The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently awarded the Pennsylvania College of Technology a $314,440 PAsmart Advancing Computer Science and STEM Education Grant.
“Penn College is very excited for this opportunity to collaborate with industry partners and K-12 educators to showcase technical career opportunities and engaging learning activities within manufacturing and construction to middle school students,” Tanya Berfield, Penn College director of K-12 outreach, said. “We believe that career exposure at the middle school level is more important than ever, as those students are soon making high school pathway decisions that often lead to career choices.”
The college will use the funding for an exposure campaign designed for middle school students to increase awareness of career paths and job opportunities in manufacturing and construction.
An educator externship focused on manufacturing and one focused on construction will be offered annually. These will allow middle school educators to use classroom technology equipment and learn lessons that align with new science standards. The educators then will deliver lessons to students.
There are plans for an annual junior career fair and student showcase.
In addition, the college also will create a lending library and lessons bank for educators who participate in the externships.