ACC, AISD Dedicate Automotive Center

Austin, Texas – April 2, 2008 - The Austin Community College District (ACC) and Austin Independent School District (AISD) dedicated a new automotive training center Tuesday at Crockett High School that will help address the region’s shortage of skilled auto workers.

More than 100 people, including automotive industry leaders, turned out to dedicate the Crockett-ACC Automotive Center. The ACC-AISD partnership in the $2.4 million renovation project opens doors to students as early as ninth grade so they can begin earning college credit and learning valuable technical skills needed to enter the high-wage industry.

“ACC and AISD are increasingly recognized as the gold standard among Texas community colleges and public school districts for the types of partnerships we have,” Dr. Stephen B. Kinslow, president/CEO of ACC, told the audience.

He noted that AISD is the largest partner in ACC’s College Connection and Early College Start programs aimed at transitioning greater numbers of students into college. “We now have thousands of students across Central Texas who are discovering they are college material and college is part of their future,” Kinslow said.

AISD Superintendent Dr. Pat Forgione praised leaders for investing in the state-of-the-art facility, which includes $400,000 in equipment upgrades.

“This is about the education of our children so they’ll have the good jobs in our community,” Forgione said. “If they don’t get the high skills, they’ll make low wages in the future.”

The center holds high school classes on weekdays but is open to all residents through ACC automotive classes taught there nights and weekends. ACC has added a second two-year associate degree and a fifth certificate option for automotive students. The college’s newest automotive program of study, Auto Collision Repair and Refinishing, is based at the center.

“This facility means a lot of different things for different people,” said Alyssa Wilson, an automotive technology student at Crockett High School. “For me, it’s a classroom that includes the tools I can use for the rest of my life.”

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