Charles Town, W. Va., April 8, 2019 — American Public University System (APUS) today announced the donation of three additional WeatherSTEM systems as part of its continuing mission to serve its local community and enhance learning opportunities for K-12 students in its home panhandle region and adjacent public school districts in West Virginia.
WeatherSTEM, which currently supports more than 400 systems nationwide, recently installed systems at Moorefield and North Jefferson Elementary Schools and at St. Marys High School, the university’s seventh, eighth and ninth such donations to-date to WV public schools.
The Web-based platform combines data from weather instruments, agricultural probes, Web cameras and other sensors, aligning with APUS’s commitment to create immersive STEM education experiences featuring "’Big Data’ and programming,” according to APUS Assistant Provost of Academic Partnerships & Outreach and School of Education Dean Dr. Conrad Lotze. “We are committed to providing programs and resources that benefit not only our own online STEM students around the globe, but also those studying right in our own backyard and across our nearby communities,” said Lotze. “This benefit is truly validated by our key stakeholders in those communities.”
“We are very excited about the new, wonderful STEM learning opportunities that will take place based on the new equipment that has been installed,” said St. Marys Principal Jeff Sole.
“A sincere thank-you from our students, superintendent and board members for providing this useful equipment to our community,” said Moorefield Principal Wade Armentrout.
“Thank you so much for your donation of the WeatherSTEM station to our school, We are so looking forward to integrating this STEM technology into our curriculum,” added North Jefferson Principal Dorothy Johnson.
The long-standing relationship between APUS, West Virginia Public Schools and other state educational organizations includes several previous APUS donations of WeatherSTEM systems, in addition to ongoing contributions of school computers and supplies and financial and staff volunteer support for the Education Alliance in Charleston.
