The Congress Elementary School is a very small K-8 school in a rural community in Yavapai County about 17 miles northwest of Wickenberg. Through this program they intend to train all of their staff on how to integrate STEM into their classrooms, and then work with teachers to increase the use of technology and project based STEM activities in all classes at all grades. In addition they intend to work with the community to increase their student’s awareness of STEM career paths.
"We are extremely grateful for the additional non-monetary assistance of Science Foundation Arizona. This has included additional professional development, multiple facilitated meetings with other grant participants, and the ongoing encouragement to shift to a higher level of STEM immersion within the school." - Stephanie Miller, Superintendent Congress Elementary District
In the End...
Hooray for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)! The Science Foundation Arizona Grant, with grant funding by the Helios Foundation, helped support five targeted areas over three years. This is the final newsletter.
Accomplishments Over Three Years: In the Five Targeted Areas of the Grant
Two After School Programs: The STEM Legos Robotics Club is now year long for 6th through 8th Grade Students and competing in FIRST LEGO League (FLL). Robotics and STEM classes are now integrated into the school day for second and fifth grades. All students, K-8, participated in the Hour of Code held in 2015 and continue to code using code.org.
STEM Drama (K-2 and 3-8) does two annual presentations for the entire school as well as friends and families.
VoiceThread: VoiceThread is used in classrooms to document and support developed projects. STEM projects are greatly enhanced by usage of this tool.
ST Math: During the second year of the grant, Math scores for the school were double the State average. ST Math makes a critical difference in supporting the school's quality math program.
DefinedSTEM: The DefinedSTEM product is used by
students and staff to support interdisciplinary STEM units. A local business is supporting Project Based Learning. The school has developed an ongoing partnership with DefinedSTEM. Through their PR firm, the school has been published in District Administration Magazine, Tech and Learning Online, T.H.E. Journal, and The Learning Counsel Online. DefinedSTEM also paid for a team to present at the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Conference that took place in Texas, 2015. The title of the presentation was "Shifting to a STEM Culture”.
We are extremely grateful for the additional non-monetary assistance of Science Foundation Arizona. This has included additional professional development, multiple facilitated meetings with other grant participants, and the ongoing encouragement to shift to a higher level of STEM immersion within the school.