Community Corner
SHS Pre-engineering Program 'Leads the Way'
For the second straight year, the program was named best in the state.
The Connecticut Department of Education has named Southington High School’s pre-engineering program best in the state for the third time in the last four years. (In 2010 the program came in second.)
The title is based on student scores on the Career and Technical Education assessment, a test similar to the PSAT or CAPT, but only for junior or senior pre-engineering students.
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Part of the national Project Lead the Way program, students following Southington’s pre-engineering curriculum can earn college credits while exploring the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). SHS was the first school in Connecticut to be certified as a Project Lead the Way school, according to Justin Mirante, chair of the Engineering and Technology Department at SHS.
Students can apply to the program in eighth grade. Each year, 36 students are selected. A total of 124 are currently participating.
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Students follow a particular course of study during each of their four years:
- Freshman year is an introduction to engineering and design.
- Sophomore year focuses on digital electronics.
- Junior year concentrates on the principles of engineering and computer-integrated manufacturing.
- Senior year gives students an opportunity to apply their knowledge by creating an invention.
The Southington High pre-engineering program will be officially recognized with a plaque during the Career and Technical Education Conference in Farmington on November 9.
