Our Voice: Thumbs up for opportunity, leadership

Seizing the opportunity in Finley

The Mid-Columbia has for years been a state leader in the development of K-12 education focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Delta High School, a STEM-based integrated learning high school, was one of the state’s first such schools. This innovative approach to education started in 2009 with financial support from Battelle and the combined efforts of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland School districts.

In 2014, the Pasco School District opened three STEM elementary schools designed to “ignite in our students and staff a passion for learning, a commitment to innovative thinking, and a desire to transform the global community” according to the Franklin STEM Elementary website.

There are a lot of brilliant young minds in the Tri-Cities who will have a better opportunity to achieve their full potential because our community had both the visionary leadership and the necessary financial resources.

But across the state, there are many brilliant young minds with equally visionary teachers and administrators who will not have that same opportunity because they are in small, less affluent school districts who lack the resources necessary to provide the necessary facilities for a robust STEM educational program.

Finely School District, a small rural district southeast of the Tri-Cities, is one such district. But that’s changing, or at least it will change if people of the Mid-Columbia with the means to do so step up and help the district cross the fundraising finish and enable them to bring home a $2.8 million state grant.

District officials have raised $70,000 of the $100,000 in donations necessary to qualify for the state grant. If received, the grant money wil go toward construction of an additional science lab classroom and renovation of the River View High School greenhouse. Currently, the district only has the space to teach either chemistry or physics each school year. Receipt of the grant would allow them to teach both.

Donations for the match to the grant don’t have to be all cash. In-kind donations of time and other resources count, as does equipment or STEM professionals willing to serve as guest instructors.

If you can help, please contact the district at 509-586-3217. Who knows how your contribution may change our future.

Battelle to continue its leadership

It appears Battelle Memorial Institute will continue to operate the Pacific Northwest Laboratory for the at least the next five years. And that’s a very good thing for this community.

The Department of Energy last week announced that it would not open the contract to other bidders when it expires in 2017, extending the contract for another five years.

For more than half a century, Battelle has led the evolution of a laboratory once primarily focused on nuclear and devoted to serving the needs of the Hanford site to one of the nation’s premier research institutions in the areas of energy, environmental sciences and national security. The 4,300 scientists, engineers and support personnel employed at the lab are engaged in building a better, safer, healthier world for future generations. For decades under Battelle’s leadership, the lab has been one — of many reasons — to be proud of where we live.

Those 4,300 employees, some of the brightest minds on the planet, are also our neighbors. They’re members, often leaders, of civic, economic development and charitable organizations. They coach, teach, volunteer and mentor, and in many ways make our community better and our future brighter.

Battelle, according to it’s website, is the world’s largest nonprofit research and development organization that is a 501(c)(3) charitable trust. It was founded on industrialist Gordon Battelle’s vision that business and scientific interests can go hand and hand as forces for positive change.

Battelle’s mission includes a strong charitable commitment to community development and education. That commitment, over the decades, has been demonstrated through multiple philanthropic projects in the Tri-Cities.

We’re pleased that Battelle will continue to lead the lab, and to a great extent, lead this community toward a brighter future.

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 3:12 AM with the headline "Our Voice: Thumbs up for opportunity, leadership."