STEM Education Innovator Mary Welsh Schlueter Named Cincinnati Volunteer Citizen of the Year
Partnership for Innovation in Education wins $5,000 donation
In its third year, Direct Energy and WKRC-TV (Local 12) honored Mary Welsh Schlueter as the 2015 Cincinnati Volunteer Citizen of the Year. A special award event honored Schlueter’s contribution to the STEM education for K-12 students in the community as the founder and CEO of Partnership for Innovation in Education (PIE).
Schlueter founded PIE in 2009 with goals to accelerate academic achievement, workforce readiness and economic development among Cincinnati youth. She has forged partnerships with school districts, business leaders and non-profit organizations to give students the opportunity to come up with real-world engineering solutions such as testing sound waves to help design an auditorium or building chemistry compounds for a new gelato flavor. The program has proven to increase technology literacy and academic engagement, as well as offer new revenue streams for school districts.
At the event, Direct Energy presented Schlueter with a $5,000 donation to help fund PIE’s aptitude testing app. Patterned after the Myers Briggs-style aptitude test, this new program will help measure critical thinking using psychographic assessments in classrooms. These annual aptitude tests can offer students hundreds of possible career path options to explore beginning in 4th grade.
Schlueter was also recognized by Cincinnati elected officials. State Representative Tom Brinkman sent a Commendation, and State Senator Shannon Jones honored the STEM innovator with the letter signed by the President of the Senate.