Kopp: S.T.E.M. academy

More from Marshall President Stephen Kopp’s meeting with The Herald-Dispatch editorial board:

Kopp wants the Marshall campus to have a STEM academy. That’s a place where high school students gifted in science, technology, engineering and mathematics could take college classes.

Several states, such as Kentucky, Illinois and North Carolina, have STEM academies. If West Virginia has any, it’s a well-kept secret.

To start his academy, all Kopp needs is space and money.

Kopp said the model school at Kellogg Elementary in Huntington’s Westmoreland neighborhood is the forerunner of what a STEM academy at Marshall could be.

“It could help the entire state in terms of helping students prepare at the highest level,” Kopp said.

As usual, there are questions. The Legislature needs to support the idea, but Marshall has some planning to do before it can approach the Legislature. It must decide whether the academy would be supported by public funds, private funds or both.

It could rob local high schools of some of their brightest students, and it could affect the funding public schools receive from the state based on their attendance.

There will be more on this on The Herald-Dispatch editorial page on Monday.