NOW ACCEPTING PROJECTS TO HELP CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESSES

The Cedar Valley CAPS programs are now accepting projects for the upcoming school year.  This school year CAPS will engage nearly 300 high school juniors and seniors in helping to solve problems with local business partners and organizations. The Cedar Valley Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) is a consortium of Profession-Based Learning programs at Cedar Falls, Columbus Catholic, Denver, Don Bosco, Jesup and Wapsie Valley High Schools. 

“We have found that most companies have multiple ideas that will help their businesses, but they find they don’t have the time or resources to make all of them a priority,” said Cedar Falls CAPS Director Ethan Wiechmann. “Ideal projects are the ones that are number eight, nine or ten on their list of things to get done. Our CAPS programs are an ideal partner to move those projects forward for organizations; adding value and profit. In other words, we would like to take peoples’ eight, nine, or ten and make it our number one.”

To submit a project go to the “Submit a Project” link at www.cedarvalleycaps.org. Project submissions are reviewed when received, then connected with a student-associate team to advance the project from concept to creation, or a problem from ideation to execution.

There is no cost associated with working with CAPS. Successful projects have created profitable products for partners, recruited future interns and full-time employees.  In return, student-associates develop professional skills and find great value from working in a real-world setting on real projects having an impact on companies, organizations, and communities.

The Profession-Based Learning program is built around the four cornerstones of Innovation, Problem Solving, Professional Skills and Career Exploration, with the mission to Prepare Students for their Purpose.  Cedar Valley CAPS began in 2017 with the Cedar Falls CAPS program and host partner Viking Pump and has expanded exponentially since then. Today Cedar Falls offers six industry strands while Denver, Don Bosco, Jesup and Wapsie Valley CAPS programs offer an all-inclusive pathway that guides students to gain experience, skills, and exposure through various industries and professions.  

The Cedar Valley CAPS programs are a part of the CAPS National Network and are an Iowa STEM BEST Program Partner.

To submit a project go to the “Submit a Project” link at www.cedarvalleycaps.org, or email [email protected] for more information on how to engage in the Cedar Valley CAPS programs.