The North Penn School District (NPSD) is proud to announce that North Penn High School (NPHS) teacher Curt Reichwein has recently been selected by The Philadelphia Engineering Foundation, in conjunction with the Delaware Valley Engineers Week Committee of the Engineers Club of Philadelphia, as its 2020 Outstanding Engineering Teacher.
Mr. Reichwein was recognized at the Engineers Week Opening Ceremony on Thursday, February 13 at DoubleTree Hotel in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Engineering Foundation, in conjunction with the Delaware Valley Engineers Week Committee of the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia, administers the Outstanding Math, Science, and Engineering Teacher Awards as part of the celebration of Delaware Valley Engineers Week. One teacher in math, one in science, and one in engineering in grades 6-12 in the Delaware Valley were recognized at the ceremony.
Mr. Reichwein has been an educator at NPHS for 22 years. He was one of the first pioneers of North Penn’s renowned Technology and Engineering Education program who helped build it from the ground up. Along with teaching various courses within the program, he has served as department chair for the last two years. During his tenure, Mr. Reichwein has written successful grants for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of state-of-the-art equipment for his students including 3D printers; 3D scanner PC/scanner design; Sphero RVRs; and Spatial Computing Initiative and Course development. He recently received the largest grant in the history of the NPSD Educational Foundation for $25,000 to purchase a Computer Numerical Control Milling Machine.
Mr. Reichwein’s dedication to securing cutting-edge equipment for the Tech. and Engineering Ed. department at NPHS provides his students with innovative, hands-on experiences that allow them to take their projects to the next level while preparing them for higher education and beyond. Because of Mr. Reichwein and his team’s commitment, North Penn’s engineering program is among the best in the nation, offering college-level opportunities and experiences.
Since 2016, Mr. Reichwein has coordinated annual Engineers Week STEM outreach directly with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Philadelphia Section Younger Member Forum (YMF) and other Philadelphia area engineer groups and volunteers. These efforts have provided countless opportunities for students to interact with engineering professionals and experience the industry firsthand.
“He promotes a classroom environment that pushes students to ask questions and take academic risks,” said John Doyle, Awards Chair of the ASCE Philadelphia Section YMF. “Many students, colleagues, principals and administrators can speak to his professional, considerate, and impactful presence in and out of the classroom.”
Doyle worked closely with NPHS Engineering teacher Mr. Michael Boyer and AECOM Civil Engineer Charlie Mumford to nominate Mr. Reichwein for this award.
“After the many years that we have spent coordinating a coalition of efforts for Engineers Week at North Penn and, more importantly, seeing first-hand how much Curt cares about his students year after year, I cannot see a more deserving teacher in the region,” said Mumford.
Congratulations Curt Reichwein on this distinguished, well-deserved honor.
Learn more about the NPHS Engineering Department