The title of this post is a double entendre.

Yesterday, I witnessed Delta High School in Richland, WA celebrate the start of a $14M project to build a permanent home for its 400 students. Dignitaries donning hardhats and turquoise shovels started the ceremonial dig. Delta HS is also groundbreaking in that it is a rare gem of collaboration – three school districts filled with passionate, opinionated leaders have worked tirelessly together along with industry and government leaders over the course of six years to create a successful STEM school. WTIA Member Company Pacific Northwest National Laboratories was instrumental in the formation and funding of this project.

This groundbreaking is a notable achievement on many levels. Washington state ranks a miserable 46th in the nation for students moving from high school to any post secondary schooling. Less than 5% of our 900+ high schools offer Computer Science while 71% of the jobs in STEM fields require Computer Science.

Yet here in Richland, WA – far from the noise and heat of a vibrant tech economy in Seattle – we have a bright example of what can be done when education, government, and industry cooperate for the sake of the next generation of leaders.

I sincerely hope that the Delta High School model of tenacious problem solving  is replicated in many other communities in our state.

Congrats to the team at PNNL for a job well done.