St. Paul School earned several honors at the State Science Fair in Columbus. St. Paul Panthers team members, from left, Carlos Chum, Austin Lindesmith, David Prosko and Jean Bahr. (Submitted photo)

SALEM – Students from St. Paul School represented Salem at the State Science Fair in Columbus, bringing home several honors and earning praise for both their projects and the school’s STEM program.

St Paul’s students competed with the top projects across Ohio; all participants earned superior rankings at the district and regional levels to qualify for state. The St. Paul Panthers continued their success at The Ohio State University’s Covelli Center. Sixth-grade students Austin Lindesmith and David Prosko each received Superior ratings, and Carlos Chum (sixth grade) and Jean Bahr (fifth grade) achieved Excellent ratings for their science fair projects.

Lindesmith was a two-time elite performer, having accomplished a State Superior in 2025 and 2026 for his agriculture projects.

For his technology project about online tracking, Prosko also earned the Lynn E. Elfner Young Scientist Award, recognizing the top middle school projects in the state.

St. Paul School received special recognition during the event. A member of the Ohio Board of Education STEM team who had previously evaluated St. Paul School was serving as a judge at the State Science Fair and commented that St. Paul School in Salem is a model STEM school. Already among the top STEM schools in the state, St. Paul will be recognized next year as one of the only schools to receive back-to-back state accreditation, an impressive achievement earned by less than 15% of eligible schools.