HARRISBURG, PA – Today marked the first day of classes this academic year for the Steelton-Highspire School District. Students and families getting back into their routines were greeted this morning by teachers, principals, police, and the mayor of Highspire, Von E. Hess.
The start of a new school year is always a time for celebration – and possibly relief if you’re a parent. In Steelton-Highspire, the coming year also promises to be full of new experiential learning opportunities. One of these is the product of an ongoing collaboration between Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) and Steelton-Highspire School District, supported through a donation from The GIANT Company.
One new opportunity for Steelton-Highspire high school students is the chance to dual-enroll in a college class taught by HU faculty. Through HU’s “College in the High School” program, Steelton-Highspire students can engage in college-level topics like aquaponics, hydroponics, and other advanced agriculture concepts.
To do this, the district teamed up with HU to build an aquaponics demonstration and research greenhouse right on the high school’s campus – a 3,000-square-foot facility now fully equipped to provide instruction in controlled-environment agriculture.
Why Study Advanced Agriculture and Sustainability in High School?
The focus on sustainability and improving crop yield in limited physical growing spaces is important for communities – including those here at home in Central Pennsylvania – identified as food deserts: areas where citizens have limited access to affordable, nutritious foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Food deserts can occur in both urban and rural areas due to factors including economic disparities, lack of transportation infrastructure, and the absence of nearby grocery stores.
HU is working with multiple stakeholders throughout Central PA to advance frontiers for growers and put diverse, high-value perishables right next to the demand. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Research Atlas makes it easy to find areas where residents lack access to healthy food at various distances from their home. For example, the situation in Philadelphia frequently defies national trends by seeing access to food decline. Some 300,000 people in the city could be food insecure.
The opportunity to address food deserts is compelling in this region due to the geography. Southeastern PA is unique in the western hemisphere; it’s the only region where you can reach a population of 50 million within a 3.5-hour drive. With the right technologies, like aquaponics and hydroponics, that radius means same-day harvest, delivery, and distribution to retailers.
Bringing University-Caliber Agricultural Research to High Schools
The College in the High School collaboration between HU and Steelton-Highspire is an extraordinary opportunity for students. Learners will become familiar with these and other challenges affecting communities in Pennsylvania and begin to contribute to meaningful solutions. Best of all, under the dual-enrollment program, students are able to earn credits for high school and college concurrently.
As the new school year kicked off at Steelton-Highspire, HU’s own Rachel Fogle, PhD, was on hand to generate even more excitement about these opportunities. Dr. Fogle is Program Lead for the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Sustainability degree program at HU, and you will often find her at the greenhouse working with high school and university students.
“This early exposure to college not only introduces diverse career pathways, but also establishes a pipeline so that students have an opportunity to realize that college is something they can do as well,” said Dr. Fogle during today’s interview with WGAL.
Learn more about Harrisburg University’s dual enrollment programs by visiting our website.
ABOUT HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY
Harrisburg University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and is a private, nonprofit university offering bachelor’s and graduate degree programs in the fields of science, technology, and mathematics. For additional information about the University’s affordable, demand-driven undergraduate and graduate programs, please call 717.901.5146 or email Connect@HarrisburgU.edu. Stay updated by following Harrisburg University on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
