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Project Lead the Way draws a crowd in PW-S schools |
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Written by Kristyn Halbig Ziehm
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Wednesday, 03 March 2010 19:21 |
Growing enrollment in innovative technology classes impresses officials, who say creative funding is needed to expand program
Project Lead the Way, an innovative curriculum that uses a hands-on approach to teach students about math, science and engineering and was offered in the Port Washington-Saukville School District for the first time this year, has been an unmitigated success, School Board members were told Monday.
But funding for the program, which was offered at Thomas Jefferson Middle School this year and will be expanded into the high school next year, is likely to be a challenge in the coming years, Supt. Mike Weber said.
Creative financing options, such as partnerships with industry, will be tapped as the district seeks to continue the curriculum, he said.
“We’re committed to this program,” Weber said. “To fully implement Project Lead the Way at the high school and middle school is a costly proposition. But the payback is well worth it.
“I think the future for us is to develop partnerships with businesses, corporations and industry to put this together. In the end, we will be giving them good employees.
“I’m convinced if we can get the right people to come in and see what we’re doing at the middle school, what the potential is at the high school, we can get some good partners.”
The school district received a $50,000 grant from the Waukesha-based Kern Family Foundation to help implement the program. Of this amount, roughly $12,000 was used to start the program at the middle school, where it is offered to sixth through eighth-grade students.
The remainder of the grant money will be used to help implement the high school program. One class will be offered next year, with a new class added each year until it is a four-year program.
In addition, the district’s technology budget, stimulus funds and instructional funding paid the program costs.
The number of students who registered for the first high-school class, an introduction to engineering and design, far exceeded expectations, Principal Duane Woelfel said.
“We had 88 students sign up,” he said. “I was hoping for the first year to have 20 so we would have enough to run a nice section.”
A few seventh and eighth-graders showed off their projects to the School Board Monday night, explaining their work and talking excitedly about the class.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 03 March 2010 19:27 |
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Going downhill in a hurry |
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Written by Carol Pomeday
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Wednesday, 03 March 2010 19:16 |
Port middle-schoolers will be among America’s best young skiers in bid for Junior Olympic honors
With the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver still fresh in their minds, two students at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Port Washington are headed for the prestigious United States Ski Association’s Junior Olympics in Colorado.
Eighth-grader Colin Vogel, 13, left Tuesday with his father Lindsay for Vail, where the teen will compete March 3 to 9 in downhill, Super G, giant slalom and slalom events for skiers ages 13 and 14. This is his third trip to the Junior Olympics for the top youth Alpine skiers in the Rocky Mountain and central regions, but the first time he will ski in Vail.
Jacob Wehner, 12, a sixth-grader, will compete in his first Junior Olympics March 17 to 20 at Winter Park, Colo.
Colin, who is 6 feet and 185 pounds, trains at the Great Lakes Ski Academy in Marquette, Mich., where he and his father spend almost every weekend from mid-November through March when they’re not traveling to races. Colin is ranked among the top ski racers in his age group.
“I just like the thrill of going fast down the ski course, the risk,” Colin said. “If I don’t do good, I’ll usually just shrug it off, hang out with my friends and encourage them to do well. My goal is just to do good in the juniors. I had a lot of pressure the first year and I was injured last year.”
His favorite event is the slalom.
“It’s a quicker pace and it’s more challenging, so it’s more fun,” Colin said. “The more challenging the course, the more confident I am.”
Jacob trains with the Parks Ski Team at Sunburst Ski Hill in Kewaskum. He earned a spot on the Junior Olympic team for 11 and 12-year-olds during tryouts in December at Marquette, Mich.
He learned to ski when he was 5 and started racing the next year.
“Racing is just more fun,” Jacob said. “You’re trying to beat yourself and other people.”
He prefers the Super G. |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 03 March 2010 19:27 |
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