Community Campus receives $90,000 in grants to support Engineering and Life Science Academies Community Campus has received a total of $90,000 in grants to support Engineering and Life Science Academies. Students from five area high schools (Apollo, Daviess County, Owensboro, Owensboro Catholic and Hancock County) participate in Community Campus. The goal is to help students explore high-demand career paths in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The Community Campus academies are part of the international Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum which is a real world, hands- on approach to education that is developed by professionals in the STEM fields. Students in grades 9-12 participate in sequential college-credit courses that stimulate their interest in the jobs that will be among the highest paid and highest demand professions. The Life Science Academy is directed by Dr. Natalie Mountjoy. This academy, in its third year, is sponsored by Owensboro Community and Technical College and Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. The instructors for the second year course are Martha Sims and Jeanie Burden. The third year course instructor is Dr. Chad Wilkerson. There are currently 71 students enrolled in the health care pathway. The Engineering Academy has been directed by Aaron Yeiser, Steven May, Jonathan Leohr and Bryan Blount. Students from regional high schools attend Apollo High School or Owensboro High School for one period and return to their home high school. The courses include introductory engineering courses as well as Aerospace Engineering, AP Computer Science and Integrated Computer Manufacturing. The middle schools offer the PLTW Gateway to Technology that serves as a stimulus for the high school engineering pathway. The instructors for the middle school programs are Bryan Blount, John Janiak, Darlene Runyon and Kent Gwaltney There are currently 127 students in the engineering pathway. “We are so pleased to receive these grants, which recognize the dynamic work being done by instructors and students in those academies,” said Marcia Carpenter, College and Career Readiness Coordinator for the Community Campus partnership. The grant amount is broken down in the following areas: Project Lead the Way – Energy Technology Awards - $45,000 Project Lead the Way – Engineering Pipeline Awards – $30,000. Project Lead the Way – Biomedical Awards – Life Science Academy - $15,000 The footprint of the Project Lead the Way program grows in the Owensboro Public Schools. This curriculum teaches students how to critically think and problem solve in a project-based environment. It simulates the real world and mirrors the OPS mission of tying together Tradition, Innovation, and Excellence. We are thrilled to get these funds to grow the numbers of students in these programs, Dr. Matthew Constant, Owensboro Public Schools Chief Academic Officer. Project Lead the Way is the gold standard for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs. What Community Campus can provide students is exactly what business and industry leaders are asking us to do to prepare students for the workforce,” Dr. Nick Brake, Superintendent of Owensboro Public Schools. Bryan Blount, Owensboro Middle School STEM instructor, said, These grants not only help us acquire state-of-the-art software and hardware, but these grants will also help us fund classes at the high school level. These classes allow us the opportunity to introduce engineering skills to many teenagers who otherwise might not ever have the chance to pursue this type of career path.” Ryan Morales, a 2013 graduate of Owensboro High School and the Community Campus program, is currently majoring in biosystems engineering and pre-med at the University of Kentucky. He said his experience with Community Campus introduced him to these areas of study. “If it weren’t for the STEM class (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) allowing me to preview what engineering is and to see the different types of engineering, I don’t know where I would be right now,” Morales said. “I enjoy majoring in biosystems engineering because of the options it gives me for the future, along with the different content it covers in classes.”
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 17:12:36 +0000
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