Mike Wolanin | The Republic Xavier Llamas gets a closer look at a bristle bot he made during a robotics and coding STEM night presented by Cummins at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, April 13, 2023.
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation is teaming up with Cummins Inc. to expand STEM initiatives across their schools.
Cummins is providing $100,000 a year to fund current and future STEM initiatives in the district that prides itself as “the STEM capital of Indiana.”
Roughly $55,000 is going toward funding initiatives at the elementary level, with $45,000 going towards the secondary level, according to BCSC officials.
“BCSC students will gain access to innovative programs, events, and resources designed to ignite curiosity, foster critical thinking, and prepare students for the future workforce,” according to a press release regarding the partnership.
Cummins’ involvement will mean the expansion of robotics programs, new real-world field trips, coding events and hands-on learning experiences for thousands of students across BCSC schools.
The partnership works in alignment with Cummins READY, the company’s STEM-focused education strategy with a goal of “empowering 1 million learners” around the globe by 2030.
During a launch event in April, Cummins officials said they hope to reach that goal through a variety of local and global educational partnerships to support Pre-K through post-secondary and workforce training.
Cummins is investing an initial $5 million towards strategy-aligned partnerships with a willingness to invest more as time goes on, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Cummins Foundation CEO Jim Schacht previously told The Republic.
Cummins Global Education Director — Corporate Responsibility Danette Howard said the strategy is Cummins’ way “to help address the worldwide education crisis,” exemplified in part by students in Indiana and worldwide currently struggling to reach basic levels of proficiency in subjects such as math and reading.
“We are excited about working closely with BCSC to help us reach our Cummins READY goal of helping one million learners get on a pathway to education and career success by 2030,” Howard said of the partnership.
At the elementary level, the Cummins READY funding will help support the continuation of STEM-related events like BCSC’s Girl Up! and Robotic & Coding Exploration STEM night.
Girl Up! is a free event for fifth and sixth-grade female students held annually in October where attendees learn about non-traditional roles in STEM. They also get to meet female role models already in the career paths— over 120 students attend, along with about 100 volunteers.
The Robotic & Coding Exploration STEM Night is held in April at Columbus East where third through sixth-grade students participate in an evening of interactive STEM activities.
The partnership will help fund the additional expansion of BCSC’s Vex Robotics teams, which Lisa Haines, an influential figure in the growth of BCSC robotics and a coach for the Smith Elementary Sonic Cyborgs, said during a school board meeting on Dec. 10 has grown from 3 to 29 teams in just two years.
The funds will be used to purchase equipment and materials as well as pay tournament fees for the elementary teams. The funds will also be used to provide stipends for referees, coaches and tournament organizers so BCSC can host more robotics tournaments.
A portion of the money, approximately $26,000, will help fund VEX robotics teams on the middle and high school level— and even the integration of drones into classroom activities and competitions so students can further explore robotics, technology and aeronautics.
In addition, Cummins help will provide BCSC will funds for their Junior Solar Sprint, an annual competition at Northside that engages students to design, build and race solar-powered model cars.
“We are grateful for Cummins’ support in advancing our district’s STEM goals,” according to BCSC STEM teacher Davida Harden. “Their partnership will enable us to provide enhanced opportunities for our students to explore STEM fields and gain valuable skills for future careers.”
