The Southwest Iowa Technical Career Hub (SWITCH) is the initial vision of the East Mills Community School District (CSD), which found a repurpose for the elementary school near Hastings, Iowa, that would become temporarily vacant after voters passed a $22 million bond to establish a K-12 school in Malvern, Iowa. Stakeholders found educational partners to govern and guide the concept of transitioning the Hastings facility into a vocational trade school.
A group of invested citizens, along with the East Mills CSD, the East Mills School Board, Iowa Western Community College (IWCC), iJAG (Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates), and a philanthropic group toured the Hastings campus and agreed that the facility would be able to serve the southwest Iowa region as a vocational or Career and Technical Education (CTE) school. The group began working toward establishing a non-profit organization, hiring a director, and developing the CTE center in Hastings. East Mills CSD currently owns the building and intends to sell or lease the campus to SWITCH once they have vacated it completely, which may occur as early as July 2024 or as late as September 2024.
SWITCH’s scope of work proposes one task and four activities focused on providing application-based, proactive technical skills for growth and development in an area with decreasing availability of qualified workers to support specific regional sectors of business and industry.
Mission Statement
Provide vocational training to Southwest Iowa's life-long learners.
Values Statement
By providing transformational career and technical education (CTE), we empower Southwest Iowa's life-long learners through life-changing experiences which connect CTE students to business trade opportunities, thereby building hope for socioeconomic change for everyone involved.
Partners
Green Hills Area Education Agency (AEA)
Our mission is to serve - support - advocate
Through a collective impact, Green Hills AEA will be a world-class organization that unleashes dreams, uses our talents, to challenge the status quo, and creates and nurtures partnerships to ensure all individuals are future ready.
Green Hills AEA's core values include building relationships, leading through service, continuous learning, and acting on data.
The Iowa Authentic Learning Network (Iowa ALN) is a professional learning network hosted by the Iowa AEAs for educators that are passionate about creating more authentic learning opportunities with area partners for Iowa students.
The Iowa Clearinghouse for Work-Based Learning connects students and employers through shared projects that give students professional and authentic learning experience.
Educational Partner
Avenue Scholars SWI, the leader in bridging the gap between education and business, guarantees careers for our youth of hope and need through supportive relationships, individualized coaching, education, and training. Avenue Scholars Southwest Iowa is focused on providing comprehensive, individualized support services to help Southwest Iowa students identify, prepare for, and ultimately enter financially sustaining, high-demand careers. Avenue Scholars Southwest Iowa is committed to developing a talent pipeline of skilled professionals to enter the regional workforce and ultimately bolster the economy.
