Wednesday, April 16, 2014BOARDMAN, Ohio -- The Mahoning County Educational Service Center has obtained official approval to open a science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, academy that would serve the region.
The center obtained one of seven STEM academy designations awarded by the Ohio STEM Commission this week, says its superintendent, Ron Iarussi.
"We're a year away, so we have a full year to plan," he says.
The goal is to develop an academy devoted to STEM-related curricula for ninth and 10th graders, Iarussi says. A site for the new academy remains under discussion. "We're still going to explore our options," he says, noting it will be built somewhere in Mahoning County.
One advantage of being declared a STEM academy, Iarussi says, is that it gives more legitimacy to the project when it comes time to apply for future grants.
The Valley STEM+ME2 Academy is scheduled to open in August 2015, Iarussi said. Approximately 100 students are expected to attend the first year. The year-round school will focus on STEM programs as well as manufacturing and engineering with an emphasis on entrepreneurship.
Part of the program consists of integrating STEM into kindergarten through sixth-grade programs within partnering school districts, Iarussi reports. Seventh- and eighth-grade STEM students would use separate classrooms and graduate to the academy for further study in the ninth and 10th grades.
Students would then return to their home high schools for their junior and senior years or continue their studies through a technical school.
The Austintown, Poland, Struthers and Canfield school districts have signed on as partners for the initiative, Iarussi relates.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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