Looking to the Future | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

District expanding STEM programs to prep for jobs ahead

Palatka High School teacher Bob Knutsen instructs advanced manufacturing program students, from left, Micah Hall, Anthony Ero and Derrick Davis.
From left, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development state Director Phil Leary, Putnam County School District Director of Federal Programs Mellissa Coleman and Superintendent Rick Surrency stand outside of district headquarters.
Positively Putnam FL

The technology-related jobs of the future may not have been invented yet, but that does not mean STEM curriculum and programming isn’t a top focus for the Putnam County School District.

The district wants to provide science, technology, engineering and mathematics career ideas to students, Superintendent Rick Surrency said. There are programs spread across the district in fields such as aeronautics, robotics courses and advanced manufacturing. Surrency said the district has also toyed with the idea of a cybersecurity academy at a school.

“You just don’t do that overnight,” Surrency said. “You have to build it from the ground up.”

The district is wading into the field of artificial intelligence. With help from Jacksonville STEM nonprofit Stem2 Hub, the district will host virtual classes from a Columbia University professor next school year at no cost to the district, Surrency said.

“These are chances that rural districts would otherwise not have,” Surrency said. “(Stem2 Hub) provides a lot of access and opportunities to STEM activities.”

When Surrency attended a conference in Osceola County, he saw an idea that piqued his interest, a STEM van. The district now has its own version that travels to schools and functions as a mobile classroom to interest students in STEM, Surrency said.

“We just recognize there are going to be a lot of employment opportunities in the North Florida region in the next five to 10 years,” Surrency said. “It’s our vision to try to prepare students now so they can take advantage of some of these careers when the time comes.”

Director of Federal Programs Melissa Coleman said STEM is an important conversation for the county. It’s important to have programming allowing students to compete for STEM jobs and learn skills in STEM careers, Coleman said.

“It’s no longer only about blue collar or white collar (jobs). There’s gray collar careers that may be automated, and students’ skills adapt to more tech-involved careers,” Coleman said. “Five to 10 years ago, we were not talking about coding, A.I. and drones in classrooms.”

The district’s strategic plan, a 10-year outlook the district hopes to finalize in May, calls for accelerating STEM programming at the high school level.

“One of the things we ask is, where do the careers of tomorrow lie?” Coleman said.