At the time, several Amana staff members and teachers had engineering backgrounds, and were already applying the concepts of Engineering Design in their classrooms and in the design of the Learning Expeditions that are a hallmark of EL Education. You'll see in the figure to the right that the steps that students and teachers take when they embark on the journey of a learning expedition very closely correlate to both the engineering design process and design thinking. This made the decision to pursue STEM certification through the Department of Education in 2011 an easy one.

It took nearly 5 years to realize the vision of school-wide STEM certification. It became one of Amana's strategic goals for the institution's 2020 Vision Strategic Plan, and required meeting rigorous state criteria, including the successful integration of high-level math and science instruction, regular teacher collaboration in STEM, and documentation of support from active and relevant partners. While much of this was already evident in some grade levels, it was important to demonstrate consistency across all grade levels in order to achieve school-wide certification.

Amana ultimately received STEM Certification in March 2016. During their visit, the certification team spent most of their time observing students, and the members were all intrigued by the school's EL approach, in particular the depth of math/science integration being delivered by teachers, as well as the high quality work that students were engaged in. Cherisse Campbell, the school’s Principal at the time, remarked, “Our teachers work hard every day - many times in partnership with parents and industry partners - to create case studies that give our students authentic STEM challenges. A great example was the 3-way collaboration with the City of Alpharetta and KANO Computing that allowed our students to design Civil War battlefields using Minecraft and code on a computer they built themselves. Their hard has work paid off.”

ChangeMaker Faire, in partnership with the Atlanta Science Festival, is a celebration of the Maker Movement. Imagine a county fair with a whole lot of science, technology, and creativity thrown in! Located on STEM-certified Amana Academy Charter School’s Alpharetta campus, community makers, artisans, scientists, students and industry professionals showcase smart ideas with an eye toward making the world a better place. We look for like-minded makers and sponsors to help us bring STEM to life in our community for the next generation of scientists, engineers, and craftspeople.