Dr. Rick Schneider, the district’s supervisor of secondary content, presented a brief overview of STEM and STEAM activities during the Nov. 6 Committee of the Whole, calling attention to university partnerships and community events planned for students.

Partnerships described:
- Mercyhurst University: faculty and data‑science students mentored district students, provided campus tours and helped students explore STEM careers. Schneider said the Mercyhurst program began this school year and included Collegiate Academy and Erie High students.
- Gannon University: engineering faculty worked with district pre‑engineering and engineering students on high‑altitude balloon projects that included designing payloads, programming sensors, conducting launches and retrieving payloads. The first public launch occurred in May and drew local press coverage.

Community STEM opportunities: Schneider pointed listeners to community partners and events, including Experience Children’s Museum, Penn State Behrend and YMCA/Wabtec workshops scheduled in the city.

Participation and continuity: Schneider said class location and student composition can change depending on staffing and schedules; he gave an approximate breakdown (last year’s ballooning class about 70% Collegiate students and 30% Erie High students; Mercyhurst mentoring included approximately 30 Erie High students and 20–25 Collegiate students) and said more detail will be presented next week.

Provenance: Schneider’s overview began roughly 48 minutes into the meeting and the presentation was a preview of programs that will be detailed in a future Board presentation.