One rural school district rises to the changing economy by investing in engineering and technology
The Dalles, like many Oregon rural areas, is facing a changing economy. Once reliant on agriculture, the dam, and a now-shuttered aluminum mill, the town and the extended Columbia River area now are becoming a hub for technology-based industries including Google, wind power companies, designers of aircraft systems, and more. And the schools in this Columbia Gorge town are racing to keep up.
Anne Evans of the North Wasco School District is the lead administrator implementing a federal grant and state grants that are helping to jump start efforts to build technology and engineering pathways into the classrooms and school culture. Anne is also well aware of the challenges her district faces: “This is a high poverty area. In 2008, 24.3% of children living in Wasco County were living in poverty. We hope we can get these students excited in technical and engineering fields that may lead to well-paying careers down the road.”
The district’s many-faceted approach has the momentum of a wind farm, each turbine and each blade essential to gathering energy. The district leaders know they are very fortunate for the grants they have received, which include a Women’s Equity in Education grant from the federal Department of Education, and pre-engineering program grants from the Oregon Engineering and Technology Industry Council (ETIC, www.oregonetic.org. They are investing these funds in multiple projects that serve students from elementary age all the way to college, building a multi-faceted, integrated effort to introduce their talented young people into the joys and rewards of technology. Evans says, “We’re trying to infiltrate technology in so much and from so many angles that it becomes indispensable.”
Modernizing Engineering Curricula: The middle and high school have chosen to strengthen their engineering curriculum using the program Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a nationally recognized pre-engineering curriculum program that has proven very successful in over 3,200 high schools and middle schools across the country. Through this curriculum, students learn about engineering and technology at the same time they learn the connections between engineering and traditional math and sciences courses. Middle school teacher Seth Hedberg will be trained in the PLTW curriculum this summer at the Oregon Institute of Technology, and is very excited about using technology more in all his classes, including language arts, because he is convinced the relevancy of technology will help with student achievement.
Improving Technology Equipment: In addition to the PLTW curriculum, the middle school and high school were able to buy new servers, Smartboards, computer equipment and software for engineering labs in the middle and high schools, and they partnered with the high school woodshop students to construct desks for the modernized labs. Pat Consoliver, principal of The Dalles Middle School, says, “Getting the new technology is huge for us. Our technology right now is antiquated. The classroom is the same as 30 years ago. We want to give students the applications to find real success in the classroom. Kids are always getting busted for their cell phones. Let’s have a class that encourages them to use the technology that is in the world and learn about it.”
Supporting Extra-Curricular Engineering Clubs and Teams: The district has gone down to a 4-day school week this year because of budget cuts, but some The Dalles students are spending their Fridays off by getting active in engineering teams and clubs. The Dalles-Wahtonka high school has launched an engineering robotics team, “Technology Designers of Tomorrow,” which they have supported financially by modeling it after an athletic team. After all, the team puts in at least as many hours as the football team, practices, competes, and even brings home trophies! The team is supported by a coach and some very committed engineer volunteers from the community, Google, and American Aerospace Engineering. There has been so much student interest generated as a result of the robotics team, that the high school will be offering a robotics class this fall. The Dalles Middle School, through the leadership of the OSU 4-H program, also has a TechWizards club that is increasing student interest in technology and robotics early in their educational careers. The 4-H program has organized a team called the “The Dalles Middle School Annihilators” who explore many elements of technology including robotics, web design, solar energy, and other areas. And like the high school team, this group meets on no-school Fridays.
Partnering with the Colleges and Industries: The K-12 leaders are not alone in aligning their programs with the growing high-tech industries in the Gorge. The district is building alliances with the Columbia River Community College, which offers a Renewable Energy Technology degree program. This program was designed to prepare students for employment in the growing renewable energy industry and works in close collaboration with partners from wind energy and power generation industries such as Vestas Wind Systems, PGE, Bonneville Power Adminsitration, Insitu, EneXco, Suzlong Wind Energy Corporation, and other industries in the area. The community college partners with the school district to offer a summer science camp for girls that explores connections between physics, renewable energy, and other sciences. And, the district is partnering with many of these local high-tech companies for a technology fair to introduce local students to technical career opportunities.
Brian Goodwin, Director of Special Programs for the North Wasco School District, says their focus is partnerships, partnerships, partnerships. They are working strategically to build connections with the community, industry, parents, and schools in order to sustain the momentum for years to come, and to help The Dalles grow into the 21st century economy.
Oregon leaders are hoping that other districts will follow suit. Bruce Schafer, executive director of ETIC, says “We’re working to spread the word to school districts about the resources and ideas available to integrate more technical and engineering skills into students’ experiences, in class and out. There are so many resources for schools and we look forward to helping with these efforts, to prepare Oregon’s future innovators, and to keep up with Oregon’s changing industries.”
Schools interested in learning more about grant opportunities through ETIC’s next grant cycle should go to opas.ous.edu/Grants.php or contact Jo Oshiro in the Oregon University System at Jo_Oshiro@ous.edu. To learn more about the programs in The Dalles, or to visit North Wasco School District, contact Anne Evans at evansa@nwasco.k12.or.us
Photo: Anne Evans, North Wasco School District and Jim Carlin, professor at CGCC Renewable Energies Technology program, at Columbia Gorge Community College. Copyright 2010, Oregon University System.