Committed to Alaska: Anchorage School District and Siemens

Committed to Alaska: Anchorage
School District and Siemens
Working together to inspire and support the state’s next
generation of engineers
Answers for infrastructure and cities.
Siemens engineers and technicians work with local communities
to make schools efficient, safe, and more secure. In Anchorage,
Siemens is taking this commitment to K-12 one step further,
partnering with the Anchorage School District to help cultivate
the state’s next generation of engineers.
“To have
professionals
come in and show these
students that they can
do this, it really fires
them up. They can see a
path in front of them.”
Cheri Spink
Executive Director,
School Business Partnership
Anchorage, Alaska
Forging Strong Partnerships
An active member of the local community,
the Building Technologies division of
Siemens has worked with the Anchorage
School District (ASD) for 20 years. Several
years ago, the local Siemens team, led by
Leverette Hoover, General Manager of
Siemens Alaska, decided it wanted to do
something more.
Siemens collaborated with Anchorage’s
School Business Partnership — a non-profit
that builds relationships between local
businesses and schools — to create
programs for elementary and high school
students that generated excitement about
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math) and prepared students to excel
in these fields.
The collaboration resulted in programs
at two ASD schools: Siemens Science and
Math Day at Rabbit Creek Elementary
School and an Engineering Academy at
Dimond High School. Both progams have
set anexample of what can be done within
the district, as well as throughout the state
and the nation.
“Siemens was unique in that they had a
goal,” said Cheri Spink, Executive Director
of the School Business Partnership. “They
saw that thread that connected education,
from grade school through high school
and beyond.”
Science & Math Day at
Rabbit Creek Elementary
Now in its seventh year, the Siemens
Science and Math Day is an event the
whole school looks forward to from the
very first day of class. Held each May,
Siemens engineers visit Rabbit Creek
Elementary to share with fourth and fifth
graders the exciting opportunities available
to them through STEM-based careers. The
day culminates in the Annual Egg Drop, for
which students design and construct
devices that will protect their egg from
a 48-foot freefall.
Far left: Steve Halloran, Board of
Directors Chair of the ASD School
Business Partnership; Cheri Spink,
Director of the ASD School Business
Partnership; and Leverette Hoover,
General Manager, Siemens Alaska
and Board of Directors Vice Chair of
the ASD School Business Partnership.
Center: Rabbit Creek students
consult with Siemens engineers
on their design ideas.
Right: The Annual Egg Drop – nine
teams successfully protected their
eggs from the 48-foot drop.
According to Stephany LaPoint, a fifth
grade teacher at Rabbit Creek, fourth and
fifth grade is an ideal time to get children
excited about STEM careers, “This is the
age where they can really connect on
why science and math will matter in
their future.”
In addition to teaching the students about
STEM careers, Siemens engineers also lend
their expertise in the egg drop. Students
are divided into teams and given the
materials they must use in creating their
devices. The engineers help in the building
process, explaining the science along the
way. “The kids have favorites who come
year after year,” adds Ms. LaPoint. “They’re
always excited when they see the engineers
they know.”
The Engineering Academy at
Dimond High School
The Engineering Academy at Dimond High
School supports students who want to
pursue engineering in college and as a
career. By providing daily engineering
classes, the Academy helps them prepare
for challenging post-secondary engineering
programs.
Siemens worked closely with Dimond to
help launch the Academy. In addition to
providing financial suport, Siemens also
helped found the school’s engineering
advisory council and made connections
with other local engineering companies
as well as the University of Alaska’s
College of Engineering. “We wouldn’t be
here without Siemens,” noted Cheryl
Guyett, Principal of Dimond High School.
At the Academy, which graduated its
second class in 2013, students have access
to the latest technology and resources to
design and build their own engineering
projects. Local Siemens engineers also
participate, visiting Dimond High and
sharing their experiences. “Our students
are looking for us to make education real,”
added Principal Guyett. “The Engineering
Academy does this. The learning just jumps
right off the page and into their hands.”
Taking the Next Step
With the programs at Rabbit Creek and
Dimond providing a model for Alaska’s
K-12 schools, and with the University of
Alaska growing its College of Engineering,
Siemens is looking to play a key role in
connecting the two. It’s the next key step
in growing Alaska’s future engineers. Some
may even become Siemens engineers.
“My hope,” says Leverette, “is that these
students who are juniors and seniors now,
when they go to college, they’re going to
remember what we did at Rabbit Creek and
think, I want to work for that company.”
“Great things can
happen so quickly and
successfully when you
have collaboration.
When you bring the
local community,
businesses, schools,
and the university
together, it creates a
sustainable model.”
Cheryl Guyett
Principal,
Dimond High School
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Infrastructure & Cities Sector
Building Technologies Division
1000 Deerfield Parkway
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Tel: (847) 215-1000
Fax: (847) 215-1093
© 2014 Siemens Industry, Inc. (1/2014)
Answers for infrastructure.
Our world is undergoing changes that force us to think
in new ways: demographic change, urbanization, global
warming, and resource shortages. Maximum efficiency
has top priority – and not only where energy is concerned.
In addition, we need to increase comfort for the well-being
of users. Also, our need for safety and security is constantly
www.siemens.com/k12
growing. For our customers, success is defined by how well
they manage these challenges. Siemens has the answers.
“We are the preferred partner for energy-efficient, safe,
and secure buildings and infrastructure.”