Centralia High School Principal Josh Lowe, left, Centralia School Board member Bob Fuller, center, and Centralia School District Superintendent Mark Davalos stand outside the high school after a press conference on May 12. At the press conference Lowe announced that the school was awarded a $3.6 million grant to construct a new STEM education facility on Wednesday afternoon in front of the school. According to a community survey, expanding STEM programs is a high priority.
Accompanied by staff members, school board members and Superintendent Mark Davalos, Centralia High School Principal Josh Lowe announces that the school was awarded a $3.6 million grant to construct a new STEM education facility on Wednesday afternoon in front of the school.
Two Lewis County school districts received big news on Wednesday as they were awarded a combined total of more than $9.1 million to build new STEM education facilities on their respective campuses.
The Chehalis School District was awarded $5,505,822 for a new STEM wing to be built onto W.F. West High School, while Centralia School District was awarded $3,602,072 to fund the construction of a new STEM education facility on the campus of Centralia High School.
At W.F. West, the preliminary design of the wing has six science labs and two classrooms, although that number may change throughout the design process, Chehalis Superintendent Ed Rothlin told The Chronicle Thursday.
The new facility at Centralia High School will also house six classrooms and several lab science spaces, High School Principal Josue Lowe said at a press conference on Wednesday. Construction is expected to start this fall and a completion date is scheduled for the summer of 2017.
The preliminary STEM — science, technology, engineering, mathematics — grants were awarded by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington STEM organization.
Officials from both districts were excited for the opportunities the money will provide them.
Both cited cramped conditions and a lack of space.
“This is a monumental event for Centralia High School and for our community as a whole,” Lowe said. “This award is a perfect example of what can happen when a staff and community come together as a team to create a vision and to pursue it.”
Lowe said the district had a lot of preparation work to complete, but he said they are excited for the opportunity to expand and provide a facility that both the students and staff are worthy of.
The money will help the science department reach its vision of becoming an exemplary STEM school by providing basic infrastructure for the needs of the students, Lowe said.
“The CHS science department has been teaching science in makeshift classrooms never intended for science,” Lowe said. “Not only are there not enough classrooms to teach the 11 courses offered by the school, the facilities are also woefully inadequate and fraught with safety issues.”
It will also help address issues discovered through a civil rights review that found many of the labs are inadequate and not accessible under the terms of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
“It is our belief that STEM is one of the best vehicles for reaching our student population by providing experiences that will prepare them for future STEM careers,” he said. “This grant will be an essential component and first step in our district’s plan to modernize our facilities.”
Superintendent Mark Davalos said the district will be looking for ways to enhance the STEM programs with investments in up-to-date technology, equipment, new courses and training for staff.
“We will look for partner that can help us be STEM strong also to make the best use of that new facility,” he said.
A requirement of the grant requires the district to gather community-based support in the amount of at least $100,000 in monetary or in-kind donations.
According to Lowe, the district has a disbursement schedule with the state for the funds awarded.
The Chehalis School District is also on the hook for $100,000 in monetary or in-kind donations. Rothlin said the requirement has already been met thanks to a local foundation in the Mint City.
“We are very fortunate with the involvement of the Chehalis Foundation,” he said.
He added that the Foundation has provided the district with resources to obtain the latest equipment, and the grant will help bring the facilities to the same high level.
“We just don’t have the right facility for us, which limits what kids can do,” Rothlin said. “Believe it or not we’re using long storage areas for culture labs and it’s just awkward.”
Rothlin said the district will be meeting with their project managers in charge of the construction of the two new elementary schools in Chehalis to guide them through this project as well.
The STEM pilot program was established in the 2015-17 Washington state capital budget. The intent of the program is to provide grant funds to school districts that deal with a “housing burden due to lack of sufficient space for science classrooms and labs to enable students to meet statutory graduation requirements,” stated the letter from OSPI announcing the news.
Chehalis and Centralia school districts asked for over $6 million and $4 million respectively, a large amount when compared to the total allotment of the STEM pilot program.
In all, OSPI and Washington STEM received 66 applications from 34 school districts across the state.
The applications resulted in a total grant funding request of over $130 million, a number much higher than the $12 million allocated for the STEM program.
The districts advanced to the finalist stage and each completed a walk through of the facilities with stakeholders in March to determine the districts’ need for funds.
