El Monte board meets Tech Trek participants and hears water-education resources from regional water district

Students who participated in Tech Trek summer STEM camps shared experiences with the El Monte City School District Board of Education on Aug. 18, describing robotics, engineering and anatomy projects that influenced their interest in STEM careers.

Yasmin Guido, an eighth-grader from Columbia School who was assigned to a robotics track, described a project that asked campers to imagine a device to address food insecurity and said the experience strengthened her interest in engineering.

"Being part of this camp made me want to learn more about engineering and building robots," Yasmin said.

Other students described dissecting a fetal pig in an anatomy unit, making liquid-nitrogen ice cream in physics, and collaboration challenges that emphasized communication and teamwork. Board members and the superintendent praised the students and thanked district staff for funding student participation.

During the public-comment period, Jennifer Santana, board president of the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, and Katherine Vasquez, a water resource analyst, summarized water-education resources available to El Monte teachers: a water-education grant program (awards up to $1,000 for K–12 projects), free assembly presentations through Discovery Cube with transportation grants available, watershed restoration volunteer events where students may earn community-service hours, and an online water-engineering competition for middle and high school students.

Ms. Vasquez said the water-education grant application opens Aug. 25 and distributed flyers with program details and contact information for district staff and teachers.