How much money did your Wisconsin school get in funding to incentivize career and technical education?

In Wisconsin, it's becoming more common for high schoolers to graduate as a certified nurse aide, emergency medical technician, with Intuit QuickBooks proficiency or dozens of other "industry-recognized credentials" that could be used in future jobs.

That's because the state has broad goals to make it easier for high school students to prepare for jobs in high-demand industries like health care, manufacturing, IT and business, among others. One way the state incentivizes districts to do so is by making up to $1,000 available for every student who earns a industry credential from a pre-approved list through the Career and Technical Education Incentive Grant program.

In 2022, programs that lead to certifications as assistant child care teachers, certified nurse aides and Microsoft Office specialists were among the most popular programs statewide.

The state also gives an additional $500 to students if they receive a certificate as an emergency medical responder, emergency medical technician, firefighter 1 or 2 or fire inspector. In 2022, 106 students received 158 awards — they can earn multiple — totaling $79,000.

The 2013 state law that created the program directs educators to "identify industries and occupations within the state that face workforce shortages or shortages of adequately trained, entry-level workers." Credentialing programs in K-12 schools are "designed to mitigate workforce shortages" in those industries.

The grant program is funded at $8 million annually in the 2023-25 budget, a $1.5 million annual increase over previous years. It's the largest pool of state funding the program has received since it began accepting schools' reimbursement requests in the 2014-15 school year.

How much does each school district get in CTE Incentive Grants?

Between 2020 and 2023 fiscal years, the state awarded $25.9 million in CTE Incentive grants. But the funds that one school district receives depend on which programs it puts in place.

Although CTE-focused education is a state-level push, it's up to the school district whether to invest in academic programs that lead to industry credentials. Across the 348 school districts that applied for and received the funding between 2020-23 fiscal years, the average amount received was about $74,500.

Creating credentialing programs in high schools requires investment and resources on the part of schools and educators. For example, one way schools can offer industry credentials is by setting up dual-enrollment programs that lead students to college credit. The school could also create a youth apprenticeship program, which requires connections with local employers that are willing to employ students who work for school credit and hourly wages.

Here's a look at what each K-12 public school districts received in CTE Incentive Grants from 2020-23 fiscal years.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: K-12 schools get up to $1,000 per student earning industry credentials