Florence B. Mathis Elementary School is formerly known as Foley Intermediate school. We have a proud history that stems from a one-room schoolhouse that has evolved into a diverse population of 730 students. Our school was once a k-12 school named Aaronville School that served an all-black community. Our student body now is 18% African American, 40% Hispanic, 41% Caucasion, and 1% Asian. We are a Title I school with 84% of our students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Because our needs are so great, we depend on our business partners to share in STEAM education. Throughout the year, our students engage in high-quality STEAM learning through a variety of experiences. We have special guest speakers, and at the end of the year, we have a Career Day where all of our partners share their STEAM career interests with students.

Our Broadcast: Community and STEAM Language

As our edifice has undergone many transformations, so has our community. We celebrate Black History month by including a segment of black history in our broadcast. Our middle school also travels to our school to perform African American themed dances, skits, and a slide show presentation of successful African Americans in history. The STEAM opportunities we offer reach all our Florence B. Mathis Elementary students.

Our ICon Club connects families and our community.

Professional Development

Our school is a high-poverty school with over 84% of our students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Our focus is to provide a STEAM education to ALL students, k-6, plus underrepresented students who are economically disadvantaged, special needs, girls, and cultural diversity.

Ongoing professional development teaches our teachers to attract underrepresented groups of students in STEAM. Two of our teachers participated in Tech Trek teacher camp whose mission is to bring awareness to educators of girls in STEM careers and provide knowledge of how social and environmental factors shape girls' achievement and interest in math and science. Our educators have adopted a growth mindset, so they teach girls to embrace challenges in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

Our professional development is focused on engagement, so every year we engage in a book study during our Professional Learning Communities. We have studied The Daggett System for Effective Instruction: Alignment for Student Achievement, Teach Like a Pirate, and The Wild Card: Seven Steps to an Educator's Creative Breakthrough.