Lakeville Public School District

STEM opportunities continue into middle school and high school in Lakeville as well. The middle schoolers get to take wheel courses, which are mini- courses that expose them to project-based learning opportunities. In high school, students can choose from a variety of STEM courses, or follow a STEM pathway and receive extra recognition when they graduate. This programming has been developed over the last decade and elicits a “high level of interest” from students, Van Zyl comments. Lakeville’s partnerships with the community also extend to partnerships with the chamber of commerce to generate workforce development opportunities. High school students have the chance to work with local businesses to get hands-on experience. Van Zyl hopes these partnerships will continue to grow. Over the next few years, he hopes to explore the idea of a career academy and notes that there is already interest in such a project from the mayor and the chamber of commerce. COMPLEX COMMUNITY NEEDS In addition to integrating students and community partnerships, Lakeville has a wide range of needs within its own education system to consider. They 10 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 5, ISSUE 03 LAKEVI LLE PUBL IC SCHOOL DISTRICT