Picture of a large open room filled with students and their presentations.

A record-breaking crowd attended Kentucky’s Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP) State Championship on April 19. Nearly 20,000 students, educators, volunteers, community members and parents gathered at the Central Bank Center in Lexington to watch students from across the state showcase their knowledge, doubling last year’s attendance.
Photo by Joe Ragusa, April 19, 2023

A record-breaking crowd attended Kentucky’s Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP) State Championship on April 19. 

Nearly 20,000 students, educators, volunteers, community members and parents gathered at the Central Bank Center in Lexington to watch students from across the state showcase their knowledge, doubling last year’s attendance.

Each year, students demonstrate what they can do with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). Students participate in nearly 50 STLP competition areas, including robotics, coding, web design and newscasting.

“I am incredibly proud of the Kentucky STLP students who competed in this year’s state championship, along with the many educators who sponsor the clubs and work with these students all year,” Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason E. Glass said. “Programs like STLP align with United We Learn, Kentucky’s vision for the future of education. Through STLP, students learn how to collaborate, problem-solve and innovate, preparing them for success in our globally interconnected world.”

More than 13,000 students participated in the day’s events. Throughout the day, judges identified 70 final projects, and students competed until a final four were named state champions in elementary, middle, high school and technical categories.

The four state champions are:

Picture of a student on stage holding an STLP trophy, standing beside two Kentucky Department of Education staff members.

Trimble County High School
Photo by Caleb Bates, April 19, 2023

  • Best Grade 9-12 project: Trimble County High School for an interactive map addressing the community’s lack of digital resources. The map links people to Trimble County’s history. Local historians are learning how to manage the map to revise it depending on future needs. 
Picture of a group of six students on stage holding an STLP trophy, standing beside two Kentucky Department of Education staff members.

Ashland Middle School (Ashland Independent)
Photo by Caleb Bates, April 19, 2023

  • Best Grade 6-8 project: Ashland Middle School (Ashland Independent) for an emergency response system to better their school’s safety. The project will enable teachers to lock down the entire school within seconds of identifying a potential threat and employ a barricade device to secure classrooms. Input from local police officers and school leaders has informed the students’ project. 
Picture of a group of four young students on stage holding an STLP trophy, standing beside two Kentucky Department of Education staff members.

Summit Elementary School (Boyd County)
Photo by Caleb Bates, April 19, 2023

  • Best Grade K-5 project: Summit Elementary School (Boyd County) for interactive games to help 3rd-grade students learn math. The students aimed to make learning math enjoyable. 
Picture of a student on stage holding an STLP trophy, standing beside two Kentucky Department of Education staff members.

Atherton High School (Jefferson County)
Photo by Caleb Bates, April 19, 2023

  • Best Technical Project: Atherton High School (Jefferson County) for a small weather station capable of monitoring and displaying local weather information on a digital electronics device. The school has recently focused on unmanned aircraft systems; this project will allow for preflight planning.

The students who earned a state championship title will attend the International Society for Technology and Education Conference in Philadelphia.

This state championship marked the 29th year of STLP in Kentucky, and the 16th year Kentucky has had a state championship.