Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will receive a grant from global financial services firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. to expand access to economic opportunity for thousands of young people. This is  part of an effort in the Greater Washington region to help meet the growing demand for skilled workers by aligning education and training with technology careers.

The grant comes as part of a $6 million investment by JPMorgan Chase that will benefit five school districts in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., as well as local community colleges and universities. The grant will allow school districts to partner with local colleges and universities to design educational pathways that connect postsecondary degrees, certifications and real-world work experiences to high-demand careers in technology. MCPS, in partnership with Montgomery College and the Universities at Shady Grove, will receive approximately $800,000 over four years.

“It is our job to offer every opportunity we can to the kids that walk through our front doors,” said Superintendent Jack R. Smith. “Career and technical education programs have proven to better prepare young people for the road that lies ahead and we’re proud to partner with JPMorgan Chase to do just that.”

As the regional economy grows, these investments are designed to increase the number of graduates from public high schools, community colleges and universities with clear opportunities to secure well-paying local technology jobs.

“We have a responsibility to build a better future for the region’s young people,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co. “This investment is a good example of how the public and private sectors can work together to create opportunity for more people and grow the local economy so that everyone benefits.”

Over the next four years, JPMorgan Chase’s New Skills for Youth initiative will support three key innovations in the region:

• Strengthen employer input into education programs by supporting the Greater Washington Partnership efforts to create a region-wide system for collecting information from employers and disseminating it to schools.

• Build and strengthen career pathway programs across five jurisdictions that connect with colleges and universities to give students the credentials they need to fill high growth, in-demand technology jobs.

• Facilitate a regional collaboration network, led by Education Strategy Group, that enables schools to work together to learn from best practices, design regional strategies, and leverage their collective strengths.

The investment will help to launch 16 new and revised high-quality, demand-driven IT career pathways for thousands of area students in high school through college. This initiative aims to result in:

• More young people in the region, particularly underrepresented populations, achieving career and economic success, with 3,200 more students participating in career pathway programs that connect with careers in fields including computer science and cybersecurity.

• Employers providing 2,200 internships for students in IT career pathways.

• A new system that enables educators to use regional labor market data on an ongoing basis to ensure that career pathways are aligned with employer demand.

The initiative builds on existing efforts in the region to create stronger connections between education and employment.

Read the JP Morgan Chase press release