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RIPLEY -- Jackson County Schools received a donation to help their Ravenswood Innovation Center at the Jackson County Board of Education meeting Thursday.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE) Renewables Project Manager Vic Sprouse attended the meeting to announce a $45,000 donation from the BHE Foundation to bolster STEAM and technical programming through the district's Ravenswood Innovation Center, according to a media release.
"The Ravenswood Innovation Center will be the home of an engaging curriculum for students to harness their strengths of creativity, problem solving, and innovation while focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts/Agriculture and Math (STEAM)," the release said.
The Ravenswood Innovation Center is located in the old Ravenswood Middle School, according to Jackson County Schools Superintendent Will Hosaflook.
Dan Winters, BHE Renewables VP of Communications and Public Relations, said BHE Renewables President and CEO Alicia Knapp toured the Ravenswood Innovation Center in 2023 and "was impressed by the pathways the district is creating for students to enter STEAM and technical fields."
Winters said the BHE Foundation identified an opportunity by donating the money for the innovation center to "make a meaningful impact in a community where our people operate."
"We are thrilled that the BHE Foundation identified this worthy investment," Sprouse said in the release. "We are grateful to have so many wonderful new neighbors in Jackson County and this $45,000 gift will advance the foundation's mission to serve the needs of those communities where our employees and customers live and work."
According to the release, the BHE Foundation's donation reflects BHE Renewables' commitment to and support of the communities in which it resides.
"This investment will help provide a path toward a better future for our students and in return will provide a better future for us all," Hosaflook said in the release.
Right now the district has classes once a week for 400 students ranging from second to eighth grade in the innovation center as part of their STEAM program. The program uses Project Lead the Way curriculum, he said.
According to its website, Project Lead the Way offers a STEM curriculum that focuses on real world applied learning experiences.
The district will use the funds donated for the innovation center to purchase 3D printers, coding centers and makerspaces for the Project Lead the Way curriculum, Hosaflook said. The equipment will "really bring (students') imaginations alive," he said.
According to Hosaflook, employers want employees who are creative thinkers and the innovation center is a way to supply creative thinkers to the workforce. The donation from the BHE Foundation "is a huge help to bring this to fruition," Hosfalook said.
Hosaflook expects that in the next six months to a year the district will have a lot of things going on at the innovation center.
Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentintel.com