Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Career Technical Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Foundation for Applied Technical Education reports student enterprise revenues, houses and scholarships for CTE programs
Summary
FATE told the board its student enterprises generated roughly $220,000 reinvested into schools this year via grants, scholarships and student auto sales; the foundation also highlighted residential construction projects, entrepreneurship market days and hundreds of student internships across CTE programs.
The Foundation for Applied Technical Education (FATE) presented its annual update to the school board on June 23, describing revenue and education outcomes from career and technical education programs in Fairfax County.
FATE President (Johnson) and staff reported that student‑run enterprises — led by automotive and construction programs — generated approximately $220,000 that was returned to school programs via grants, scholarships and equipment. The largest single source of that revenue was the student auto‑sales program: donated vehicles are repaired by students in high school automotive programs and sold with proceeds reinvested into CTE classes across the district.
Ray Lewis, senior manager for technology education and a FATE staffer, described residential construction work run as a hands‑on job site for students; FATE has completed and sold multiple houses through its program and has projects in the pipeline. The group said they are pursuing land and partnerships for future sites but noted Fairfax County’s land costs and constraints make long‑term scaling challenging.
FATE also highlighted entrepreneurship grants and market‑day events that fund teacher‑led classroom projects and student businesses, and reported more than $18,000 in scholarships to graduating students this year. The foundation said those scholarships, grants and the vehicle program have an outsized educational impact by enabling equipment purchases, field trips, credentialing and real‑world work‑based learning experiences.
Board members praised the presentations and asked about partnerships with the county and workforce pipelines; FATE leaders said they are expanding industry partnerships (builders, unions and dealerships), increasing apprenticeship opportunities and exploring site‑sharing with county initiatives to expand residential construction training.
The board did not take action but expressed support for continued collaboration between FATE, FCPS and county partners to sustain CTE pathways that lead directly to employment and credentials.
