TALLAPOOSA COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) – The Tallapoosa County school district now has a classroom on wheels.
The school system found an innovative way to introduce students to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) with a new 49-foot trailer.
The mobile lab will travel to Reeltown, Dadeville and Horseshoe Bend campuses and will serve about 1,500 students across multiple grade levels. The classroom on wheels is an extension of the existing school systems Edward Bell Career Technical Center.
“We challenged the career tech center to reach more students than those who were actually coming to the career tech center,” said Tallapoosa County Schools Superintendent Raymond Porter. “The plan is to move this to a campus, leave it for a period of time, then move it to another campus and leave it for a period of time.”
Inside the classroom students will find all things STEM-related, like 3D printing, computer numerical control, welding, virtual reality and more. Porter even said the trailer has a canopy so students can fly drones and take part in science experiments outside.
“What they’re going to learn here in that trailer will prepare them for their next phase in life,” Porter said.
School officials said because the district is so rural and their schools are so spread out, the trailer will allow more flexibility and will help them meet students where they are.
“In a rural school system such as ours, we don’t have all the advantages of a larger city. This allows us to have all of those advantages,” said Porter. “It gets the students out of straight rows and lectures, and it allows them an interactive opportunity to be engaged in what they’re doing and not just listening about the opportunities that are out there.”
The district is still looking for a truck to pull the trailer. They are hoping to have the mobile classroom fully operational by January.
The portable classroom costs $284,000. The school district paid for it with a $225,000 grant awarded by the state. The board of education paid for the additional cost.
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