LEARNING MADE FUN: Sumter School District reveals three new educational opportunities

SUMTER, SC (WOLO) — The school year is just around the corner for Sumter students.

Kids go back next week, but today, Sumter  School District revealed three new educational initiatives for all schools coming this semester. 

“Sumter School District is getting better every day,” said Superintendent Dr. William Wright. “We’re excited to prove that to our citizens and students.”

Wednesday morning, the Sumter School District unveiled three new educational opportunities made possible thanks to community partners such as the Shaw Air Force Base. One of those is a cyber security unit.

“Now more than ever, children are vulnerable online even through simple things such as sharing your password, home address or name online. The internet is a great research tool but it’s also a dangerous place,” said Leroy Steigerwalt, STEM innovation specialist. “We feel it’s important to teach children to be safe online. With the older children, we can show them how to defend themselves online and even move into a career.”

Another new tool for students is the STEM explorer, an old bus that has been turned into a hands-on learning experience. 

“What we want to do is increase the impact of STEM in our community and show everybody how fun learning can be,” Steigerwalt said. “We can also show children that being an educator is not just being in a classroom, it can be a lot more than that.”

Both the STEM explorer and the cyber security unit will be making stops for all the district’s grade levels. 

“We’re going to be visiting each school with both vehicles. All 15 thousand students will have exposure to both programs,” Steigerwalt said. “We also have extension programs once per month. Teachers will be able to use them to be able to increase the impact of the program here in Sumter.”

The final new initiative is the StarLab Planetarium. A digital projector helps bring history and science alive for kids. It was donated by the Sumter Educational Foundation. 

“We see this as just one example of work that communities can do together to make sure our kids get the best,” Dr. Wright said. “That’s really what it’s all about.”

The district’s superintendent says these initiatives have been in the works for some time.