Earlier this week, Mr. Olinger was pleased to represent Plainfield Community School Corporation at the District Administrators Leadership Institute conference, as our district was recognized as a district of distinction and a top 3 finalist for the DALI Future Focused STEM Award.
While Plainfield Schools didn’t win, our recognition as a finalist speaks volumes for the STEM initiatives that flow throughout our district. The other finalist, Montgomery Public Schools from Montgomery, Alabama, has a school population of over 26,000 students. The award winning district was Miami-Dade County Schools, which has over 335,000 students, and the district includes 542 schools, including 227 preschools, 321 elementary schools, 235 middle schools, and 138 high schools.
To put it another way, Montgomery Public Schools is almost 4.5 times larger than Plainfield Schools, while Miami-Dade County Schools is almost 57 times larger than our school district.
Being considered for this honor against such large school districts is a testament to the throughline of STEM-focused programs we provide for students. From The Imagination Lab, The Idea Lab, and the newly constructed Innovation Lab at Plainfield High School, to the way that our teachers weave STEM seamlessly through different subjects and curriculums, we are emboldened by the recognition that we are educating the workforce of tomorrow and preparing them for the future.