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MANUFACTURING TODAY WI | SPRING/SUMMER 2025 29

Fab Lab Grant Assists in Preparing Students for 21st-Century Careers

North Crawford School District Education (CTE) team will collaborate
North Crawford is a small, rural district with teachers across multiple disciplines
located between Soldiers Grove and Gays to create cross-curricular projects that inte-
Mills in the heart of Wisconsin’s Driftless grate design, engineering, digital art, and
Region. The K–12 campus serves about 400 fabrication. Students will engage in tasks
students in a single building, with approxi- such as drafting and 3D-printing prototypes,
mately 62.5% qualifying for free or reduced creating digital artwork using modeling
lunch. Despite economic and geographic software, and developing problem-solving
challenges, participation in the district’s skills through practical applications.
CTE programs has grown significantly in “I am absolutely thrilled to announce
recent years. that North Crawford has been awarded the
North Crawford School District is FAB Lab grant! This is a game-changing
taking a major step toward preparing stu- opportunity for our students, giving them
dents for 21st-century careers with the access to cutting-edge technology and
help of a $25,000 state grant to establish hands-on experiences in STEM, manu-
a fabrication laboratory, or “fab lab.” The facturing, and design. It will elevate our
Wisconsin Economic Development Corpo- curriculum and prepare students with
ration (WEDC) awarded the grant as part the skills and innovation mindset needed
of a statewide initiative to expand access for success in the modern workforce. Mr.
to high-tech education. North Crawford is Keenlance has an outstanding vision for
also contributing a local match of $12,500, integrating this technology into our class-
bringing the total investment in the new lab rooms, and I have no doubt it will ignite
to $37,500. creativity, curiosity, and career exploration
Fab labs are educational makerspaces across grade levels. This is a major step 8th-grade student is required to take a Tech- shared commitment to ensuring students are
that equip students with access to modern forward for our district, and I couldn’t be nology Education course, and the district prepared for the evolving demands of the
technology, providing hands-on learning in more excited for what’s ahead!“ plans to continue expanding access to these global workforce
science, technology, engineering, art, and — Dr. Robert Sailer (6–12 Principal) resources across all grade levels.
mathematics (STEAM). North Crawford’s With the launch of the fab lab, North
fab lab will feature equipment such as 3D North Crawford’s approach to Tech- Crawford aims to serve as a model for
printers, laser engravers, and CNC machines, nology Education emphasizes real-world how rural schools can overcome barriers northcrawford.com
allowing students to explore STEAM con- applications of academic concepts and pro- to provide cutting-edge educational oppor-
cepts through real-world, creative projects. motes collaboration among students of all tunities. The combined investment from
The district’s Career and Technical backgrounds and abilities. Every 7th and the state and local community represents a

Albany School District Fab Lab

that opportunity and minimize
the financial impact, we applied
for a Fab Lab grant through the
Wisconsin Economic Develop-
ment Corporation (WEDC) to
support technology upgrades in
our program.
Building a foundation of
excellence in technical education
requires a strong base of knowl-
edge and skills. This space will
serve our 6-12 students through
middle school exploratory classes puters and moved to a more powerful and In recent years, we added video produc-
and high school technology and flexible laptop platform. This allows students tion software, 3D printers, and a plasma cutter
computer courses. Every middle to change their workspace to meet the unique to our array of modern tools. Students are
school student will be able to needs or location of a project. Our 6-12 stu- regularly engaged in projects that serve our
experience the wide-ranging tools dents will be introduced to Adobe Illustrator school and community. Many of these things
provided. We recently added a and Versaworks beginning in middle school wouldn’t be possible without the support of
large-format printer, enabling and will continue to hone their skills through- our WEDC partners.
students to produce stickers, out high school resulting in the creation of We are grateful to the WEDC for provid-
banners, posters, and many other high-quality printable designs to promote our ing this opportunity!”
products on materials up to 54 school and community.
inches wide. This upgrade offers We will modernize our classroom space to
Kurt Soderberg, Superintendent hands-on experience allowing
Albany School District students to develop essential design and pro- allow a better collaborative production experi- www.albany.k12.wi.us
ence. Our focus is on equipping our students
The Albany School District is committed duction skills to help them prepare for future with modern skills to match modern chal-
to providing our students with a modern design career opportunities. lenges as we continue to build our program.
and production experience. To maximize We also repurposed our desktop com-