WELDON — The officials at Halifax Community College (HCC) received some good news recently from the Golden LEAF Foundation board.

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A $246,820 grant is for the Roanoke Valley Early College (RVEC) Enhancement project submitted through the Community Assistance Initiative.

RVEC opened last fall on the campus of HCC with grades seven and eight. Students will earn not only a high school diploma, but also an associate’s degree and/or two years of transferable credits to a four-year university or college.

HCC President Dr. Ervin Griffin Sr. said it was a good day yesterday (Thursday). “This will ensure the early college will be here long after we’re gone,” he said. “We didn’t just want to buy equipment, but wanted to be able to use it.”

Dr. Erica Holmes, vice president of academic affairs at HCC, said college officials worked with the RVEC staff to submit the proposal to Golden LEAF. “It (the process) took quite a bit of time, but it was worth it,”  she said.

Technology needs will use about $170,620 of the grant. “There is always a great need for technology,” she said.

Each student at RVEC is a issued a laptop. Holmes said laptops would be purchased for students coming into the school in the fall. Since RVEC is new, she said, servers, printers and other equipment is needed.

Grant monies will be used to finish the lunchroom for the school. “We were about 80 percent there, but we needed a little more to help bring it to completion,” Holmes said.

Lab equipment such as microscopes, calculators, biomodels and lab supplies is needed for the students. “Since this is a new school, we didn’t have calculators and microscopes so we can buy science supplies and equipment,” she said.

About $35,000 of the grant will go toward facility upgrades, such as installing a security system and renovations.

“When you buy the additional equipment,” she said. “Some of the rooms will need to be rewired.”

Monies will be used also to buy books more appropriate for the K-12 students. “This is the first time the college has had students in this age group,” she said.

Faculty and staff will benefit through professional development. “When we get new technology, we will need to train people to use it,” Holmes said.

She added enrollment is strong for RVEC, “There is a great interest and this is based on the number of applicants.”