Fairmont started its engineering PLTW program in 2007, said Nancy Brown, Fairmont’s career tech coordinator, adding that a huge draw for students is that they receive college credit.
“If students go through our entire program, they can receive up to 42 engineering credits accepted at Sinclair Community College, University of Dayton, Ohio State University, Ohio University and many other colleges around the country,” Brown said.
The aerospace engineering class will be open to juniors and seniors as a one period class, Brown said. Students will use 3D design software to fix design problems related to aerospace information systems, astronautics and rocketry, among other things, she added.
“This program will give students a leg up when applying to colleges,” said Dave Lord, the PLTW engineering teacher at Fairmont.
Senior Andy Smith, who will be attending Ohio State University next fall to study mechanical engineering, said he wishes the aerospace engineering class would have been available during his four years at Fairmont.
“It would be pretty cool,” Smith said. “If you get a chance to take a class like that, you probably should.”
Although students do not register for classes until February, Brown said the school hopes to have 20 to 25 students sign up for the 2011-12 aerospace engineering class.
The aerospace engineering class is one of three classes offered to students as a one period class, Brown said. The other two, introduction to engineering design and principles of engineering are offered to freshman and sophomores, she added.
Fairmont also offers two block courses, one for juniors and one for seniors, which take two periods of a student’s schedule, she said. The junior block includes civil engineering and architecture and computer integrated manufacturing, while the senior block includes digital electronics and engineering design and development, she added.
As part of all the engineering classes, students work in a lab that has equipment used in typical manufacturing companies.
Fairmont is one of 19 schools in the Dayton area — including Centerville High School, Bellbrook High School, Xenia High School, Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School and Oakwood High School — to offer the PLTW program, said Patricia Marshall, the state affiliate coordinator.
Schools interested in adding the PLTW program go through an application process, during which PTLW coordinators must determine if schools have sufficient knowledge of the program, Marshall said, adding that PLTW Ohio program funded by the Ohio Department of Education.
“(PLTW) is so important because there is a severe shortage of engineers in the U.S. and this program addresses that by exposing students all over the country to engineering as a career choice,” she said.
Students involved in the engineering program agree that the group of classes offered at Fairmont helped them learn about engineering.
“It gave me a good foundation for all forms of engineering, something that other classes don’t,” said senior Justin Ryan, who plans to study mechanical engineering at Sinclair for two years and then transfer to a four-year college.
Contact this reporter at astuckey@Dayton DailyNews.com.
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