Marsteller Students Participate in U.S. Senate Career, Tech Ed Fair

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Sen. Tim Kaine looks at projects made by Marsteller CTE Students. (L-R: Will Lowery, JV Corsino, Sen. Tim Kaine and Olivia Cunnigham.) Sen. Tim Kaine looks at projects made by Marsteller CTE Students. (L-R: Will Lowery, JV Corsino, Sen. Tim Kaine and Olivia Cunnigham.)

Five eighth grade students from Marsteller Middle School in Bristow represented the sole middle school group at the 2015 U.S. Senate Career and Technical Education Fair, March 1, at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Students Katherine Murphy, Olivia Cunningham, Will Lowery, Larry Bell and Juan Victor 'JV' Corsino were selected for their ingenuity and academic success in their Project Lead The Way Certified Career and Technical education classes.

Rarely do the sponsors invite middle school students and never before has a middle school from Virginia attended the showcase; however, Marsteller students were encouraged to participate due to the school’s stellar reputation for STEM education.

Not only are Marsteller’s CTE teachers known throughout the school division, but Marsteller's Samuel Benson was awarded the distinction of being the Northern Virginia Technology, Engineering and Education Association Teacher of the Year in 2015; the third time in his career he was awarded the honor.

Prince William County Schools Career and Technical Education Supervisor Douglas Wright praised Marsteller’s CTE staff and students, especially Benson and CTE Department Chair Tim Vaughn.

StudentsLTW Marsteller students and educators stand with Senator Tim Kaine at the  U.S. Senate CTE Student Fair, (L-R) PWCS CTE Supervisor Douglas Wright; CTE teacher Sam Benson; Larry Bell; Katherine Murphy; Will Lowery, Sen. Tim Kaine; Olivia Cunnigham; MMS Tech. Ed. Chair Tim Vaughn; and Juan Victor Corsino.[/caption]

“This is a program we showcase and try to replicate at others schools in the division. The teachers, principal and students here really set this program apart,” Wright said.

During the visit, Marsteller students had the honor of talking with Virginia Senator and former Governor, Tim Kaine (D), who spoke to them about their coursework and the impact CTE has had on their education and career paths.

“As the son of a welder, Senator Kaine has been a lifelong supporter of career and technical education as a tool to prepare students for success in the workforce,” said Sebastian Silva, spokesperson for the senator.

According to Silva, Kaine co-founded the U.S. Senate’s CTE Caucus so students would have a place to showcase project-based learning and help schools across the country replicate successful programs.

Marsteller is Prince William County’s Science and Math Specialty Middle School, but all students are invited to take its CTE classes. Vaughn feels strongly that the classes remain inclusive.

“ clearly not doing well in other subject areas and then they come in here and they can shine,” he said.

He explained that many students respond to the class's real-world practices

“There’s that hands on component that allows students to apply what they learn in a real-life setting,” Vaughn said. “It’s not just the theory, it’s the application, putting what they’ve learned to a practical use.”

According to Wright, CTE education is changing and PWCS is keeping pace by creating new opportunities whether it be in STEM or career-readiness programs such as welding.

“We’re shifting that paradigm everyday. Parents are starting to understand the value of CTE,” he said.

For many students that real-world application gets them excited about STEM and having state of the art technology, such as a 3D printer, doesn't hurt.

Olivia, who applied to the Creative, Fine and Performing Arts program at Colgan High School, said she did not elect to take the PLTW certified Design and Modeling class as a sixth grade student, but was placed in it anyway. She was pleasantly surprised to find how much she grew to like it and even exceled in it.

The class has been transformative for others as well.

Katherine, who has applied to be an A.P. Scholar and PLTW student at Patriot High School, said she did not like math and struggled in geometry, until PLTW classes showed her math could be applied to the real world.

“Now that I seen how applicable it is, it’s definitely a lot more interesting to me because I see that I’m going to use it some day,” she said.

Katherine, who wants to pursue a career in civil engineering or architecture, said Marsteller’s CTE classes were a perfect fit.

Both young women were encouraged by participating in PLTW; in fact, they say there is no gender bias and practically an equal number of boys and girls are enrolled in the school's CTE classes.

“There is definitely a lot of encouragement for girls to get involved in this class here and to become involved in engineering in the future as it become a big field,” Katherine said.

The boys say they have found their niche through CTE as well. JV mainly enjoys working with robotics, while Larry loves Autodesk Inventor and making his drawing come to life with the 3D printer.

Will said he is most interested in seeing the projects that other schools from around the country had created.

All of the students agreed that while they felt honored to speak with congressmen and women, but they learned the most from the other participants, especially as those students gave them a peak at what they could do at the high school level.

Wright said he is extremely proud of PWCS’s CTE programs, and he is always amazed at all the remarkable work Vaughn and Benson continue to do at Marsteller.

“If I could clone these two teachers, I certainly would because the way instruction happens, it’s transformational. I would invite any parent, any school board member in here---it is relevant, real and rigorous," Wright said. "I’m blown away every time I come in here, but you’ve got two master teachers always looking to improve, offering a quality program to the kids.”

Marsteller Principal Roberta Knetter agreed with the sentiment.

“I am extremely proud of everybody here," she said, "but particularly of the teachers of Project Lead The Way," she said.

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