Our Challenge
In order to fulfill the vision of the Graham Higher Education
Board and the vision of community leaders the community college service area
needed to be evaluated. Community college service areas can be deregulated
through the Texas legislature. So in the 79th Session of the Texas Legislature
the legislative team of Alice Ann Street, Dr. Beau Rees, and Neal Blanton worked
with Representative Rick Hardcastle and Senator Craig Estes and successfully had the Graham Independent
School District service area opened. This endeavor
has allowed for any community college to be able to offer classes in Graham
without having to ask permission from the service area provider.
Next in this process was to acquire the Shawnee Elementary campus as the main
campus for the Graham Education & Workforce Center. Knowledge Base Foundation -
a local foundation became the source for renovating the former elementary
school. The campus houses the Texas Workforce Commission - local office of
Workforce Resource, distance learning classrooms, face to face classrooms,
computer labs, and administrative offices for the Center.
Next door to the main campus is the Former Graham Public Library. Our vision includes renovating this facility and creating an Allied Health Facility for Allied Health programs including an Associates Degree of Nursing.
Daily our challenge is to meet the needs of our community and
the surrounding areas. We realize the need for our citizens to received
life long learning opportunities in a location convenient to their homes.
The Center welcomes input and ideas that will continue our vision of
fulfilling the promise.