At the core of its mission, The Dunmorean highlights and celebrates the successes of our community. When it comes to the Dunmore School District, the accomplishments of our student athletes are featured in our pages consistently throughout the year. Academic success, on the other hand, is most often covered during graduation and commencement season. This article aims to STEM that Tide.
The Dunmore School District has a powerful record of preparing graduates for scholastic and professional achievement at the highest levels of academia, industry, the Armed Forces, and in the public and private sectors. This is particularly true in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Dunmore graduates have assumed positions as accomplished physicians, pharmacists, scientists, engineers—and even a NASA astronaut, Paul Richards.
As the pace of technological innovation accelerates, there is growing momentum in Dunmore to increase access and emphasis on STEM education. In 2021, Mrs. Lucia Behler “was honored to step into the newly created role of elementary STEM teacher—a position that she says “ has allowed me to bring my passion for STEM education to life.” For Mrs. Behler, “Exploring STEM projects and activities with students in the DEC has been a dream come true. The Dunmore School District recognizes the importance of introducing young learners to the engineering design process, fostering curiosity and problem- solving skills from an early age. The DEC STEM Program is designed to provide students with an engaging, hands-on approach to learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics while also developing essential skills like teamwork, critical thinking, and creativity.”
Mrs. Behler has seen that “by exposing students to STEM projects that highlight real-world careers, we inspire them to envision their futures and explore potential career paths throughout their educational journey.” The Dunmore Elementary Center STEM Program serves students in grades three through six, reaching approximately 500 students who receive dedicated computer and STEM education during one class period each week.
The students’ successes extend well beyond the Dunmore campus. Since 2022, the Dunmore Elementary Center has proudly participated in Valley View’s Girls STEM Competition, sponsored by The United Way of Lackawanna, Wayne, and Pike Counties. This exciting event challenges teams to compete in all four STEM categories. To prepare, Dunmore’s teams dedicate nearly three months to after-school practice every Tuesday and Thursday. That hard work has paid off, and Dunmore students have achieved remarkable success over the years.
In 2022, one Dunmore team took home first place in math, science, and overall. In 2023, another Dunmore team earned first place in math and science, and placed second overall. In 2024, Dunmore had a team win first place in math and overall, while another Dunmore team secured fifth place overall.
In this year’s 2025 Girls STEM Competition, Dunmore will be represented by “The Gene Geniuses” (Kara Michalczyk and Lucy Timlin), “The Gadget Girls” (Avery Fangio, Nora Gallagher, and Emily Richardson), and “The Sassy Scientists” (Hope McKenna, Maggie O’Malley, and Reilly Urbina). These talented young innovators are now hard at work on engineering projects to prepare for the competition.
Mrs. Behler’s colleagues in the Middle School and High School also prioritize STEM education. Mrs. Stacie Telnock leads two teams of students (eighth graders Caitlin Stefanski and Ashlynn Blackwell and seventh graders Maggie Killian, Olivia O’Brien, Izzy Stavisky, and Victoria Bannon) who will compete in the NEPA Girls STEM competition on April 26 at Scranton High School.
The Computer Club, which includes seventh through twelfth grade students and is led by Mrs. Telnock, competed earlier this month at the 2025 Pennsylvania Regional Media and Design Competition (MadCom) at the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit.
Eighth grader Keissy Sanchez-Diaz and seventh grader Hailey Schreiber competed in MadCom’s Graphic Design and Logo category. Seventh graders Joseph DiCindio, Isaias Crespo, and Adriel Morel produced a public service announcement addressing space-junk awareness that won first place in MadCom’s Digital Movie category. This winning seventh grade team will now compete in the State Competition on May 21 at Elizabethtown College.
In addition to her work with the Computer Club, all of Mrs. Telnock’s seventh-grade computer classes completed projects for this year’s WVIA Popsicle Stick Challenge in February.
Mrs. Tara Cooper leads the Gifted Program that includes students in grades seven through twelve, as well as a group of students with an interest in Math and Computer Science. Several of Mrs. Cooper’s students will participate in the 2025 Mathematics and Computer Science High School Math Contest at Marywood University, including Tazrian Aronno, Justin Schuster, Ryan Clark, Saran Joiya, Amelia Hinton, Meredith Baker, Millie Crespo, Molly Sawka, Santino Nicastro, Taryn Walsh, Jatan Avasatthi, Michael Schuster, and Sophia Talutto.
On March 15, Mr. John Farris and Mr. Anthony Rennekamp led our High School STEM students in the Northeast PA Bridge Competition held at North Pocono High School. Eleventh grader Santino Nicastro won first place overall. His bridge weighed 17.61 grams and held a maximum load of 34.050 kilograms, giving him a score of 1,933.56.
Twelfth grader Oum Patel placed second with his bridge weighing 14.72 grams and holding 26.310 kilograms for a score of 1,787.36. Twelfth grader Conor Toole placed fourth with a bridge weighing 23.65 grams and holding 37.230 kilograms for a score of 1,574.21. Santino Nicastro also won second place in the Excellence in Architecture category. Santino and Oum will advance to the International Bridge Contest to be held in April in Chicago, Illinois. Dunmore has an amazing record of success in this International Bridge Contest, with Charles Valvano winning in 2019, Heavyn Gin finishing second in 2020, Chloe Ondek winning in 2022, Kaylie Zimmer and Sienna Delfino placing first and second, respectively, in 2023, and Connor Roberts and Giulietta Escobar placing first and third, respectively, in 2024.
Mr. Farris and Mr. Rennekamp will also lead students at the 2025 Railriders STEM School Days Trebuchet Competition on May 28 at PNC Field. In the previous two years, Dunmore’s team of Violet Kapcaper, Khusi Biswa, and Sara Naro finished in first place for Engineering in 2023 and in fifth place overall in 2024.
With Dunmore’s significant momentum and success in STEM education, members of the community and a newly formed educational foundation have taken notice and want to help. The Dunmore Area Educational Foundation was formed in late 2019 as the result of conversations between Superintendent John Marichak and leaders in the community. The Foundation’s primary mission is to support the School District with funds for projects that fall outside of the scope of traditional public-school funding.
Its current Board of Directors includes Michael Cordaro (President), Joseph Tomko (Vice President), Derek Forgione (Treasurer), Tiffany Valvano (Secretary), Jack Dempsey, Brian Cali, William McGrath Sr., Stephanie Cloruri, Patrick Hart, and Joe Morelli.
“We have two little girls who we will proudly send to Dunmore when they start school.” Board President Michael Cordaro said. “Each member of our Board was born and raised here, so this is something that is really important to all of us. We have done a lot of work to get our organization up and running. Each of us has given our own time and resources. We have worked with community-minded donors like Fidelity Bank. We are only in the early stages, but we have been able to provide tens of thousands of dollars directly into the classroom to help our teachers and students in the form of programs and supplies.” Cordaro concluded, “we want to help our kids stay engaged and learn in new and unique ways.”
“Dunmore gave me everything I could ever ask for in an education; first class academic training, a caring and committed faculty, best friends that have remained for life, opportunities for extracurriculars, and an unmatched sense of community and support,” Board Member Jack Dempsey said. “My wife had the same great experience, and now we are seeing our children and their friends supported and developed in the Dunmore School District with the same commitment and care. Our current students have demonstrated success in STEM education, and I am glad to be a part of a foundation that is helping to grow that success.”
Mrs. Behler explained that the STEM curriculum does not end when summer recess begins. “At the end of each school year, the DEC hosts a one-week STEM camp for students in grades four through six—where we embrace the messier, hands-on side of STEM!” Mrs. Behler notes that she has seen “third and fourth-grade campers put their creativity and problem-solving skills to the test by building towering marshmallow structures, designing custom bubble wands, engineering launch decks for paper airplanes, coding personalized backpack charms, creating art with Scribble Bots, and even crafting explosive paint bomb masterpieces.”
As for the fifth and sixth-grade campers, Mrs. Behler has seen them “take on even bigger challenges, constructing their own Ozobot amusement parks, bringing designs to life with 3D pens, launching rockets into the sky, and painting stunning masterpieces using Sphero robots. The camp is an exciting, immersive experience that sparks curiosity, encourages innovation, and leaves students eager for more STEM adventures!”
Mrs. Behler recognizes and appreciates the support that her camp has received from the Dunmore Area Education Foundation. “We are incredibly grateful to the DAEF for their generous donation to our STEM program. Their support empowers our students with the tools and resources needed to explore, innovate, and develop critical skills for the future. This investment in education will have a lasting impact on young minds, inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers.”
The early success of the Dunmore Area Education Foundation reinforces Dunmore’s unique ability to support its young people. By focusing on the District’s STEM Program, the Foundation hopes that Dunmore students will have continued exposure to the resources and opportunities needed to excel in these critical fields. The work being done today will shape the next generation of Dunmore graduates—future technologists, doctors, engineers, and maybe even another astronaut or two.
For now, let us celebrate the Dunmore STEM Program, the students who are taking that training and achieving remarkable successes, and the Foundation that is committed to supporting it all.
To support the DAEF, visit their website: https://www.dunmoreedufoundation.org/