Washington High School saw the importance of school wide STEM integration and thus transitioned from a STEM cohort model to a whole school STEM approach. In the spirit of equity and equality in the classroom we wanted to ensure we were giving everyone the same resources and giving each student access to the resources they need to learn and thrive not leaving STEM exposure solely to our high achievers or even self-elected population. In an ever-changing, increasingly complex world, we know it is more important than ever that our legacy builders are prepared to bring knowledge and skills to solve problems, make sense of information, and know how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions. These are the kinds of skills that are not just specific to a science or math class but skills that transcend across a variety of disciplines.

 

We understood the importance of mapping stem into our curriculum, so we started small with STEM mini challenges, Little Known facts in STEM, STEM Friday’s, as well as STEM fieldtrips that were open to all who were interested. However, we realized that implementing a STEM program, like any new approach, is all about changing the system. We had to get everybody on the same page about the operational definition of STEM and what STEM teaching and learning should look at Washington High School. Then we gave teachers some opportunities to experience success with STEM teaching.  One unique thing about our approach to whole school STEM instruction is that our PBL touched nearly every discipline in the building. This type of  STEM experiences includes Project-Based Lessons, supported by partnership integration field trips and access to a wide variety of technology tools.

 

We wanted our learning experiences to be focused on a process of creation, rather than consumption.  For our students to show continuous growth, we must provide them with multiple opportunities to work collaboratively on processes and practices to find solutions to real-world, authentic, and complex problems. Our teachers engage in on going STEM professional development that purposefully seeks to engage students. We are also a one to one technology initiative school where students and teachers collaborate across disciplines.

 

Opportunities for Growth

Because our school is seeking to integrate an urban agriculture program (first of it’s kind that also would certify all students) we recognize the need to reach out to our stakeholders for support of STEM integration. As a result we solidified three new major partnerships Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Georgia Aquarium, and Greenleaf. These partnerships will work alongside our school to ensure we have a creative interdisciplinary curriculum. Students participating in the Booker T. Washington High School AgSTEM Program will engage the agriculture industry utilizing the experiential learning model. Through connected partnerships, students will matriculate through the program from conception through construction.  Upon reflecting on our old approach and development of our new approach to STEM a distinct characteristic of the program is the intentional infusion of industry experts to support the learning experiences. Industry experts will serve as our educational partners and lead lessons and experiences that increase student proficiency levels. In addition, all Booker T. Washington students will earn the Ga State offered CTAE Pathway completion certification in Agriculture of Aquaculture Leadership with the option available to dually certify in Agribusiness. Our educational partners will influence the following courses through projects or lessons connected to the course learning objectives.