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When Gov. Bob McDonnell visited Southside on Monday, he spokeseveral times about the importance of recruiting high tech jobs tothe area. And one of the first steps is educating a workforce prepared forscience and technology fields. Virginia Sectary of Education Laura Fornash and the DeputySecretary of Education Javaid Siddiqi visited the Dan River Regionon Wednesday to see the Piedmont Governor"s School formathematics, science and technology at the Institute for AdvancedLearning and Research. The program at the Institute is for students in Danville andPittsylvania County public schools. Selected students forgovernor"s school go in the mornings and placed in atechnology-enhanced environment. Fornash, who has been to the Institute several times, said this wasa great example of combining business and industry with howstudents learn. She and Siddiqi are looking at different studentprograms around the state that are successful and hoping to modelfuture programs after them. "I"m extremely impressed with the opportunity youngpeople have here and with the access to STEM programs," saidFornash. Siddiqi said he was not familiar with other schools in Virginiathat have access to the type of research the Institute provides. "They can walk through the industry," said Siddiqi. Siddiqi and Fornash have heard good things about governor"sschool. In Pittsylvania County, a rural area, and Danville, whichhas the highest child poverty rate in the state, many of thestudents do not have access to the technology and resources at home— unlike students in Northern Virginia, whose schoolsdominate the recently released U.S. News & World Reportrankings of the top schools in Virginia, where 12 of the top 15schools come from Fairfax County alone. In more rural Southside, where the school systems are also facingsevere financial burdens, the schools must get creative inintegrating unique technology programs for students — whichcan be costly. But not a lot of school systems have such directaccess to a research and business facility as effectual as theInstitute. McDonnell has thrown his support behind the governor"s schooland is using it in his reforms of K-12 education. And some of themost effective advocates are the students in the program. Fornash and Siddiqi got a chance to talk to some George WashingtonHigh School students as well as governor school instructors on whatthey are doing that is making it get students involved in STEMsubjects so successfully. "It feels like a college setting just about," said GWjunior Garnell Travis, who wants to study engineering in college."There are much smaller class sizes. It helps." GW junior Stetson Franklin said he likes the focus on technology,the smaller class sizes and the way it is prepping him to studyengineering and networking for the future. Kellie O"Boyle, also a junior at GW, said she likes the dualenrollment program where students can earn college credit and evenearn enough for a two-year degree by the time they graduate highschool. She said it takes up a lot of time and is hard work, but inthe end, it will be worth it when she transcends to the collegeclassroom. The governor"s school when combined with the program inMartinsville, has more than 100 students participating in 11th and12th grades and takes on students every year. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Board Extrusion Line , Pelletizing Machinery Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Hollow Sheet Machine.
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