Students, manufacturers to benefit from STEM-focused grant

LACONIA — The five-year grant to establish a program that combines classroom instruction and job site experience in advanced manufacturing fields has been authorized by the School Board.

The board on Tuesday approved accepting $250,000 — $50,000 for each year — for the Out of School Time Career Pathways program.

The money will be used to develop a curriculum for Laconia High School students in attaining, credentialing, and high-tech manufacturing and STEM-related fields, said Christine Gingerella, program director of the Laconia School District’s Office of Extended Learning.

The Career Pathways grant was the largest of the three grants which the board voted to accept.

Plans call for the program to be established in collaboration with local high-tech industries, Gingerella told the board. The business partners will be involved in developing the program’s curriculum. So far, Eptam Precision and New Hampshire Ball Bearings have agreed to be part of the initiative, she said.

The goal of the program, Gingerella explained, “is that students have a post-high school plan with credentialing and can go seamlessly into those positions” in advanced manufacturing.

The five-year grant will pay stipends for teachers of courses that involve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — STEM — as well as stipends for students who become involved in the program’s advisory panel.

School Board member Joe Cormier said the grant will help address a real need.

“It’s hard (for manufacturers) to find young, qualified employees,” he said. “This grant is a benefit to students and a benefit to companies.”

Superintendent Steve Tucker said the program would provide students with an “authentic learning experience.”

The other grants approved were:

• An $11,000 grant to improve music education for students participating in band.

• A $1,000 grant to go toward literacy programs.