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Innovative STEM Middle Schools>
[Innovative STEM High Schools] [STEM Learning Networks and Resources] [From STEM to STEAM]
Updated: July, 2018
March
3, 2017: A
Starter List for Creating STEM Schools, by Anne Jolly, Middleweb. Anne
is also the author of STEM
by Design: Strategies and Activities for Grades 4-8 (Routledge, 2017)
and theSTEM
By Design blog at Middleweb.
March
13, 2016:
I Think I’ve Found My Dream STEM School, by Anne Jolly, Middleweb.
March,
2017:
Elementary
and Middle School STEM Institutes, June, 2017, at Poudre School District,
Fort Collins, CO
August, 2012 (Updated March, 2017) -- This page profiles six STEM Middle Schools that were launched in the past 7 years and are engaged in both a STEM focus and 21st Century Learning. It has been my practice in the past to only profile and recommend exemplar schools and districts that I know well through personal visits and knowledge. However, today it is possible to visit some schools and districts through the World Wide Web and see documents, articles, and videos that tell the story of what is happening in these places. A good name for this process is "curating". I first consulted knowledgeable colleagues around the country for recommendations and also searched the WWW for candidate schools. In some instances there were other candidate innovative STEM middle schools, however there were not sufficient additional artifacts to validate their "innovative" practices. To develop this page and its resources, I then scoured each school's website and then searched the Internet for "artifacts"--additional materials, articles, and videos. If you have a recommendation of additional schools to profile, please contact me at bobpearlman@mindspring.com. I hope this page proves useful to those who are designing and developing the next generation of STEM Middle Schools. --- Bob Pearlman
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Dr.
Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School,
Greenville, SC
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Preston STEM Middle School, Fort Collins, CO
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National Inventors Hall of Fame School, Akron, Ohio
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STEM Middle Academy, Springfield, MA
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Waukesha STEM Academy, Waukesha, WI
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Bayside S.T.E.M. Academy, San Mateo, CA
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Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Jefferson Parish, LA
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From S.T.E.M. to S.T.E.A.M
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STEM Learning Networks and Resources
Dr. Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School in Greenville County (SC) opened for the 2014 – 2015 school year with approximately 340 incoming sixth graders and now includes both sixth and seventh grade classes. It is the first newly constructed Science, Technology, Engineering, ARTS, and Math (STEAM) Middle School in the Greenville County School District. A PBL STEAM middle school, Dr. Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School was named the CEFPI 2015 James D. MacConnell Award Winner. See submittal. CEPFI is now known as the Association for Learning Environments. Also see the New Learning Environments section of this website. Disclosure: I am a Senior Education Consultant for FNI.
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Preston
STEM Middle School,
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In order to inspire and challenge our 21st century learners, Preston has adopted a four-pronged approach to STEM education: STEM focused classes and enrichments, School-Wide research projects on STEM themes, STEM extra-curricular activities, and the STEM Summer Institute. In 2006, 25 students were involved in MathCounts, an association for mathematics competitions and math enhancement. Preston had no specific STEM exploratory classes, robotics program, Science Olympiad and did not participate in science fair. In 2010, Preston examined the number of students enrolled in STEM classes, participated in robotics competitions and classes and Science Olympiad and science fair as well as MathCounts and the number of 'touches' (students involved in a specific activity) was well over 900!
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S.T.E.M. Institute
- Science Technology Engineering Math
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STEM Stars: Preston Middle School. 9NEWS, October 28, 2016 |
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National Inventors Hall of Fame School, Akron, Ohio |
NIHF opened
in 2009 in temporary quarters and moved into its permanent location in 2010.
The National Inventors Hall of Fame School
(NIHF School) adjoins the former National Inventors Hall of Fame, a portion
of which now operates as the Invent Now Museum. The
school's vision is to provide
the highest quality education experience for students that ensures creativity
and inventive thinking through a focus on science, mathematics and technology.
In 2012, the district launched the National
Inventors Hall of Fame® Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
High School - "The majority of the first ninth-grade class will
be STEM middle school eighth-graders who pass on to ninth grade and choose
to continue their STEM learning experience at the STEM High School."
From Perry"s Principles series on CNN by Dr. Steve Perry, November
4, 2010
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STEM Middle
Academy,
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STEM Middle
Academy is a magnet school in Springfield, MA. The school opened in the
fall of 2008 with 100 sixth grade students. STEM stands for Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics. STEM Middle Academy integrates the STEM theme
in everything we do. Staff members plan integrated units that include the
STEM theme. STEM Middle Academy has been awarded a second Federal Magnet
Grant and will be enhancing itsSTEM theme through Expeditionary
Learning.
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Waukesha
STEM Academy
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Waukesha (WI)
school district opened K-5 and 6-8 STEM charter schools in Fall 2010, Waukesha
STEM Academy (WSA), at the Randall and Saratoga campuses, respectively.
The mission of WSA is to engage, inspire, and empower a community of learners
in thinking, collaborating, innovating, and creating for the future.
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San Mateo, CA
The Bayside
STEM Academy, a middle school in San Mateo, California, switched to a STEM-oriented
curriculum in 2008. Sixth- through eighth-grade students are taught a core
curriculum along with a rotating wheel of STEM courses, which can include
classes in architecture, acoustics, and other subjects.The school has a
creative approach to STEM, due in part to its unique relationship with the
nearby Stanford University Institute of Design.
( from Scholastic Adminstrator, April 2010).
A San Mateo, CA middle school with a high-quality instructional program that is designed to integrate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.), including:
- An instructional project-based environment in which students are immersed in S.T.E.M.
- An outstanding faculty comprised of specialists in S.T.E.M. who bring an international perspective to the classroom
- Ongoing opportunities for students to demonstrate new skills and knowledge through science exhibits and other S.T.E.M. based competitions
- A Gifted And Talented
Education (GATE) cluster
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Jefferson Parish, LA
Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy (PFTSTA) in Jefferson Parish, LA, is a Grade 6-12 middle-high school that "provides enriched instruction in mathematics, science, and technology in an academically challenging, college preparatory environment. Teachers engage students with research-based practices to develop 21st century skills such as cooperative and collaborative learning and technology integration. " The school has received numberous awards: 2010 Blue Ribbon School, Homefacts A+ School, and Louisiana Five-Star School. PFTSTA is a regional school open to students throughout the New Orleans area. It opened in 2004 with 88 seventh and eighth graders in the school system's Special Services Building in Elmwood. Today, it educates almost 300 students in grades 6 through 12, becoming a full-day middle and high school and is temporarily located at the old Deckbar School campus in Old Jefferson. A new facility and a cornerstone of the Churchill Technology and Business Park in Avondale is expected to start rising this Fall (2011) for the new Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Regional Academy and Conference Center. The new facility will feature 100,000 square feet of classroom space for grades 6-12. It will include 22 classrooms and six “pod areas” for specialized sciences that will provide students with extra space for breakout sessions. The current school has between 300 and 400 students, and the new facility will have a target enrollment of 600.
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Inside look at Patrick F. Taylor Science Technology Academy |
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