Fairmont chosen for elite STEM initiative

School will receive $26,000 for equipment, upgrades, scholarships.

Water rescues prompt warning from health officials
5/25/12
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
5/25/12
Raleigh Trammell’s defense opens in felony trial
5/25/12
Man not wearing life jacket when he drowns in Caesar Creek Lake
5/25/12
UD to move satellite campus to Dublin
5/25/12
> More headlines

By Jill Kelley, Staff Writer 1:15 AM Friday, December 2, 2011

KETTERING — The SME Education Foundation has selected six U.S. high schools for the first phase of its PRIME (Partnership Response in Manufacturing Education) initiative.

Fairmont High School was among that elite group, which included Walker Career Center in Indianapolis; Summit Technology Academy in Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Hawthorne High School of Engineering in Los Angeles; and Wheeling (Ill.) High School.

The 30-year-old SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers) Education Foundation’s stated mission is to prepare the next generation of manufacturing engineers and technologists. The PRIME initiative is meant to create strong partnerships between exemplary schools, businesses and organizations.

As part of this initiative, Fairmont will receive $26,000. Nancy Brown, the school’s career technology supervisor, said the money will be spent on an engineering summer camp for middle school students, to purchase equipment, and for student scholarships.

The foundation said Fairmont was selected based on its Project Lead The Way, which includes technology-based engineering courses, and for its skilled and dedicated instructors, and engaged and active students.

Fairmont’s strong corporate and administrative support from the manufacturing community also was lauded, as was the school’s “superior representation of all STEM subjects from college prep to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate.”

Fairmont Principal Dan VonHandorf said that in 2010-11, Fairmont had 52 AP scholars, 16 AP Scholars with Distinction, a National AP Scholar, 25 IB diploma candidates and 18 students who scored the highest possible on the AP calculus exam.

At the Nov. 22 Kettering City Council meeting, VonHandorf discussed these achievements.

Mayor Don Patterson said the fact that Fairmont was one of six STEM schools recognized nationwide is pretty amazing. “This speaks volumes about what a great education our kids are getting in this community,” he said.

Share this article