Various vehicle and medical simulators, including a Blackhawk Helicopter Simulator, New York National Guard Maneuver Training Equipment Site and 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Museum are just a few- some of the things available at STARBASE Academy.

Michael J. O’Toole said there are currently 82 STARBASE Academies nationwide. He is Director of Civilian and Military Programs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

“STARBASE is a representation of the ongoing partnership between Fort Drum and school districts across the country,” said Fort Drum Garrison Commander Col. James J. Zacchino Jr.

Representative Elise M. Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, supported STARBASE Academy and wrote a letter to DOD detailing her support for bringing the academy to Fort Drum.

“Programs like STARBASE are essential in creating opportunities for youth to experience STEM pursuits, and I’m proud that Fort Drum will host this important program,” Rep. Stefanik said in a press release.

Dana M. Hanni, STARBASE program instructor, said the overall goal of STARBASE is to connect children to STEM education.

This week, the Watertown City School District had two classes at the academy, each with 21 students.

Classes were delivered via PowerPoint presentations and then students worked on different aspects of the classes in the lab located inside the building.

Ms Hanni said a student approached her and told her she didn’t want to graduate from the academy because it would mean they couldn’t come back. She called the moment “heartbreaking.”

“But at the same time, it’s amazing because I think, ‘I’m touching a child’s life, in the short period of five days,'” she said.

There are two instructors, two teaching assistants, the head teacher who accompanies the students, office managers and principal Joanne M. Witt.

The kids were very excited about working in the labs and experimenting outside, the instructors said.

Mr O’Toole, who owns a home in Skaneateles, Onondaga County, called having STARBASE 100 miles north of his hometown “a bit like going back to basics”.

“Being able to come back to New York and open our new program is really special as a Central New Yorker,” he said.

Ms Witt, who is the former director of the Bohlen Technical Center at the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services in Watertown and a former English teacher at Watertown High School, said she felt she had more to give and more than she wanted. do.

“So when I heard about this school, elementary isn’t the level I’ve ever worked with before… so when I heard about this program, I knew I could expand my skills to an age group that would be completely new to me for me to learn and move forward with the students, so I had to jump in,” she said.

Classrooms are also equipped with Clear Touch boards, which can be laid flat on a table and split into quadrants. Each student has their own iPad to use for lessons.

“Students are fully immersed in learning to make connections to math and science,” she said.

Ms. Witt said all students in school districts who are in the program and want to participate can attend.

STARBASE is available to students in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.

“Once the students come in here it’s so exciting, and they’re loud and they’re happy and they’re smiling and they’re leaving and their little hands are waving at us out the window,” Ms Witt said.

School district superintendents can contact the school liaison or speak with Ms. Witt about getting involved.

“Just knowing that you are making a difference in a child’s life and making education exciting for them, nothing else matters to me,” Ms Witt said.