Batesville, In. — The Lumina Foundation has introduced the Community Education Coalition of Columbus and the EcO Network as “talent Hubs.” The organizations earned the designation by meeting very strict standards for creating environments that attract, retain and cultivate talent, particularly among people of color, first in families to attend college and those in low-income homes.
The 17 communities designated as Talent Hubs are: Albuquerque, N.M.; Austin, Texas; Boston; Cincinnati; Columbus/Southeast Ind.; Dayton, Ohio; Denver; Fresno, Calif.; Los Angeles; Louisville, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn.; New York; Philadelphia; Racine, Wis.; Richmond, Va.; Shasta County, Calif.; and Tulsa, Okla.
“These communities are the creative and entrepreneurial engines that power our nation,” said Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation. “For our country to meet growing demand for an educated workforce, we must bolster community-based efforts that are tightly focused on increasing the numbers of people in cities across the country with education and training beyond high school.”
The EcO Network, through its education partners, has dramatically expanded middle school through grade 16 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education program enrollments related to advanced manufacturing and healthcare. Additionally, access to high-quality postsecondary certifications and degree programs have been significantly enhanced by investments from the EcO Network, including the operation of twenty-three technology labs in the region. Engineering and technology programs in Ripley County take place through Batesville Community School Corporation, South Ripley Community School Corporation, Jac-Cen-Del Community School Corporation, Milan Community School Corporation, Southeastern Career Center, and Ivy Tech Community College.
The EcO Network will be eligible for grant funding of $350,000 from Lumina over 42 months. The grant will be tied to the achievement of goals outlined by the regional advisory team. The overall effort connects to Goal 2025, a national goal established by Lumina Foundation, and adopted by Indiana. Goal 2025 seeks to increase the percentage of Americans with high-quality credentials and degrees to 60 percent by the year 2025. The educational attainment rate is 30.6% in the ten EcO Network Counties of Southeast Indiana, including Bartholomew County at 42% as compared to the State of Indiana at 35%. A short-term goal has been set by the EcO Attainment Network to increase the post-secondary attainment percentage to 35.2% by 2020.
Grant funding will support local efforts to educate more people, allowing community and postsecondary leaders to better meet the specific needs of residents. Lumina will provide these funds in partnership with the Kresge Foundation. Kresge’s support for Talent Hubs comes from its national Education Program, which includes a focus on aligning and strengthening urban higher education ecosystems to help more low-income, under-represented and minority students gain access to and succeed in higher education.
Jan Holm, CI Manager of Batesville Tool and Die says, “The EcO Network has provided a model for how communities can form networks of industry, education, economic development, government and private organizations and by working together, we can make real and sustainable progress in developing an educated and skilled workforce ready to meet our industry employment needs.”
The EcO Network includes Bartholomew, Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland Counties.
