STEM instructor Mike Shrode briefed the District 2155 School Board on a plan Monday night to apply for a Project Lead The Way grant for Wadena-Deer Creek.
Shrode was hired by the board last summer to start a STEM program for WDC. STEM combines science, technology, engineering and math skills in the completion of assigned class room projects.
If District 2155 receives the award, Shrode will be looking at roughly $55,000 in start-up money to begin an STEM-based, industry-created, engineering curriculum for grades 6-12. Students are also eligible for college engineering credits as early as ninth grade. The goal is to promote critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real-world problem solving skills in students.
The WDC administration is hoping to follow the recommendation of starting the curriculum with seventh and eighth graders in the fall and just move it up. The students in grades 9-12 will not have the background they need until they have had some of the advanced programs.
"It appears to appeal to all the students that I talked to," Shrode told the board.
