Claypool, Jefferson Look To Become STEM Certified By State
Claypool, Jefferson Look To Become STEM Certified By State
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Claypool, Jefferson Look To Become STEM Certified By StateWith Washington Elementary already certified by the state as a STEM school, and Madison on its way, two other schools in the Warsaw district made their pitch Monday to be next.
Warsaw Community Schools Chief Academic Officer Dr. David Robertson made the 17-minute presentation to the school board with Claypool Elementary School Principal Melissa Rees and Jefferson Elementary School Principal Kyle Carter.
According to the Indiana Department of Education website, “Schools are chosen to receive certification based on their commitment to teaching the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math throughout the entire school. STEM Certified Schools exemplify a highly non-traditional approach to education, employing a great deal of inquiry, project-based learning, community engagement, entrepreneurship, student centered classrooms, integration into humanities and related arts, and out-of-school STEM activities.”
Robertson said four areas need to be looked at before they apply to become a STEM school: staff support, community support, partnerships, and money for professional development and equipment.
Both schools surveyed their staffs and presented the work that’s been done to the WCS Curriculum Council in November. The council gave Jefferson and Claypool its approval to begin pursuing the STEM certification.
It’s probably two to three years before an application is turned in to the state, Robertson said.
He said Washington STEM Academy was unique because it received a large state grant and was able to make a lot of changes almost overnight.
Rees said Claypool Elementary would have two pillars as a STEM school – lakes and streams, and agriculture. “That’s kind of what makes us unique from the other schools,” Rees said of the agriculture pillar.
She said each grade level would have a specific “brick” of the pillar to focus on, from urban gardening to the greenhouse that Claypool bought from Ace Hardware in Warsaw.
“We definitely want them to get their hands dirty to appreciate the vegetables on the shelf at the grocery store that just ‘magically’ appear,” Rees said.
Robertson said he thought what was unique in both cases was that they were bought on values in their community.
The staff survey found that 50 percent supported Claypool becoming a STEM school and 45 percent “strongly” supported it, with the rest “neutral.” Board Secretary Jeremy Mullins told Rees that he thought she’d find a lot of community support on the agriculture aspect, especially from local farmers.
Carter said when Jefferson looked at what they already do in school, they found that they’ve already been slowly transforming into a STEM school with curriculum like Project Lead The Way, the STEM bus, and math and science curriculum.
“We’ve been transforming Jefferson and Claypool for years. What Washington did overnight, we’ve had time and experience with this one,” Carter said.
Jefferson’s survey was given out in November and it found that 25.9 percent of the 27 staff members who returned it were highly in favor of becoming STEM certified, 40.7 percent supported it, 25.9 percent were neutral and 7.4 percent did not support it.
Carter said Jefferson’s pillars would be lakes and streams, and “green” energy. Robertson said the lakes and streams pillar is being developed for all Warsaw Community Schools’ elementaries.
He said the next steps for both schools would be to build explicit support and partnerships, figure out how to purchase the necessary equipment and then begin looking for project-based learning professional development for staff.
