Waco: Students Face Off In Unusual Competition
http://www.kwtx.com/ourtown/home/headlines/Waco__Students_Face_Off_In_Unusual_Competition_144697905.htmlWACO (March 28, 2012)—High school students from Waco, Arlington and Irving face off Friday in an unusual competition to determine who can assemble a residential water meter the fastest.
The competition at the Lake Waco Wetlands will determine who goes on to the state “Meter Madness Jr.” state competition next month in San Antonio.
“The competition is fairly straightforward,” said Mike Norman, City of Waco Meter Services supervisor.
“They start with a bucket of parts and whoever assembles the meter correctly, the fastest, wins.”
The students are enrolled in water educational programs that will prepare them for state licensing exams and careers as licensed water operators.
Waco Water Utility Instructor Teresa Bryant teaches basic water curriculum to Environmental Science Academy students at A.J. Moore Academy two days a week in a program that includes classroom lectures on basic water operations every week along with field trips to different water operation sites.
“This program is unique because the students are provided a real-life, tangible skill and a license that will allow them to begin working in the water industry immediately after graduating from high school, if they choose,” Bryant said.
“We want the students to learn what they need to know from the book, but we also want them to actually experience things like the water treatment process and water distribution,” she said.
The top 18 finishers advanced to the state competition.
