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A Complete Day for Three Elkhorn Middle School PLTW Students and Their Teacher

Michael Reader

Alex Hutson has been a teacher in the Elkhorn Area School District in Wisconsin. “This is my fifteenth year teaching in Elkhorn and I have enjoyed being in Elkhorn very much. My wife and I live here in town and we have three of our own kids in the Elkhorn schools,” he states.

Mr. Hutson, as he is known to his students, is also a science and technology buff, always learning something new and putting that knowledge into practice. Personally, he likes to sail and build with LEGO bricks. At school, he is involved in the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Launch Curriculum for elementary school children and is an adviser for the Elkhorn Technology and Engineering Club (E-TEC) which has groups both in the middle school and high school. He leads the Automation and Robotics Class, which currently focuses on robotics, but is looking to expand into computers and general electronics.

On April 22, 2015, he accompanied three outstanding 6th grade students from Elkhorn Area Middle School–Wendy Remeeus, Gwen Nicholas and Lesly Rodriguez–to receive a special commendation from Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. On their way back to the school, he and the students made a special stop at Precision Plus to go through a tour of the facility.

This is what happened:

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Precision Plus welcomes students and teachers to tour our facility. To schedule a tour, please contact Barry Butters via email or by phone.

STEM Education Event at Advanced Manufacturing Center on April 22, 2015 Features Elkhorn Area School District PLTW Students and Teachers, State Legislators and Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch

Michael Reader


In fall of 2014, Project Lead The Way (PLTW) announced a pilot program with a curriculum specifically designed for elementary school children, to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics arts (STEM). PLTW has had a solid record for rigorous and comprehensive curricula available to children from middle school through high school. Elkhorn Area School District was an early adopter of the elementary grades pilot program, the PLTW Launch Curriculum, which gives students an opportunity to explore and apply STEM sciences early on.

Dr. Joshua Schultz, Affiliate Director of PLTW at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), extended an invitation to Elkhorn Area School District PLTW students, as well as teachers and administrators, to participate in a Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development event and reception at the Advanced Manufacturing Center in Milton, WI on April 22, 2015, to celebrate the district’s accomplishments and receive a special recognition. Also invited were State of Wisconsin legislators, PLTW officials, Barry Butters from Precision Plus, and Wisconsin Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch.

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As planned, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch was at hand to hand the special recognitions. So were William White, Vice President, Project Lead The Way Midwest Region, Jason Tadlock, District Administrator for the Elkhorn Area School District and Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus

Students included Cullen Gahart (3rd Grade), Matthew Prokes (4th Grade), Natalie Petersen (5th Grade), Lesly Rodriguez (6th Grade), Gwen Nicholas (6th Grade), Wendy Remeeus (6th Grade), Elizabeth Wallace (11th Grade, Justice Bachtell (12th Grade), J.P. Griswold (12th Grade) and Kathryn Lieffrig (12th Grade). Teachers present were Eryca Card, Linda Frankenberg, Alex Hutson, Barry Butters and Jerry Iserloth. Jason Tadlock and Chris Trottier represented the administrators.

Teachers and administrators were asked to talk about their STEM initiatives, and to showcase their efforts to support education, their students, and reiterate the importance of STEM education policy decisions in Wisconsin. In addition, students from the Elkhorn Area School District displayed their projects and shared the value and lessons learned through their PLTW coursework.

The agenda included a continental breakfast, introductions and welcome by Tania Kilpatrick, CESA 6, an overview of PLTW in the Midwest Region by William White, presentations by Jason Tadlock, Barry Butters, Eryca Card and students, and by Thor Misko, Vice President of Development at PLTW. Dr. Joshua Schultz closed the program with final remarks about the event and the program.

And thank you, Elkhorn Area School District, for the shout out on their Facebook Page!