South Decatur Elementary has approximately 29 certified classroom teachers. Several of those certified staff serve on our school STEM Committee. The committee is comprised of administrators and teachers, as well as a STEM Community Advisors/partners. The staff STEM Committee includes principal, Nicole Stone; assistant principal, Jacob Rader; STEM teacher, Casey Bolton (chair); 6th grade science teacher, Angela Hamer; 5th grade science teacher, Keri Mauer; 4th grade teacher, Payten Ewing; 3rd grade teacher, Kristen Hicks; 2nd grade teacher, Laura Johnson; 1st grade teacher, Allysa Scaggs; kindergarten teacher, Madelyn Bryant; PreK teacher, Tara Sample; special education teacher, Emma Shaver; and School Social Worker, Leann Porter. Our Community partners include: community agricultural partner, Chris Bierhaus; community medical partner, Annie Swinney; community mechanical partners, Paul Stone and Jayne McCleland; and businesses including Decatur County REMC, Decatur County Memorial Health, Honda, Fields Heating and Cooling, Miers Farm Corp, and Stone's Farm Services.

Our committee and partners meet (virtually or in-person) to discuss the progress of the STEM initiative at SDES. Furthermore, entire staff meetings are used to keep the entire school apprised of best STEM practices and informed of how our school is progressing in our STEM journey. Surveys regarding the SDES STEM program are sent to all certified staff members throughout the year to collect input and feedback. Student surveys and discussions with our community partners are used to help us further focus our plans. 

Results from these meetings, surveys, and discussions are used to create plans, goals, and purchase lists for our STEM initiative. They are also used to help drive instruction in the STEM lab, and help the STEM teacher get a broad picture of how much co-teaching / co-planning will need to be done for each grade level.

At South Decatur Elementary, we work very diligently to provide and encourage an environment of collaboration among our staff. Our master schedule allows each grade level to have common prep time. At each level, teachers are required to collaborate during this common prep at least once per week (some collaborate more). Furthermore, as started as a part of our High Reliability Schools requirements, we have weekly PLC time during our weekly early release. During this time, staff have one hour to attend PD, collaborate as a grade level (or collaborate with other departments or grade levels), or attend committee meetings. Finally, our STEM teacher has 1 1/2 days in her schedule to co-plan/co-teach/model STEM integration with K-6th homeroom teachers. While the documents linked show the formal recording of these meetings, because we are so accustomed to collaboration, there are many collaborations that happen informally as teachers eat lunch, make copies, or watch ballgames. Many great STEM ideas and collaborations happen outside the formal times listed in the evidence. 

South Decatur Elementary is committed to maintaining a permanent STEM program. We recognize the importance of STEM education and are dedicated to keeping this program running, just as all other general education subjects. We have received confirmation for several different forms of funding for the next five years. Those are outlined in the sustainability plan. These forms of funding will almost definitely continue beyond five-years. Furthermore, we intend to continue to watch for and apply for any STEM related grants to purchase larger items that would not otherwise be funded in regular year-to-year budget plans.

As our STEM Committee reviews data and surveys, they recognize areas for improvements within our STEM program; and they formulate goals to add to our STEM timeline. These goals further add to the sustainability of our STEM program by creating buy-in and a sense of security in the future of this initiative. 

The SDES STEM Committee decided that the STEM teacher/STEM committee chair should be appointed head of Measurement of Student Attitudes and Interests in STEM. Some of her time allotted for co-planning/co-teaching falls under this category, as it indicates what types of STEM need to be implemented at each grade level. 

Mrs. Bolton developed student interest surveys using Google Forms for 2nd - 6th grade students and printed questionnaires for kindergarten through 1st grade students. The STEM instructional assistant helps to give these surveys to students and compile results. The results are then discussed with the STEM committee and used for setting goals and planning lessons/integrations. 

Furthermore, informal measurements are often used in all classes at SDES. As part of our work towards HRS certification, we are trained in a variety of informal assessments. Moreover, simple word of mouth is a powerful tool. For example, if Mrs. Bolton co-teaches a lesson in one homeroom over a topic such as coding, students will talk with other students about it if they found the lesson engaging. Students then ask their teachers to invite Mrs. Bolton in to conduct a similar lesson, and, consequently, we know the lesson was successful and interesting for students. 

Finally, we even use surveys to gauge family interests in events such as a STEM Fair (Science Fair). 

South Decatur is part of a community that has the most amazing businesses and volunteers. Our community partners do not hesitate to help us with events such as Career Day, STEM Fair, and Space Night. Some even come to school and teach lessons as special guests. They even contribute financially to help support our events. 

The SDES PTO is equally as amazing. They fund our school's field trips, most of which are STEM related (Apple Orchard, Ag Day, Power of the Past, Local Dairy Farm, etc.). They have committed to help fund the STEM initiative annually with a set amount commitment. Moreover, not only do they help volunteer for STEM events, they allow Mrs. Bolton to set up STEM booths at their events. 

Finally, take a look at our Facebook page, and you will see that our entire community is involved with our school, not just our official STEM partners. For example, local dentists offices send in special guests to talk about the science of teeth. Local fire departments visit to teach us about fire safety. And, many  local contractors, landscaper, and excavators have worked with teacher, Nancy Wamsley, to revitalize our outdoor lab (a large wooded area previously condemned because of dead Ash trees - now brought back to life by removing dangerous dead trees, building bridges and look-out areas, and added culverts for drainage).  Moreover, all of the outdoor lab work was funded by grants and donations, many from local businesses. 

Whether it's an after-school event, a work day, or a fundraiser, our community and partners engage. We could not have  accomplished as much as we have with our STEM initiative if not for all these wonderful people and businesses. 

South Decatur Elementary uses a corporation-approved Teacher Evaluation Rubric for formal observations that count towards each teacher's final evaluation each year. This rubric was developed by a committee comprised of staff throughout our corporation, including the Decatur County Education Association.

As part of our STEM initiative, STEM teacher, Casey Bolton, Principal, Nicole Stone, and Assistant Principal, Jacob Rader, worked together to develop a STEM walkthrough evaluation form to use only at SDES.  The SDES STEM Committee was apprised of this form, and the entire staff was introduced to it at one of our staff meetings. This particular form is not used for formal evaluation purposes. It is intended to be used for data collection. Prior to developing this form, Mrs. Stone and Mr. Rader were trained on STEM best practices by our Director of Learning. Furthermore, they researched several examples of STEM rubrics from other districts, schools, and states. 

During training with our Director of Learning, it was noted that several elements on the TER closely align with the STEM best practices on our SDES STEM walkthrough form. The SDES administrators and Director of Learning discussed and highlighted all of these alignments, so better feedback could be given during formal evaluations. 

Data from the STEM walkthrough form will be used to drive future STEM PD; and elements that align with our TER will be discussed with teachers on a one-to-one basis as administrators complete their post-visit observation conferences with teachers. 

Not only do 100% of the students at South Decatur Elementary participate in a weekly 45 minute STEM specials rotation, STEM abounds in all classrooms within our school. Our Facebook page offers many glimpses into how much we integrate STEM. We believe in hands-on, engaging, real-world lessons. STEM is discussed/planned at all grade levels each week during common prep time and/or during PLC time. We are a full-inclusion school, and pull-outs, such as Title I, run during a specified time called "Success." There are also other specific intervention times so that students do not miss out on any core lessons or STEM. Regardless of gender, race, special education status, or economic status, ALL of our students attend STEM and participate in classroom STEM integrations.

At SDES, our minority STEM groups would include females, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and students with IEPs/504s/MTSS/Title plans. Our INVIEW data indicates that our population is almost 97% white.