Press Release
Release Date: September 26, 2011
Contacts:
Heather Bennett, EvCC Executive Director of Resource Development, 425-388-9253; hbennett@everettcc.edu
Katherine Schiffner, EvCC Director of Public Relations, 425-388-9554; kschiffner@everettcc.edu
Kristin Foley, SSD Director of Communications, 360-563-7263; communications@sno.wednet.edu
$879,725 National Science Foundation Grant to Fund Snohomish County Advanced Manufacturing Project
EVERETT, WA – Everett Community College (EvCC), in partnership with the Snohomish School District (SSD), has received a $879,725 grant from the National Science Foundation to strengthen hands-on science and engineering training to prepare students for advanced manufacturing and engineering jobs.
The Snohomish County Advanced Manufacturing Project (SnoCAMP) will expand technical training and internships for students at Glacier Peak and Snohomish High Schools, add equipment to those schools’ labs, fund summer science academies for K-12 teachers in Snohomish County and the Puget Sound region and strengthen curriculum to reflect industry needs.
EvCC classes will be offered at Glacier Peak and Snohomish High School labs in the evening. Instructors from the college and the school district will share expertise and industry connections to strengthen program training. The grant also supports mentoring in high school classes by EvCC technology and engineering students.
“The grant builds on a strong partnership with the Snohomish School District to strengthen cutting-edge technical training for local high school and college students, preparing them for family-wage jobs in our community,” said EvCC President David Beyer. “Snohomish County is home to the greatest number of manufacturing jobs in our state. This grant helps meet industry demand for skilled employees.”
The grant is for three years, with first-year funding of $297,000.
“This is not your father’s typical shop class. This grant and partnership will enable us to rewrite curriculum to bring higher levels of math and science into the classroom,” said SSD Director of Career and Technical Education Steve Cotterill. “Students will work with enhanced 3D scanners to create enhanced models or use polymers, resins and other alternative materials as part of the manufacturing process. They may learn to make biodiesel fuel from algae or make radio-controlled airplane parts. SnoCAMP will provide students with real-world situations, experiences and opportunities that they can carry into their future training and careers.”
SSD currently offers more than a dozen pathway programs to students in topics such as marketing, agri-biotech and visual arts. For example, the district’s Machining Pathway Program implements a computer-based, high-tech machining, programming and engineering design course. The labs offer access to state-of-the-art equipment and software donated by corporate sponsors as nearby as Snohomish (Rhino Manufacturing) and as far away as Texas (Siemens Corporation) and Paris, France (Dassault Systemes).
Within six years of initiating the program at Snohomish High School, graduation rates for Career and Technical Education (CTE) students and Machining Pathway Program students have exceeded 90 percent, and the average cumulative GPA among CTE students has improved by nearly 30 percent.
As part of the SnoCAMP project, EvCC and SSD will develop new partnerships with local educational and training institutions, universities, K-12 schools, industry and professional organizations to continually re-evaluate regional needs and develop and provide specific programs and activities to address those needs.
The intent of SnoCAMP is for other high schools in Washington State and throughout the nation to replicate the program created by EvCC and SSD.
Faculty involved in the project includes Cotterill and EvCC instructor Robert Osnes.
Local partners include Engineering.com, North American reseller of Dassault Systemes of Paris, France; Rhino Manufacturing; the Washington State Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing; and MatEd National Resource Center.
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