The robotics program at Career and Technology Education Centers (C-TEC) High School has received $1.5 million in funding from Ohio’s Straight A Fund, a $250 million grant pool created by Gov. John Kasich to foster educational innovation. C-TEC says $1.2 million is reserved for equipment upgrades and the remainder will be used to upgrade the Robotics and Automated Manufacturing lab. “It’s huge. We are very, very thrilled,” says Brian Wilfong, C-TEC marketing and recruitment coordinator.. “C-TEC’s mission statement is to promote workforce development and to be a premier workforce provider, and this gives us yet another edge in making that happen.” C-TEC applied for the grant as part of the Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing Technology Education Collaborative (RAMTEC), a group of nine career centers throughout Ohio. Wilfong adds, “The stats keep coming out, and they keep saying the same thing: Graduates in those practical application areas are more quickly hired and usually better compensated. It’s a technological and it’s an automated world.” RAMTEC recently received $14.99 million through the Straight A Fund, allowing it to continue the vision of addressing the skills gap by preparing high school and adult students with advanced manufacturing and engineering skills. “Ohio’s Straight A Fund has given a big boost to the most innovative of Ohio’s local school districts who recognize that it takes bold, new approaches to equip our students for a more demanding workplace,” says Richard A. Ross, Ohio’s superintendent of public instruction. “Districts collaboration on these creative projects tells me we are becoming more cost-efficient.”