ANDOVER — Students at Wood Hill Middle School will soon be able to take engineering classes thanks to a $400,000 grant from the state.
The three-year grant, which comes from the Department of Education, will allow Wood Hill to add an engineering teacher and laboratory, as well as provide more curriculum development and instruction for teachers in all the middle schools.
"The idea behind the grant is to create more students going into science, technology, engineering and math in college," said Lisa Glickstein, grant coordinator for Andover schools, "a pipeline of students coming out and becoming scientists and engineers."
Andover's proposal was one of 10 out of 19 chosen by the state through the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Pipeline Fund (STEM).
The town will share the grant with the Worcester and Brookline school districts, partners in the proposal, but will receive 40 percent of the money for heading the effort.
The grant allows Andover middle schools to strengthen the original engineering curriculum started by West Middle School teacher Dan Miley in 2006 — much needed since the eighth-grade MCAS tests now have many engineering-related questions.
Northeastern University will provide professional development for teachers, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, which has participated in other STEM projects, will act in an advisory role. Philips Healthcare and Wyeth will take part, sending engineers into Andover classrooms to talk about their careers.
Wood Hill is the last of the town's three middle schools to offer engineering. West Middle began offering the program in 2006, and Doherty Middle followed this year.
Andover middle-schoolers take engineering for nine weeks in addition to regular science classes. Students build model rockets, wind turbines and airplanes, and learn about math, physics and electronics in the process.
Glickstein said the grant covers 20 percent of a new engineering teacher position for Wood Hill. The other 80 percent of the salary will be included in the school's budget, which will have to be approved at Town Meeting later this month.
