For the second year in a row, teacher Jason Williams and the STEM-Hawks from Thomas Hunter Middle School have the highest ranking middle school entry in the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association REACH Challenge.

REACH Challenge is a nationwide Adaptive and Assistive Technology (AT) design-thinking project for middle school-, high school-, and college-level STEM programs.

Teachers are provided with lesson plans and activities on Empathy, User-Centered Design, Prototyping and more, to lead their students in using their STEM skills to reach a member of their community who has a challenge to overcome.“This innovative project shows teachers how they can help students use their STEM skills for social good, making a real-world difference in the lives of those around them,” a release stated.

This time around, the THMS students designed a grip-enhancing glove for a student with Down syndrome. “The team thought he would benefit from a project like this, so they...