By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News

Three students from Pontiac Junior High School are taking part in Tech 2018 at the Illinois State Capitol Building in Springfield May 10.

Superintendent Brian Dukes said he’s proud of the students and appreciates the support from the local businesses and the Greater Livingston County Economic Development Council in the development of all of the STEAM classes and activities in the district.

“I just love the opportunity our kids are now allowed to access. A year and a half ago, we didn’t have a 3D printer and now we have a few and the kids are really able to create some amazing things and it just makes the school board and administration and staff just extremely proud of our kids and the sky’s the limit of what they’re able to do. This really got rolling for us with the help of the EDC and Adam Dontz’s leadership, working with the business community and helping us link some relationships with the business community, so a lot of the funding and relationships built were thanks to Mr. Dontz,” Dukes said.

The purpose of the day is to increase awareness of the critical role technology plays in preparing students to succeed in today’s world by offering students throughout Illinois an opportunity to demonstrate their innovative uses of technology while highlighting the need for increased funding to support equitable and meaningful access to educational technology.