BLOOMINGDALE — The Jefferson County Joint Vocational School has obtained federal funding for an estimated $1 million plan to further educational opportunities for its students.

The school received $854,842 under the 023 Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program that is administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. The grant will connect the JVS to other educational institutions and help upgrade the facility with high-tech tools to support networking.

“The total amount of our project is $1,011,647 and the school must match at least 15 percent of the total,” said Ron Peach, the school’s technology coordinator. “Our matching contribution came to $156,805.”

The project itself consists of building-wide technology upgrades that will provide distance-learning capabilities to other schools and universities in every lab and classroom, as well as some common areas such as the cafeteria and the training room. As part of the plan, partnerships have been formed with the St. Louis University School of Medicine, a representative of Salon Centric, West Virginia Northern Community College and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department with chances to form future alliances, as well.

He added that each classroom will receive at least an 89-inch interactive video display with advanced software and internet capabilities plus an attached camera for distance education. The goal is to enhance instruction for students in all academic and vocational programs, from core subjects to the JVS’s 16 hands-on courses: Animal science management, auto body collision, auto service technology, carpentry, computer network technologies, cosmetology, criminal justice, culinary arts, early childhood education, electrical trades, health technologies, heavy equipment operator, multimedia and design, power mechanics, Transition To Work and welding.

Meanwhile, Peach said the grant has a lengthy application process that is very difficult and time consuming, and it used upward of 300 pages of information which took months to compile. He believed this was the first time the JVS applied for the funding and was relieved to see the funding realized.

“I am currently serving my eighth year at the JVS and as far as I know, this is definitely one of the largest grants we have received,” he continued. “I’m thrilled that we have been awarded this grant.”

JVS Superintendent Todd Phillipson was equally excited to learn of the allocation, saying it would expand students’ learning capabilities even more.

“It was great news when found out that we are receiving the grant, which will help us to make some major upgrades and improvements in the schools’ technology,” Phillipson added. “These upgrades will benefit both teachers and students of the JVS.”