$100K Grant Extends, Expands Trades Education In Toms River Schools

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Regional School District has received a $100,000 grant from the United Way of Monmouth and Ocean Counties to extend and expand a program that offers career and technical education in the construction trades.

The program, titled Project SPEAR-IT, has been hosted at Toms River High School South since 2019, but under the grant will be extended there and expanded to Toms River North, the school district said. The award funds the program through the 2024-25 school year, the district said.

SPEAR-IT was started with a grant from the United Way's Youth Career Pathways program, and has grown even as the pandemic halted the in-person, hands-on training on which the program largely relies.

It began as a pre-apprenticeship program that teaches the trades — electrical work, cutting, measuring, hand tools, design, and much more — to freshmen and sophomores. Lead teacher Timothy O'Leary allowed his students a say in their work, and they responded with ideas that largely benefited their school and community, such as refurbishing the school's softball field benches and building lifeguard stands for Ortley Beach.

"It's been an amazing success," said Superintendent Michael Citta, who oversaw the program's start while he was principal at Toms River South. "We are so excited to announce the expansion of this program, and without the support of the United Way, none of this could be done."

"We've watched from afar as SPEAR-IT has experienced success at South, and I'm thrilled for our current and future North students that we're going to bring this program here," said Ed Keller, principal at Toms River North. "We're extremely grateful to United Way of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, and I cannot wait to see what our students do with this opportunity."

"Three years ago we started out with a $30,000 grant, and we have just continued our partnership," United Way CEO Lori McClane said. "Not just at High School South and High School North, but we hope that we’ll be able to share this experience with the rest of the community."

The grant funding will support creation of the new site space at Toms River North, a stronger electrical infrastructure for the space at South, hand tools and equipment, staff and student certifications, and real-world student learning experiences and field trips.

Through strong curriculum writing and continued implementation, the district plans to make SPEAR-IT fully sustainable by the end of the new grant period, including having it approved as a program of study for continued Perkins-based CTE funding.