EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Students in his engineering technology classes at West Middle School don't spend much time sitting at desks and taking notes. Instead, they build model rockets, wind turbines and airplanes, learning about math, physics and electronics in the process.

And it's working. In just the program's second year, it has already drawn the support of local businesses and the attention of state educators who want to use it as a model for other schools.

"The idea is that kids can learn by building something that's fun," Miley said. "If you can tap into something that's challenging and interesting, they'll do it."

Miley brought some of his students to the Massachusetts Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Summit last month, where they talked about their classes, presented their projects and gave advice to schools looking to start their own engineering programs.

"They presented very seriously, very professionally," Superintendent Claudia Bach said. "They talked like engineers."

This week, Miley's students wrapped up their class projects for the semester. Eighth-graders, who spent the past two months learning the principles of flight and building model airplanes out of foam board and electric motors, finally got a chance to fly their creations outside. They used remote controls to start the planes' propellers and adjust the rudders, sending them soaring and swooping over the schools' playing fields.

"They're seeing that an airplane just doesn't fly," Miley said. "It flies because of math and science and technology."

The experience was unlike any other the students said they have had in school.

"We like how it's hands on," Laura Dimitruk said. "It's not just sitting there."

"It's a different way of learning," classmate Mike Galietti said. "I like this style better."

The flying lessons didn't go exactly as planned yesterday morning, when gusty winds made it hard to even get some of the planes off the ground. But when Miley led his students back into his classroom, a converted woodshop, he assured them there was nothing wrong with their designs.

"I'm really impressed," he said. "These are cool."

A $3,500 grant from 3M Touch Systems in Methuen paid for the supplies that Miley and his students used to make the airplanes, and money from Raytheon helped get the program up and running last year. Partnerships with local businesses are key to the program's success, Miley said.

Up until four years ago, Miley had spent his entire career in engineering and marketing, working for General Electric, Polaroid and Wang Laboratories. He started teaching math and science in Lexington in 2002, then came to Andover in 2005.