Industry Partners Announced
Joining the team in support of STEM education in Davie County are Ingersoll Rand, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and the North Carolina Center for Global Logistics. Precision manufacturing, health care and logistics are all engines of economic growth that will provide jobs and opportunities in Davie County as the North Carolina economy continues transitioning from furniture, textiles and tobacco to high tech.
Davie County Schools have some very powerful partners when it comes to educating the workforce of tomorrow.
As part of the Davie County Economic Development Update in Mocksville last week, Davie County Schools announced a partnership with the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science. This partnership is the first step in an initiative to forge a stronger link between Davie County students and local businesses.
The meeting was held at the Energy United building in downtown Mocksville and attracted business, economic-development, and political leaders from across the Piedmont Triad region.
“The Kenan Fellows program bridges the gap between the needs of industry and the classroom in order to develop today’s students into the skilled workforce of tomorrow,” said Lisa Hibler, Kenan Fellows Program regional coordinator, who addressed the economic development summit. “If we do not have industry support, then all that relevance that we are trying to bring into the classroom is lost.”
As Kenan Fellows, three highly-qualified master teachers will mentor first-year and student teachers while offering in-class intervention and support to classroom teachers. They will gain real-world work experience that will be incorporated into classroom lessons that link STEM Infusion in grades K-12 to the business world.
Davie County STEM Infusion
The Kenan Fellows Program is the next logical step in the Davie County STEM Infusion initiative. Davie County’s “STEM Infusion” is designed to produce a dramatic increase in students from all population groups successfully completing challenging science and math courses and pursuing STEM careers.
The Davie STEM Collaborative, of which STEM Infusion is a part, was selected last year by the NC STEM Community Collaborative as one of three model communities in North Carolina developing STEM programs in public schools.
Central to STEM Infusion’s success is the fact that it delivers high-quality, relevant, interdisciplinary project-based learning with engaging instruction through cutting-edge classroom technologies and strategies.
Mebane Masters Program ~ Catalyst and Foundation
Mebane Foundation, a catalyst for innovative education programs in Davie County has provided more than $750,000 over the past 2 year alone to fund the Mebane Masters professional development model, which is the foundation on which Davie’s STEM Infusion is designed.
“We believe that bringing business and K-12 education together on the front end not only makes sense, but it is essential if our young people are going to compete on the global stage as the 21st century unfolds,” said Larry Colbourne, Mebane Foundation president.
Davie County STEM Education Partners
Ingersoll Rand
North Carolina Center for Global Logistics
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science
Mebane Charitable Foundation
NC STEM Community Collaborative
Davie County STEM
