Manchester Schools Receive $10K STEM Grant From Joint Base Group

MANCHESTER, NJ — The STEM program at Manchester Township High School and Middle School has received a big boost after the district received a $10,200 grant from NAVAIR Lakehurst, the district announced.

The grant will allot the district to create a makerspace at the high school as well as buying 3-D printers and robotics supplies, and stipends for after-school support, the district said.

Haidy Oliveira, an aerospace engineer and educational outreach coordinator for NAVAIR, presented the grant to high school physics teacher Pat White and Maura Simister, a STEM teacher at the middle school, at the Oct. 19 Board of Education meeting.

Oliveira said NAVAIR, which is part of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, has a goal of increasing interest in STEM education and careers. They have worked with Manchester students in numerous programs, she said, and are pleased to continue and expand their support.

"We are very impressed by Manchester,” she said.

White expressed gratitude for the support from NAVAIR over the last six years.

"It’s because of their awesome local outreach that we have a robotics club both at the high school and the middle school," she said. "It’s because of this outreach that more Manchester students understand that STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.”

White said she is most excited about getting funding for 3-D printers and to begin a makerspace in the physics lab that will give students access to design tools they may not have at home.

“With students having access to 3-D printers they will have the ability to design tangible objects as far as their imagination takes them,” she said.

“I do not believe that NAVAIR understands how many student hands, minds and hearts they have touched in the past six years," White said. "Many of our past graduates from these clubs have gone on to STEM related college and careers, or to STEM fields right after high school. We so appreciate your support in helping us mold our future.”

“I would like thank NAVAIR, Ms. Haidy Oliveira, Mr. Gaetan Mangano, and Ms. Lawson," Simister said. "You have provided Manchester with various means of support through grants, mentoring, robotic challenges, and trips to the base. All of these components allow us to expose the students to activities that provide real world applications as an extension of their core learning."

"This (grant) will allow the students of Manchester to acquire the necessary skills to become active learners in our global community,” she said.

Donald Webster Jr., president of the school board, thanked Oliveira and NAVAIR for their support, which has included scholarships for Manchester students pursuing STEM careers.

“Their endgame is to produce more scientists and engineers,” he said.

Manchester Township Middle School STEM teacher Maura Simister (left) and high school physics teacher Pat White accept a STEM grant from NAVAIR Engineer Haidy Oliveira that will help expand the district's STEM program. Photo by Lee Bruzaitis, Manchester Township School District