Civil Municipal Magazine - Dec 2023

326 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 making connections across multiple disciplines.” Because of its forward-thinking approach to education, Radford City Schools was recently designated by the State Board of Education of Virginia as a ‘School Division of Innovation.’ “And we happen to be the only one in the state last year that was given that award,” says Denny. “Our teachers have done such a remarkable job learning the strategies and techniques around STEM education and partnering with our ITRTs to become familiar with the PLTW curriculum to provide engaging experiences for all students. Kindergarten and preschool students are involved in STEM activities because we understand the value and impact to our youngest students if they are able to access processes early on. STEM experiences demand cooperation and critical thinking and exploration. And that goes all the way up to high school.” STEM is for everyone “These initiatives are for all students, not just for the top or gifted students,” notes District Education Specialist, Jamie Little. “We offer all students, K-12, the opportunity to engage in innovative STEM practices.” Little is also the district’s liaison to the area’s college, university, and business partners. One instrumental organization that works with Radford’s schools is Radford University; it recently provided the district a grant to get cyber security instruction to its students, early on. Another key collaborator is Virginia Tech in nearby Blacksburg, which offers programs via its Center for Educational Networks and Impacts. “There is a local liaison in each of the school divisions surrounding Virginia Tech,” Little explains. “We’re on campus one day a week. If there are departments, professors, or groups looking for outreach to local school systems, we serve as a liaison to them; if our teachers or administrators want some kind of programming, field trip, or experience, I try to make that connection between our school system and Tech. And we’ve been able to do some pretty awesome programming with Tech along those lines. The last couple of years, we had a ‘Passport to College’ career program with the College Access Collaborative at Virginia Tech. They came to the high school and met with our sophomores and juniors with programming preparing them for college and career -- either or both.”