Batesville Community School Corp. trustees were briefed on two learning initiatives at their March 17 meeting.

Next year 54 Batesville High School students are enrolled in two sections of introduction to engineering design, the first of eight courses offered by Project Lead the Way Inc. (www.pltw.org), a Clifton Park, N.Y.-based organization. “It took off quickly,” reported guidance counselor Matt Maple.

With state leaders trying to attract more manufacturers here, educators are being pressured to prepare teens for those jobs, Maple said. “It was our responsibility to find out how.” He learned PLTW already has been implemented at Jac-Cen-Del, Jennings County and Columbus high schools.

The eight PLTW classes not only teach engineering, but also problem solving and critical thinking skills, which can be assets for many occupations, he pointed out. The program already is showing positive results. One example: A Jennings County High School senior who has taken four or five PLTW classes was challenged to invent something. After his grandfather died of carbon monoxide poisoning, the student created and patented a device that will open a garage door if it senses carbon monoxide.

“A lot of this class is going to be self-directed ... it's a lot of project work, computer work,” the counselor said. He is working with Ivy Tech Community College to see if PLTW students can gain free dual high school and college credit, which may be able to transfer to other state schools as elective credit.

Trustee Ray Call asked if the classes are open to the entire school body. Maple explained the introduction to engineering design course was offered to current eight-graders and freshmen first, then sophomores and juniors. All were accommodated. “We're hopeful we're going to be able to add a course a year.”

Project Lead the Way requires a high-tech computer lab with four software programs on each computer. According to Maple, “That lab won't be idle" with computer-aided design, newspaper and yearbook students also using it.

Sources to pay for the program’s startup costs, estimated at $76,000, are being firmed up by the counselor. “Local corporations are going to give us quite a significant amount of money,” he said. Confirmed grants totalling $45,000 are coming from Indiana Virtual Academy, Batesville Tool & Die, Batesville Casket Co. and Hill-Rom Co. BCSC should be able to gain a $10,000 Workforce Development grant if a source of matching funds can be found. State reimbursement dollars will add $11,250.

Parent Teri Coleman said, “I think there probably would be more (interest in classes) if parents understood what PLTW is.” She predicted teens will get "real world experience."

Barb Nettnay observed, “As a parent and a taxpayer in this community, the fact that this collaboration is between local businesses and nonprofits and the school is just fascinating to see."

The board approved Project Lead the Way contingent on legal aspects being worked out. That meant teacher Angela Parmer can undergo two weeks of training this summer in Kokomo.

Another initiative for the corporation’s youngest students already is paying off. Batesville Primary School math curriculum coordinator and third-grade teacher Ben Pierson has been looking at ways to improve ISTEP math scores. While failing students usually are targeted for remediation, “I thought it was important to address the needs of students who had already passed.”

When he and other educators recently attended a conference about quality in St. Louis, third-grade teacher Cindy Weisenbach learned about flexible grouping time, which teachers in that grade began doing in January.

Students take a five-question test on a particular skill. Those scoring 80 percent or higher are placed in an enrichment group three times a week for half an hour, with the rest going into small remediation groups offering more one-on-one time. “We're stealing time from maybe some other stuff that isn't so important.”

Second- and first-graders are in flexible math groups twice weekly.

After each week, remediation students are tested. According to Pierson, “Scores are going up ... we're seeing some progress with it.”

Coleman, a Batesville Tool & Die human resources employee, reported, “One thing that we see is entry level employees not having strong math skills. I’m glad you’re ... strengthening it. I applaud you.”

BCSC President Chris Lowery noted, “How much extra money did we put in to do this? None. There's a saying: Creativity over capital.” Lowery said a program like flex time is “part of the reason this school corporation is an Indiana Best Buy" designated by the state Chamber of Commerce.

Debbie Blank can be contacted at 812-934-4343, Ext. 113; or debbie.blank@ batesvilleheraldtribune.com. To comment on stories, visit batesvilleheraldtribune.com.