Kirkwood’s JREC offers free summer courses

     For the first time, Kirkwood’s Jones Regional Education Center is offering summer courses for area high school students.

     These select courses will be offered free to students who enroll, at no cost to the families or the schools.

     “We’re not taking away from the academies, but providing something different,” explained JREC Director Lisa Folken.

     This special opportunity comes from the State of Iowa and Governor Kim Reynolds’ Future Ready Iowa initiative.

     “Money will be split across community colleges in Iowa,” said Folken.

     The Governor set aside $600,000 to be split among the state’s 15 community colleges. They each had to submit proposals as to how they planned to utilize the funding. Kirkwood was one of the colleges that received funding. It will divide its share among its regional centers in Eastern Iowa.

     The courses offered were based on demand for the field of interest. The four areas of high demand JREC submitted a proposal for include:

     • Healthcare and Biosciences

     • Information Technology

     • Construction and Engineering

     • Advanced Manufacturing Production, Installation and Maintenance

     Under each area of demand, the following courses have been approved through JREC during the summer 2019:

     • Nurse Aide (CNA)

     • Computer Science

     • Construction and Engineering Internship

     • Estimating for Construction and Architecture

     The CNA course will only be offered at Kirkwood’s Coralville and Benton County centers. Computer Science and the ACE (Architecture, Construction and Engineering) Internship will be available at all Kirkwood centers.

     Each course has a maximum number of students allotted, so be sure to sign up fast before the spots run out.

     Folken said the summer programming will be open to high school students first. If room allows, registration would then be opened to the public.

     “We’re excited about this,” she said. “We want to get the word out.”

     While JREC fills up Monday through Friday during the school year, Folken added this is a chance to utilize their lab rooms during the summer.

     Each course also allows the students to gain college credit, again, free of cost.

     Each course should last about five weeks in June and July. There are certain requirements and prerequisites for each course as well.

     One exciting note about the Construction and Engineering Internship, this is an opportunity that’s not normally offered through the Kirkwood high school academies.

     “Through this summer enrollment, students will have access to high-demand areas of study,” said Folken.

     Folken said these courses were always available to Kirkwood students, but at a cost.

     To find out more about JREC’s summer enrollment opportunities, call 319-465-2302. Enrollment is through Kirkwood.