center within property which might be renovated. The effort to establish Bridging Communities was resumed with new momentum and collaboration among Charles City, King & Queen, King William, Middlesex, and New Kent school divisions. The New Kent Board of Supervisors approved the renovation of a back wing of the historic high school in October of 2011.

The opening of the Bridging Communities Regional Career and Technical Center in September of 2012 represents a remarkable collaborative effort by school systems, school board members, supervisors and business partners to ultimately provide career and technical educational opportunities to students in five high schools. This is the first regional CTE center to be established in twenty-five years in Virginia.