Cornerstone Christian Academy has been awarded a $64,935 grant to expand its STEM teaching technology by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
From a field of 100 applications, CCA joins 27 other Ohio schools in receiving the Nonpublic STEM Grant, which will be used to purchase machinery to support Cornerstone’s burgeoning technical and vocational training programs, according to a news release.
The Nonpublic STEM Grant covers laptops to support Cornerstone’s Computer Assisted Design certification program, allowing students enhanced design flexibility. These design models are used to produce actual parts at the school, using CCA’s growing collection of Computer Numerical Control equipment.
Three additional 3D printers, a 3D scanner, a CNC router/plasma cutter table and a full-color large format vinyl cutting printer will also be added to the school’s technology classrooms through grant funding, the release stated.
CCA already offers an industry-standard Haas CNC milling machine for student certifications in machine operations and computer aided machining. The vinyl cutting printer will complement the existing laser cutting and engraving machine at CCA.
These resources are intended to encourage creative, entrepreneurial student spirit and foster student creation of branding and marketing materials.
“For the past five years, Cornerstone has committed a significant amount of instructional time and resources to developing STEM programming that allows our students to earn industry-recognized certifications,” Head of School Sandi Ortiz stated in the release. “This Nonpublic STEM Grant helps supercharge the advanced technical and vocational programming CCA already has in place.”
The grant will also support the development of a woodworking shop at the school. CCA is adding a vertical band saw, floor-mount metal band saw, and bench grinder to their woodshop through the grant, allowing students to learn basic woodworking skills and vocational building blocks.
According to STEM Instructor Bill Fischer, these skills are in high demand for many reasons.
“Equipping our students with basic skills like woodworking is both practical and rewarding,” he stated in the release. “Teaching teens how to use their hands stimulates creativity, and in a screen-saturated world, opens unique doors of opportunity in engineering and the trades to them.”
Cornerstone Christian Academy is a non-profit, chartered school in Willoughby Hills, serving nearly 500 students through 12th grade.
