TradesNKY is expanding its hands-on middle school BUILD curriculum into additional Northern Kentucky schools through a new partnership supported by American Rescue Plan Act funding.
The expansion includes Holmes Middle School and the four middle schools within Kenton County School District, significantly growing student access to career exploration and skilled trades education across the region.
The BUILD curriculum introduces students to the wide range of careers involved in building and maintaining communities, including construction, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, engineering, and other skilled trades.
“This expansion represents another major step forward in building strong workforce pathways for students across Northern Kentucky,” said Phil Griffin, co-founder of TradesNKY. “We know there is tremendous demand for skilled trades professionals throughout our region, and these partnerships allow students to begin exploring those opportunities earlier through hands-on experiences.”
The program provides schools with TradesNKY’s proprietary curriculum focused on trades career pathways that fall into the BUILD curriculum through project-based, hands-on learning experiences. The initiative is designed to introduce students to high-demand career opportunities while helping schools strengthen workforce readiness efforts at an earlier age.
Through the partnership, participating schools will receive one-time start-up funding to help convert classroom spaces into hands-on learning labs equipped for construction and trades instruction. Funding will also support equipment purchases, classroom furnishings and one year of consumable materials needed to launch the program.
Schools participating in the program will designate teachers to lead instruction and complete specialized professional development training facilitated by TradesNKY during the summer of 2026. TradesNKY will also provide ongoing support, curriculum resources, instructor collaboration opportunities and connections to local industry partners for guest speakers, site visits and workforce experiences.
TradesNKY leaders said the ARPA funding is especially meaningful for schools like Holmes Middle School, which previously did not have funding available to implement the curriculum.
Participating schools will also work closely with TradesNKY to track student participation and outcomes, helping measure the program’s impact and future growth opportunities.
TradesNKY