LIVINGSTON PARISH, La (BRPROUD)– On St. Patrick’s Day, State Superintendent. Dr. Cade Brumley and other state officials visited Denham Springs High School and Walker High School.
Although some were dressed in green, state school officials and local educators came out to celebrate something different.
DSHS Robotics Center Teacher and Robotics Coach Daniel Eiland said, “today they brought in a number of people from both, the state department of education as well as the local department of education just to tour the stem facility and see what we are doing here, the courses we are offering, how we are supporting students that are involved in career and technical education, and also stem and robotics education as well.”
DSHS STEM and Robotics Center Director Michael Simmons, said, “It was fantastic to be able to tell them what we are doing here because when you are over an entire state, you don’t get to see the micro part, just the macro.”
Much was lost from the flood of 2016, but much was also gained for Livingston Parish Schools.
“Our students have opportunities that they never had before. we’re the only stem center in Livingston Parish and we are offering pathways through LSU to give them skills to go into those pathways, ” said Simmons.
They said technology is the future and Livingston Parish schools are making sure students have the tools to progress with it.
What did this mean for the community?
Eiland said, “a kid can come in here, they would be able to get the class, get certify, and right after they graduate, they can become a drone pilot for a company.”
Simmons said, ” These are jobs in the 21st century. we are giving the skills for jobs that are already available and haven’t been created yet.”
From robots to video, and so much more they hope to continue to see growth.
“It’s taken off. STEM is a buzzword, but you still have to run it right and our teachers are awesome at what they do,” said Simmons.
They are working to expand the program and its reach to more of those within the community.
The center also hosts an annual STEAM Expo attracting roughly 1500 participants to get K-8th students excited about STEM, however, they were not able to do it this past year. They hope to host another event in the future as COVID-19 conditions improve.