LHS gets boost for future engineers

Libertyville High School students who have an inkling to study engineering or other technical fields will have enhanced opportunities beginning this fall.

"It sounds a little nerdy but we're excited," said Debra Kellum, applied technology supervisor.

Introduction to engineering design will be the first of four classes to be added in successive school years, courtesy of a $35,000 grant.

"It blends all the things we already do into one core curriculum that's nationally based," said Kellum. "The students we teach are eligible to earn college credit."

The grant comes from "Project Lead the Way," which is funded by the Wisconsin-based Kern Family Foundation. The program focuses on preparing middle and high school students for engineering and technical careers of the future.

The private grant-making organization was created when Generac Power Systems, a division of a generator manufacturing company, was sold.

Introduced in the 1997-98 school year, the "Project Lead the Way" network has grown to include more than 2,500 middle and high schools.

"They established this because they wanted to continue the growth of engineering in the United States," Kellum said.

Libertyville High School applied technology teachers Jeremy Gerlach, Andy Thomson and Robert Kelch this summer will attend an intensive two-week boot camp at the University of Illinois to prepare for the new classes.

Applied technology includes subjects such as woodworking, graphics and computer aided design, as a kind of "21st Century shop class," Kellum said.

In the first new course, students will use computer modeling software to create products. They'll learn the process of designing a product from the beginning stages, solve design problems as they develop and create and analyze product models.

Classes in subsequent years will cover principals of engineering, digital electronics and engineering design and development.

Kellum said different aspects of the four classes already are taught but this program will provide a "significant advantage" to other students applying to engineering colleges.

"It's a great way to refresh our curriculum," Kellum said, adding that it also is an opportunity for any student who ever considered engineering as a future profession.