STEM at Mount Zion Elementary

We want to update you on the status of the STEM Program sponsored by the Kiawah Cares Foundation for Mount Zion Elementary School on Johns Island, South Carolina. As you can imagine, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, and subsequent closure of all South Carolina schools, had a significant effect on the program. However, we have good news to report and high hopes for the program now that school has resumed.

A LITTLE HISTORY ON THIS PROGRAM

When the Student Improvement Council (a parent-led group) and faculty at Mount Zion first began to consider the idea of implementing a STEM program, they researched and discussed many available vendors. The first vendor selected was a turn-key program picked in hopes of kick-starting the project. However, the budget, even with the generous donations of you and others, was beyond reach. The Charleston County School District (“the District”) urged the parents and faculty to interview a non-profit organization called Project Lead the Way as a less costly alternative vendor. An advantage of Project Lead the Way is that the program they provide is already being used in several of the middle schools and high schools in the District, including the middle school and high school the children from Mount Zion will attend. Using the same provider means continuity in the program for the students and the teachers in the upper grades. While Project Lead the Way does not provide a turn-key program, its emphasis on teacher training and the use of commonly available materials for experiments and collaborative learning exercises was very appealing. Since Mount Zion already had sufficient computers and desks for the program, only the costs for teacher training and project materials were needed.

During the 2019-2020 school year, the Student Improvement Council and faculty at Mount Zion interviewed Project Lead the Way officers and other schools using their program. They concluded it would be a good alternative for the students and could be installed more quickly than it would take to raise the remainder of the funding for the previously selected vendor. The savings in materials costs could be allocated to the enhanced teacher training offered by the new company. Project Lead the Way believes that the most important component in any educational experience, including STEM education, is the ability and enthusiasm of the teacher. They offer intensive three-day offsite programs to train a master teacher in the best methods of teaching the STEM projects. The master teacher returns to the school to teach and support other teachers. Additional teacher support is offered online.

The savings in material costs also means that grant funds already raised are sufficient to cover the costs for the entire STEM Program in Pre-K to 5th grade at Mt. Zion now and for the foreseeable future. Mount Zion is the first elementary school in the district to have a STEM program installed. This winter, three teachers from Mount Zion were trained at the vendors’ offsite program. These teachers came back enthusiastic about choosing among the many module programs available. As a part of the grant requirements from Kiawah Cares, the trained teachers are asked to state their intentions to continue to teach at Mount Zion for at least 3 years past the time of their STEM program training. Project Lead the Way has also agreed to assist in finding a previously-trained teacher to replace any of the Mount Zion trained teachers who may leave in the future.

MORE ABOUT PROJECT LEAD THE WAY

Project Lead the Way is a nonprofit organization that serves millions of K-12 students and teachers across the United States in over 12,000 schools. Rich Gordon, the District’s Executive Director for Career and Technology Education, states that “Project Lead the Way prepares our students for high-wage, high-skill, and in-demand careers of the future. Students learn how to problem-solve, think strategically, and work in teams, all while building determination and grit.”

The project modules offered for Pre-K to 5th Grade include 29 separate modules in the general areas of Engineering, Computer Science and Biomedical Science. Topics include such things as Input/Output: Human Brain; Infection: Detection; Animated Storytelling; Programing Patterns; Properties of Matter; Science of Flight; and Robotics and Automation. The teachers choose the modules to be taught. Each module takes about 8 weeks to teach, includes an entire class at the same time and is taught in their own classroom. In each case, the students engage with hands-on activities both with and without a computer. In Animated Storytelling, for instance, a first-grade module, the children, working in teams, are given a story to practice the skill of creating the animation on the computer and then asked to write their own story to animate on the computer.

INTRODUCING THIS FALL’S PROGRAMS

The first programs were introduced this fall and the children engaged immediately. Due to COVID-19, Mount Zion has some children attending school in-person and others learning at-home by computer. While this has presented some challenges, teachers have been able to proceed with both groups. The third graders, for instance, have completed a STEM engineering challenge to build a stable tower using spaghetti noodles and mini marshmallows. Other students have investigated surface tension using an eye dropper of water and a penny. The school is now working on adding the “A” to STEM learning. (Making it a “STEAM” program. The A stands for arts – the object is to integrate arts with science, for example, using technology to design jewelry that will assist a diabetic to administer insulin.) One goal is to be sure that a student doesn’t feel that because he or she is good at science, he or she is not “creative” – and vice versa.

The second distribution from the grant is now being processed by Kiawah Cares. This distribution includes amounts for training three more teachers and upgrading the training for the original three teachers to “Lead Teacher” status so they can train others. In addition, project kits and supplies will be purchased, such as ozobots (small robots), snap-able electric circuits, magnetic tiles in various shapes, and consumable supplies and workbooks. Additionally, take home kits and projects have been identified to allow for the continuation of STEM learning within virtual classrooms.

KIAWAH CARES FOUNDATION: CONTINUING INVOLVEMENT

Kiawah Cares Foundation has been involved with the STEM Program for Mount Zion from the very beginning. It is the fiscal agent for the project and holds and invests the funds donated as a separate account. Kiawah Cares disburses grant monies directly to vendors for the program kits, supplies and teacher training. It is believed that this arrangement is more likely to enable expenditures to be efficiently disbursed as opposed to giving the money directly to the district and waiting for it to administer the program. It also permits Kiawah Cares to continue to be in contact with the school, the parents and the teachers to monitor the program. Kiawah Cares remains in close communication with the “Constituent Board,” the elected local liaison with the district, to be sure the program continues to receive focus from the district.

Your contribution to the education of the children of our neighboring Sea Islands is supporting an important opportunity for learning and future employment potential for the students. This opportunity would not have been possible without your support. The project is at an exciting stage. We look forward to telling you many success stories in the near future.

If you have any questions about the project, please do not hesitate to contact Holly Newman, Executive Director of Kiawah Cares Foundation, at holly.newman@kica.us.

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