South school briefs: Dakota County college gets grant

The Minnesota Advanced Manufacturing Partnership has been chosen to receive a $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to provide training.

The manufacturing partnership group is a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities consortium that includes Dakota County Technical College. The college will receive $887,000 to pay for classes in welding technology and mechatronics, a field related to engineering and robotics.

The consortium was started to help close the state's skills gap by creating a structure to support advanced manufacturing education that emphasizes a standard curriculum, and to support apprenticeships and other educational opportunities.

The Community Service Club at Harriet Bishop Elementary in Savage has been such a success that it is expanding to other schools.

The club, founded by fifth-grader Shrey Pothini, has been a hit with students and has completed many community service projects. Last year Pothini set a goal of expanding it to all nine district elementary schools.

With help from his mom, Pothini received a $25,000 grant from State Farm to fund the club's expansion. He believes kids shouldn't have to wait until they are older to make a difference.

The money will go toward buying supplies and covering other expenses as the new clubs get off the ground.

The Burnsville district is partnering with the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce and the City of Burnsville to hold the second annual Real-World Ready Career Day on Oct. 22 at Burnsville High School.

The event's purpose is twofold: to increase students' awareness of career opportunities that exist and to help businesses address their workforce issues.

This year's event will start with a presentation on entrepreneurship by a Burnsville graduate who owns a landscape supply company.

Students will be able to talk with local business owners and representatives at a career fair after the presentation. Last year, 21 businesses were in attendance.

After the fair, some students will visit four local businesses, where they will get a tour and discuss different fields and what kind of education they need to follow those paths.

In 1974, the Minnesota Legislature funded six Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) pilot programs in Minnesota to serve young children from birth to age 5 and their families.

Today, those programs have expanded exponentially and serve thousands of families statewide. To celebrate 40 years of ECFE in the state and 30 years of programming in Farmington, the district is sponsoring a series of events in October.

The anniversary is also being celebrated statewide during the week of Oct. 20-25.

On Friday morning, a free baby shower for new parents and babies will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Farmington Community Education, Meadowview Elementary, 6100 195th St. W. Families will receive goodies and information about resources.

On Friday night, parents and preschoolers are invited to attend a free fall festival class called "Pumpkins, Pumpkins and Pumpkins" from 6 to 7:30 p.m., also at Meadowview.