Panther Education Center, Panther Racing, John Barnes, Jane Barnes, Municipal School District of Decatur Township, Don Stinson
Forward thinking
A WINNING
CURRICULUM
The Panther Education Center will use motorsports to build science, math and language skills
By Dave Lewandowski
U
.S. Department of Education reports roll
onto Don Stinson’s desk like waves,
depositing hard statistics that will
impact the next generation of the American
workforce. The fact that almost a million
students annually drop out of school is equally
astounding and perplexing in this technological
and tutor-laden age.
However, some of the reasons identified are
decades old – curriculum lacking real-world
relevance and presented in “chalk and talk”
methodology used for the past century.
Who knew that a lunch conversation
between Stinson and high school classmate
John Barnes, co-owner of Panther Racing,
would be the catalyst for an innovative learning
experience with potential long-term benefits?
VIDEO EXTRA
PANTHER
EDUCATION
CENTER
36 IndyCarSeries 2007 winterspecial
VIDEO EXTRA
Take a virtual tour
of the Panther
Education Center
and the things it
will offer students
Soon, another wave of material – this time
positive – began to cross the desk of the
superintendent of the Municipal School
District of DecaturTownship (Ind.).
The Panther Education Center was
conceived, and when its doors open it will
inspire and challenge middle school students
to think beyond the textbook.
“We were talking about Indy car racing and
about the Challenger Learning Center that the
McCullough family has put together around
the space industry and the curriculum involved
in it,” Barnes says. “We both said, ‘Why not
make something like this around our industry?’
The importance of the motorsports industry
needs to be shared with the community.
“Motorsports touches everyone, whether it is
the mirror on Ray Harroun’s car or the tire
development that Firestone does or the engine
development that Honda does. But the man on
the street doesn’t see that. Especially kids don’t.
They don’t understand that motorsports is an
unbelievable opportunity for occupations. The
average income is probably $80,000, with so
many diverse opportunities – from engineering
and aerodynamics to fabricators and logistics and
financial planning people and mechanics and
painters and truck drivers. All those industries are
wrapped into one thing – our sport.
“We wanted to make sure we could get our
arms around kids and say, ‘Look, guys, here’s a
55-year-old fart [referring to himself] who
has made a living in this industry for 40 years
and has done very well. You can do the same
Courtesy Panther Education Center
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