It has been a great start to the year for Landstown High School Governor’s STEM & Technology Academy.
Before the school year ended last year, it was announced that the academy has earned a Top 100 national ranking in Financial Literacy instruction by the non-profit group, Working in Support of Education (w!se).
In addition, over the summer, four of Landstown’s students competed in the National Technology Student Association Competitions held in Orlando, Fla. Jacob Kansco, Athens Holloway, David Rochester, and Matthew Ross made up the freshmen team that placed second in the state competition in May and surpassed the first place state team at nationals by placing seventh in the nation in the field of Video Game Design this July.
Last week, the good news kept coming.
The academy will be re-joining the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics competition this year. This is an international competition, which finds students competing against others by having their handmade robots work on specific tasks.
Dr. Jim Barger, STEM Engineering Departmental Chairperson, will take the lead as both the FIRST Robotics and FIRST Tech Challenge sponsor. Barger applied for a grant through Dominion Resources/Dominion Foundation and was awarded a $1,000 educational grant to support the newly formed FIRST Robotics team.
If that were not enough, last week, approximately 60 STEM Engineering seniors in the Governor’s STEM & Technology Academy at Landstown High School attended a presentation by Dr. Frank Gupton, research professor and interim chair for the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Gupton’s campus visit to the Academy is part of an annual partnership forged three years ago with VCU and the Academy Engineering Department. VCU has dedicated a $25,000.00 four year scholarship to the school for a student who majors in Chemical or Life Science Engineering.Each year Gupton addresses the seniors and shares information pertaining to educational and career opportunities in the field of engineering. He then invites the students to VCU for a day to tour the department and facilities.
With so much excitement under their belts, this is a great way to start the school year for Landstown.