Middle-school 'We Build It Better' program spotlights STEM skills and student collaboration

Teachers introduced the district’s We Build It Better middle-school program and two students described hands-on projects and learning outcomes to the board.

Crystal Canada, a teacher from East Hardin, said the program introduces students to workforce skills and engineering concepts so they can pursue career pathways in high school and beyond. She noted students built electric cars, learned circuits and fiber optics, and recently completed hydraulic robots that will compete in an upcoming event (SEG 1315–1334).

Two participating students described how the class emphasized collaboration, project-based problem solving and an exposure to careers such as welding and mechanics. McKenna Clark said students had to "collaborate as a group to problem solve and build our electric vehicle," and that they simulated meeting a customer brief to build an ambulance-style vehicle for safe patient transport (SEG 1348–1356). Another student, Myla Hawkins, said the class focused on teamwork and active listening as part of the district’s portrait-of-a-learner outcomes (SEG 1357–1367).

A teacher joked that some teacher-built ambulances did not initially perform as well as student versions, illustrating the program’s emphasis on hands-on testing and iterative design (SEG 1399–1403). The board applauded the students and the program’s business sponsor, Maltec, which the district credited with supporting the middle-school rollout.

The presentation closed with recognition of the students’ forthcoming competition and praise for the program’s role in expanding career and technical education options at the middle-school level.