Good ideas spread quickly.

The Mankato Area School District recently implemented an industry-driven, technology heavy program called Project Lead the Way. Combining science, engineering and mathematics skills, Mankato teachers and administrators have hailed the program as an innovative way to inject relevance and job skills into class curriculum.

So when Maple River High School Principal Dan Anderson received a Project Lead the Way flier in the mail, he wanted to learn more. And after visiting the facilities at Mankato East, Anderson recognized an opportunity.

“I knew we could do something similar in Maple River,” he said.

Anderson already has received a $10,000 grant from the Maple River Community Network for start-up costs and has applied for a Kearns grant, which is offered through Project Lead the Way and amounts to $35,000 over three years. Maple River Supt. Willis Schoeb said the district also may provide some capitol outlay funds — as much as $4,000 — to provide and update computer software.

For complete story, see the Sunday, May 11, 2008, print edition of The Free Press or sign onto our e-edition.

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