North Side High School music teacher Ed King was walking down the hallway Wednesday when his principal, Chad Hissong, tapped him on the shoulder and asked whether the two could meet in King’s office.Warsaw Community Schools plans to use a new state grant to give an existing elementary school a makeover – infusing it with new technology and creating a focus on science, technology, engineering and math.
Warsaw Community Schools is one of 10 schools, school corporations, non-profits and other organizations selected by the Indiana Department of Education to receive a portion of $5 million reserved for innovative school initiatives.
State education officials announced the grant winners Wednesday during an Indianapolis news conference.
Warsaw Community Schools won $439,534, the largest of any group that received a grant, which comes from state funds created during the last budget planning session.
Superintendent Craig Hintz said the district will use the money to turn Washington Elementary, one of the district’s eight elementary schools, into a top-notch magnet-style school focusing on science, technology, engineering and math – also known as STEM.
The district will train teachers in project-based learning; buy technology, such as laptops or iPads, for students; and hire a STEM adviser to oversee the program.
Hintz said the move is the first step in a plan to implement a STEM focus throughout the district. He hopes the decision will appeal to the region’s orthopedic industry, which he said needs people with skills in science, technology, engineering and math.
“We would like to have our students come back to work in Warsaw and work in the professions related to the orthopedic industries,” he said. “In the end, this is focused on college readiness and career readiness.”
The school, called the Washington STEM Academy, will open with its new focus in fall 2012, accepting Warsaw students within the Washington attendance boundary in addition to students outside of the district.
In the fall 2013, it will function as a magnet, open to students throughout the district and outside of it.
Hintz said he hopes parents from the Fort Wayne area who commute to Warsaw will consider enrolling their children in the program.
The district originally applied for close to $1 million for projects spanning two years, Hintz said.
He said the district will learn next year whether it receives the second portion of the grant and expressed confidence the money would come through.
Other groups to receive money include Herron High School in Indianapolis; La Casa de Amistad, Inc. in South Bend; Greater Clark County Schools; Wilson Education Service Center in Charlestown; Crothersville Community Schools; College Summit; Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp.; Teach for America; and North Montgomery Community Schools in Crawfordsville.
