Seven area schools get STEM grants to boost tech learning
More than 150 Ohio schools, including seven in Ashland, Holmes and Wayne counties, are getting a financial boost thanks to a partnership between Ohio STEM Learning Network and Battelle.
Grants were awarded to two schools in Wayne County — Chippewa Jr/Sr High and Northwestern Elementary. Holmes County also had two schools, with Hiland High and Middle and West Holmes Middle each getting some money. And three schools in Ashland County — Ashland Christian, Loudonville High and Black River High received grant funding.
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According to a press release from Battelle, each school had to write a grant requesting up to $5,000. The proposals had to explain how the money would be used in educational programs that involve community problem solving, STEM career exploration, building STEM mindsets or design thinking and infrastructure.
Each school received the full $5,000 and many hope to start using the money before the end of the school year.
Ashland County schools' grant plans
Black River High School Principal Tracey Lambdin said all the grant money will go toward starting a biomedical sciences class they hope to offer next school year.
“We have a high demand of students wanting to be in the medical career in various ways,” Lambdin said. “So, we want to give them those prerequisites, the experiences, the knowledge that they need to be able to go to those college courses and secondary schools (and) be successful.”
While the grant will not cover the entire cost to initiate the class, Lambdin said it will be a great help and can be used to buy equipment such as microscopes and other lab equipment.
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Ashland Christian School plans to use its funds to expand its STEM project through a microplastic filter project.
According to a news release sent out by the school, students will research, create and test their own 3D printed washing machine filter. Through the project, students will attempt to reduce the amount of microplastics that reach larger bodies of water by using their filters.
Four teachers — Mark LaGoy, Beth Shenberger, Bethany Frazer and Beth Szijarto — will be working with the students in grades four through eight on the project, which they hope to start in March.
Seth Youngen, a math teacher at Loudonville High School, said he'd like to buy 60 new graphing calculators with his school's grant so students can learn more about coding.
“I wanted to just expose some of those kids to the realm of computer programming because I think it's a growing field in the job market,” Youngen said. "And if you can build a computer or get into the programming realm, you’re gonna be able to make some good money, for sure.”
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Holmes County Schools
Hiland High and Middle School teacher Andrew Toye said he hopes to buy two 3D printers for the students to use for assignments such as building model rockets.
Toye also is eyeing drone kits and robotic arms. While Toye is excited about the purchases, he is more excited for the experiences that await his students not only in the classroom but also in their futures.
“It's that kind of hands-on stuff that the kids really get into and it's things that are preparing them for life after school and what they’ll be doing in the real world,” Toye said. “And so not only is it fun and motivating but it also prepares them for things down the road.”
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West Holmes Middle School Principal Jeff Woods said his school will expand its robotics program with the grant money.
Woods said the robotics program was started two years ago and it is now at the point that students can compete. Over the past two years, robotics teacher Brooke Fox has seen an increased interest from students and will have roughly 32 involved with the program next school year.
Woods said the school buy more hardware and other items for the robotics program, including robot carrying cases and desktops to run programs.
Wayne County Schools
Ken Gasser, a math teacher at Chippewa Jr./Sr. High School, also hopes to expand his school's robotics program by purchasing several robotics kits.
Gasser said grants help schools keep technology up to date.
He hopes to buy as many as seven robotics kits, though with increased prices he isn’t sure how many he will be able to get.
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Northwestern Elementary School fifth-grade science teacher Michelle Morrow has two projects she plans to fund through her school’s grant.
One of the projects is a design challenge where students will design, build and test their own solar-powered cars. Between the cost for the kits and the tools to build them, Morrow estimates the project will cost roughly $2,000.
The other $3,000 will go toward paying for a group known as The Hovercraft Project to visit later this spring. This group provides large hovercraft kits that allow teams of students to build and test their own hovercraft.
Morrow said The Hovercraft Project will be an all-day event that the fifth graders will get to experience on May 9.
Reach Rachel Karas at rkaras@gannett.com
On Twitter: @RachelKaras3
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Battelle, Ohio STEM Learning Network award money to local schools
