Yesterday morning I had the privilege to attend the STEM Preparatory Academy Community Breakfast that included an overview and tour of the new school. Opening its doors in July 2011, STEM Prep is the newest public charter school and the first dedicated STEM school (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) offering a fully integrated STEM-based curriculum . And blown away is an understatement to how I felt when I left.
First of all, the kids are referred to as “scholars” instead of students. I think that this is not only appropriate given their accomplishments, but also great because it instills that mentality into their minds. When I entered the building I was greeted by a student who welcomed me, helped with my name tag, and showed me to the classroom. Once I got to the classroom I was met by another student who introduced herself, told me about the school, and asked if I had any questions. Dr. Kristin McGraner began the program and educated us on the history, mission, and goals of STEM Prep with data and test results. She focused on their three core beliefs, which were extremely evident in everything I saw:
- Every child deserves a rigorous, college preparatory education delivered by highly effective teachers.
- A culture of accountability and high expectations develops learners and leaders.
- Excellent schools are deeply and broadly tied to the communities they serve.
Once Dr. McGraner finished her presentation, she allowed about five scholars to introduce themselves and their monumental achievements since beginning at STEM Prep just a short time ago. Each student had already exceeded their yearly goal, making it easy to understand why the school does not have enough books to keep up with the their volume of reading!
My favorite part of the tour was “community meeting.” Each morning the scholars gather in the hallway where the teacher prompts discussion questions for journal writing and sharing with the group. This allows the kids to share some of their thoughts, background, and desires in a comfortable, less formal setting. Unlike most kids I’ve been around, these scholars were extremely eager to share their journal entries, with hands shooting up in the air and pencils refusing to drop when time was called. It was the purest definition of “engaged” that I’ve ever seen.
I encourage you to attend one of STEM Prep’s Community Breakfast events as well. You will no doubt leave inspired, and will have a much better understanding of what this school is doing to encourage our future leaders in technology. We have to some bright minds to fill all these jobs after all, and we have a lot of work to do to get more scholars of this caliber in the right direction.
