In the wake of coronavirus, school closings and “stay at home” mandates have upended the educational experience for high school students across the country. High schools were caught off guard, and their online learning budgets can’t keep up with demand.
In response, the SME Education Foundation is taking action to ensure that distance-learning opportunities become available for thousands of career and technical education (CTE) students across the country.
Pine Bush High School experienced "the highest of highs" after launching their SME PRIME Program. A day later, the school shut down due to the COVID pandemic. The school is making the most of opportunity and using their manufacturing equipment to produce face shields for frontline workers while also continuing to educate students through online courses.
Career and technical education students at SME PRIME® high schools in Michigan, Illinois, and New York have experienced firsthand the importance of manufacturing to our nation and the world — and how their classroom studies and hands-on lab work relate to real-world challenges, and can even save lives during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Arconic Foundation donated $25,000 to the SME Education Foundation’s COVID-19 campaign. Donations to the campaign will ensure that online learning provided by Tooling U-SME becomes available to thousands of high school students in 12 manufacturing disciplines, including additive manufacturing, mechatronics and smart manufacturing.