Chandler schools buys semiconductor equipment, training

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

The school district that claims it’s the first and only in Arizona teaching specific secondary classes on a topic has made one of its first major purchases in that area.

The Chandler Unified Governing Board approved a purchase package at its Oct. 8 meeting that includes equipment and training for semiconductor, automation and robotics classes.

The contract, for slightly more than $1 million, is with Advanced Technologies Consultants. It will be covered using the district’s career and technical education fund.

A semiconductor and mechatronics “MPS System” and a “Robotics Universal Robots - Collaborative” are listed in that purchase for Hamilton High School’s semiconductor technologies program.

A “Meclab” purchase, from a company called Festo, is within the same contract. That’s for the automation and robotics programs at Arizona College Prep, Casteel, Hamilton and Perry high schools.

CUSD’s coordinator of emerging technologies, Janet Hartkopf, made a presentation at the start of the Oct. 8 meeting about her recent trip to presentations and other events at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in Taiwan, where she learned much about the industry and the chipmaking process.

The purchase agreement was approved unanimously by the CUSD board, after Hartkopf clarified a couple of concerns about exactly what the district’s buying.

“We’ve outsourced this forever,” Hartkopf said. “Festo offers NC3 certifications — at different levels — for the universal robots, and also for the mechatronics system. So the professional development would include training the instructor to certify the students. That training is good for the instructor for three years. And it’s all free certification for our students — as long as the instructor remains certified.”

Watch Hartkopf's full presentation about her trip to Taiwan by clicking here.

A staff report states the equipment will be used to help students understand or reach several stated key elements:

-Hands-on technical experience recommended by industry

-To support sensors, pneumatics, basic integrated circuit manufacturing, mechatronic, statistics, safety and SOPS and yield units for both years of the semiconductor program

-Industrial automation hardware and controls used on factory floors

-Pneumatics and hydraulics integrated into production lines

-Programmable logic controllers, or PLCs, the backbone of automated processes

-Job-ready skills, bridging the gap between classroom theory and workforce expectations

Jason W. Brooks can be reached at jbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as those meet our  Civility Guidelines.

INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.