VWMS class awarded VW Foundation grant

Staff and submitted information

The Gateway to Technology class at Van Wert Middle School recently received a $3,000 grant from the Van Wert County Foundation’s Flickinger Memorial Trust. The money was used to upgrade the robotics equipment eighth grade students use in the automation and robotics unit, where students build, program, and problem solve using robots. The automation and robotics unit is part of Van Wert Middle School’s Project Lead the Way (PLTW) program. 

Gateway to Technology (GTT) is an exploratory class offered to students in grades 6-8. GTT is a curriculum within PLTW designed to teach students problem-solving strategies, critical thinking skills, communication, collaboration, and perseverance through hands-on learning. It allows students to be successful in the classroom by providing lessons that focus on today’s real-world challenges.

Zane McElroy, VWMS Gateway to Technology teacher, thanked the Flickinger Memorial Trust for selecting his program as the recipient of the grant. 

“PLTW has begun to update their curriculum and the new robotics equipment helps keep us up-to-date,” McElroy said. “It provides our students with more innovative ways to solve the problems given to them that they couldn’t do with the old equipment.”

Van Wert Middle School is a National PLTW Distinguished school, offering topics such as design and modeling, automation and robotics, energy and environment, science of technology, and green architecture. These units lay a foundation for the two educational pathways provided by PLTW at Van Wert High School: Pre-Engineering and Biomedical.