Grant funds boost Lombardi Middle’s CO₂ dragster competition

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - It’s the fourth year for CO2 dragster races for students at Lombardi Middle School in Green Bay, but the annual tradition looks very different this year.

Technical education teacher Bradley Hotchkiss received a grant for over three thousand dollars from the Green Bay Area Public Schools Education Foundation to buy new equipment like an electronic starter and timer to help collect data more accurately and efficiently.

“Last year we had to race on the floor and we had no timer for last year so it was just based off of what people saw. This year we got a track timer and an auto starter which is way better that way we had last year,” said Emmitt, an 8th grade student at Lombardi Middle School.

The Education Foundation hands out grants from $1,000-5,000 dollars every year thanks to financial donations from the community.

“It’s so important that we give students these extra opportunities to explore, invent and to have some fun, but our budgets can’t always support that,” said Jill Thiede, board member of the GBAPS Education Foundation.

“So with folks who are willing in our community to help support the education foundation. We’re able to help those teachers going above in beyond to provide these opportunities that really engage students and bring something different into the classroom,” Thiede said.

Hotchkiss says the class also introduces students to different career paths within STEM.

“Not everyone’s going to be a doctor or a lawyer we need people that can work in the trades and this gives them a head start on that. This will allow to get used to tools they’re not used to working with and it might inspire a future career,” said Hotchkiss.