The Delaware Area Career Center Consolidated Main Campus is located on Columbus Pike in Delaware. The school now houses 23 programs and more than 1,100 students.
Glenn Battishill | The Gazette
The Delaware Area Career Center announced earlier this month it’s in the preliminary stage of creating a facilities master plan as it begins to consider options to address growth at the school.
Also earlier this month, the DACC started accepting statements of qualifications from design professionals.
“In these early stages of exploration, our goal is to understand the opportunities and limitations associated with growth at our main campus,” said Jay Poroda, DACC superintendent. “Over the past decade, DACC has experienced a more than twofold increase in student enrollment. This surge signifies a rising interest and need for career and technical education among students and families in Delaware County.”
Poroda explained that although the DACC consolidated into a single expanded and renovated campus in 2019, the rapid growth of Delaware County and “an unprecedented rise in interest for career and technical education” has outpaced the school’s initial enrollment predictions.
“At DACC, we are deeply invested in responding to and growing with the needs of our community,” Poroda said. “By expanding our facilities, we are not just increasing physical space, we are empowering, preparing, inspiring, and connecting more students to pursue their passions.”
The DACC reported that when it officially opened the Consolidated Main Campus in 2019, there were 855 students attending main campus programs. The number is now 1,130.
“While our enrollment has grown approximately 25% since the building was opened, the real need for growth is demonstrated in the applications we receive,” Poroda said. “In some programs, specifically in the field of health care, we are receiving two to three times the number of applications as we have seats available.”
Poroda said the DACC has 27 on-campus programs as well as eight programs held at associate schools. He added part of the master planning process will be to evaluate “programs that are not only in high demand by students, but also lead to employment opportunities that are critical to our region’s economic health and explore the feasibility of expanding these programs.”
Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.
