Visual Arts/STEAM program nationally recognized as Program of Excellence

Technology Teachers Joe Fedor and Dillon Johnson stand in front of a 3-D printer in the high school STEAM lab.
Technology Teachers Joe Fedor and Dillon Johnson are the backbone of Goshen High School’s STEAM Program that was internationally recognized as a Program of Excellence.

The Goshen High School Visual Arts/STEAM Program was awarded the prestigious Program of Excellence Award from the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA). This is one of the highest honors given to technology and engineering education programs.

The high school’s Visual Arts/STEAM Program has grown in recent years under the expertise of Teachers Joseph Fedor and Dillon Johnson, who bring enthusiasm, excitement, and real-world solutions to every student they teach.

Teenagers sitting and operating robots
Students in Dillon Johnson’s Robotics class operate robots, having them pick up and place balls in a basket.

STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics)-related careers are in high demand, and under the guidance of Fedor and Dillon, our high school students are gaining the skills necessary to be competitive in this technological world. Classes such as robotics, design and drawing for production, materials processing, computer integrated manufacturing, cyber security, and more, are taught in the high school’s STEAM lab and suite, with cutting edge equipment such as 3-D printers, CNC machines, laser engravers and vinyl cutters.

Students on a football field smiling next to a robot
Students collaborate on a STEAM activity during the first-ever STEAM Fair.

Last year, Johnson organized the district’s first-ever STEAM fair, with assistance from Fedor and their colleague, Business Education Teacher Danielle Linguanti. The STEAM fair provided students and their families with a first-hand look at education and career opportunities, as well as local internships, with vendors from LegoLand, Balchem Food Scientists, Champalimaud Design, Allendale Machinery,  Globalfoundries, Gerard Associates and more.

The Program Excellence Award recognizes superior K-12 technology and engineering education programs from around the world. These programs serve as a standard for comparison and models for the development of other programs. Awardees serve as models for their colleagues, inspiration to their communities, and leaders in their region, province, or state as proponents of advancing technological literacy for all.

Fedor and Johnson will be recognized at the ITEEA 2023 Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Learn more about the STEAM Program (video from 2020):