Google’s billion-dollar announcement comes with $100K for NKC schools; Here’s how they’ll use it
March 20, 2024 | Taylor Wilmore
A $1 billion Google data center will begin impacting Kansas City before the tech giant officially opens its new facility in 2025, company and local officials said Wednesday, announcing a $100,000 investment to support North Kansas City schools.
“This partnership is more than just about technology, It’s about empowerment,” said Dr. Rochel Daniels, school district superintendent at North Kansas City, Wednesday morning during an announcement event with Google. “We want our more than 21,500 students to feel emboldened towards excellence, so thank you for putting your hand in ours.”
Government, community, and economic development leaders join Google in celebrating the announcement of Google’s billion-dollar data center in Kansas City; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
RELATED: Google to build $1B data center in Kansas City; aiming for 24/7 carbon-free energy use
The $100,000 contribution will go to North Kansas City School District’s alternative education STEAM center, which teaches science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
“We’re going to be very good for schools,” said Monique Picou, global vice president of cloud supply chain and operations at Google. “We need to re-skill the population that we have. These are good jobs, everything we do is above the living wage.”
North Kansas City schools already offer holistic support, real-world learning, resilience services, and comprehensive post-secondary planning for students’ success beyond their walls, officials said.
“We’re going to help make sure that we keep these students and folks interested. I am an electrical engineer by degree, so I have a lot of energy for STEAM and STEM, and want to help support that,” said Picou.
North Kansas City’s STEAM center includes a Google Career Certification Lab, a digital media studio, Innovation Fab lab, Career Exploration Labs, and more for students, giving them the building blocks to be better-prepared in their respective industries.
“The opportunity to earn a Google certification for their career in particular, will provide our students a way to earn industry recognized credentials in very high demand fields,” said Daniels.
Monique Picou, global vice president of cloud supply chain and operations for Google, announces the tech giant’s plans for a billion-dollar data center in Kansas City; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
In concert with Google’s planned build at the Hunt Midwest Business Center, it is launching the STAR (Skilled Trades and Readiness) program in Kansas City to encourage students to explore new career paths.
STAR will operate in partnership with Missouri Works Initiative and the Urban League to boost skilled trades entry-level opportunities, with a focus on underrepresented communities.
All STAR pre-employment programs are paid training with networking opportunities, facilitating direct employment on local construction projects.
“Everybody isn’t going to go straight to university and go into the advanced degrees,” said Picou. “That doesn’t mean you can’t have a really good quality of living and make a great impact on this community, so we want to make sure we’re doing that.”
Taylor Wilmore
Taylor Wilmore, hailing from Lee’s Summit, is a dedicated reporter and a recent graduate of the University of Missouri, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Taylor channels her deep-seated passion for writing and storytelling to create compelling narratives that shed light on the diverse residents of Kansas City.
Prior to her role at Startland News, Taylor made valuable contributions as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian newspaper, where she covered a wide range of community news and higher education stories.
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Video: Nonprofit wants to bring coworking, craft fairs and farmers markets to Troost
Nonprofit group Troost Market Collective hopes to revitalize a section of Troost Avenue — from 31st to Linwood — bringing a coworking space, art collective and maker spaces, as well as regular festivals and farmers markets. While other developers are busy building residential and retail space along the Troost corridor, Troost Market Collective co-founders Katie Mabry…
Troost revival: Can a brewpub, retail and 670 housing units mend racial divide?
No turning back now, Ilan Salzberg said. “This is real,” the Wonder lofts developer laughed, gesturing at the freshly installed kitchen cabinetry and hardware in a model apartment unit at 30th Street and Troost Avenue. Wonder is expected to be the first of three major residential developments to open between 27th Street and Armour Boulevard…
LaunchCode wins MIT Innovation challenge, $150K award
LaunchCode, a nonprofit that bolsters the tech workforces in St. Louis and Kansas City by offering free but rigorous coding courses, was recently recognized for its innovative approach to reinventing the future of work. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced that LaunchCode is a grand prize winner of its 2017 Inclusive Innovation Challenge, awarding the…
Pipeline receives up to $2M from Kauffman Foundation grant
Pipeline Entrepreneurs announced Tuesday that the fellowship program is deepening its relationship with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and receiving a challenge grant of more than $2 million over the next four years. The grant amount is dependent upon private fundraising with the foundation matching dollar-for-dollar, a release said. Launched in 2006, Pipeline offers an…