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A group of community stakeholders, donors and others view a robot in Versailles High School Technology Center.
VERSAILLES - Versailles school superintendent David Harmon said the school's new technology center will equip students with the skills and experiences they need to be successful in the world they will one day inherit.
Community stakeholders, donors and other figures on Monday afternoon toured the new technology center completed as part of a broader multimillion dollar building project that also provides additional space for FFA and music programs.
Monday's event was hosted by Midmark Corporation, the primary donor of the technology center that boasts a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classroom with 24 computers and 3D printers, a robotics lab, drone field and fully-functioning wood shop and application space.
Applying the principles of 3D modeling, seventh grade students design their own light switch covers in classroom in the Versailles High School Technology Center.
"Congratulations to Versailles High School on adding this technology center aimed at helping students pursue STEM careers," said Midmark Chief Operations Officer Rob Sackett.
"We may never fully know the importance of it, especially when it comes to having students pursue a STEM career," Sackett continued, giving a shout out to a guidance counselor who greatly impacted his own life. "Today I stand in front of you as an electrical engineer, a certified professional engineer in the state of Ohio because of one person who took an interest and pushed me into a STEM career."
Sackett said he hopes the school's new technology center does the same thing for Versailles students for decades to come.
Midmark, a global state-of-the-art manufacturer of health care equipment with significant presence in Versailles, is steeped in the STEM disciplines in virtually every function, Sackett said.
"We will need the best and brightest from Versailles, and we know there's many who go off to college but come back and help us grow and thrive as a community," he said, pointing to Midmark's need for professionals in manufacturing engineering, research and development, clinical studies and in-depth research and analysis, software development and information technology.
Versailles industrial tech educator Adam Miller leads a group on a tour of the technology center.
Versailles industrial tech educator Adam Miller and high school principal Jacki Stonebraker led a group of visitors through the new technology center and highlighted equipment, including robotic kits, robotic arms, a laser engraver, CNC mill, CNC router, computers and 3D printers.
Harmon said the wheels were in motion to pursue a building project and enhanced STEM education for students long before he joined the district.
"So a number of years ago, the community got together. The board did some listening sessions with the community and kind of said 'We have this vision of what might be possible. As a community, what do you want?'" he said.
Community insights gleaned through the process, among them the demand for an enhanced STEM curriculum, confirmed the project was not just a desire but a necessity for students' future success, according to school board president Jake Broering.
The STEM classroom contains 24 computers and multiple 3D printers.
Harmon said the technology center is more geared toward students in grades 7-12 but will help align the STEM curriculum across the elementary, middle and high schools.
"We do have a K-6 STEM program, and that is in the other side of the building, mostly in the library, and there's a computer lab in there as well," he said.
Harmon said the district did not have to run an addition levy to finance the building project. Rather, it turned to its general fund and leveraged other resources, including donations from Midmark, Bocholt Foundation, Brilliant Beginnings, Cargill, Direct Tooling Concepts, Greenville National Bank's Versailles campus, Park National Bank and Pepcon.
Mary Ellen Dobransky, the associated director of the Ohio Department of Education, said Monday's event represented a significant step forward in preparing Ohio's students for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow's workforce.
"STEM education is not just about teaching science, technology, engineering and math in isolation," she said. "It's about fostering a set of essential skill sets and mindsets that are crucial for success in our rapidly evolving community and world."
Students test their creations in the robotics lab.
