Graham Creek Elementary's STEM initiative has been a collaborative effort among the teachers, administrators, STEM committees, and other GCE staff members. Each member of GCE is a valued part of each student's education. At GCE 100% of our certified staff complete the annual STEM survey to provide feedback on GCE's STEM integration.

Jennings County Schools has made learning possible for all students across all different learning modalities. By partnering with Engineering is Elementary from the Museum of Science, as well as the Indiana Learning Lab, GCE staff and students are able to master state curriculum and solve real-world problems simultaneously whether in the classroom or online.

Graham Creek's common planning time is very important to its staff. The attached schedules provide examples of when teachers collaborate together and how those collaborations turn into successful classroom lesson plans with cross-curricular activities and STEM projects. STEM, PBL, and other activities are carefully thought-out and implemented with great care and direction. Two classroom examples of lesson integration are provided to demonstrate the amount of preparation involved in creating a successful STEM and PBL environment.

Graham Creek Elementary understands the benefit of exposing students to real-world applications, advisers, and apprenticeships. Graham Creek and Jennings County Schools plan to support students in STEM education and careers with a constant STEM maintained reliability plan that is established in the IDOE’s 6-year STEM plan with community partnerships, teacher led professional development, and direction from the STEM collaboration team. Graham Creek Elementary’s 6-year plan will allow for an evidence-based STEM curriculum from a student’s first day of kindergarten through senior year.

Graham Creek Elementary students are fortunate to have a monthly meeting with our Guidance Counselor. A corporation wide guidance curriculum is followed and in turn provides students with the opportunity to explore their interests and potential career routes as they mature and develop in school. Career interest surveys are given and information is collected to help students identify their preferences in order to guide our school's STEM curriculum. Additional STEM specific surveys are also provided to students in order to gauge their current attitudes and feelings toward STEM and STEM implementation in our school. Student Attitude/Interest surveys are provided to 100% of GCE students at least two times a year. Ideally, surveys are given at the beginning and the end of the year in order to provide our teachers and staff feedback and allow time to make changes. The surveys are also grade level band specific to make it easier for students to understand.

Students at Graham Creek Elementary are given surveys each year to evaluate their engagement and perceptions of the STEM curriculums and programs. In addition to the student surveys, parents are also given an annual survey during each school year. The STEM survey guide shows the survey’s collection throughout the school year and the results of these surveys.

Jennings County School Corporation and Graham Creek Elementary use our local evaluation tool as an instrument to evaluate STEM instruction by performing school and classroom walkthroughs to increase student engagement and improve classroom instruction. The evaluation document shows how this evaluation tool is used to target the key evaluation indicators of STEM instruction. The evaluators use this tool to ensure that educators are implementing and executing STEM and project-based learning activities that are integrated throughout the curriculum. Each teacher meets with the administrator to discuss their evaluation and how to improve their implementation of STEM instruction. These documents show the evaluation tool and the evaluator's feedback on targeted STEM instructional practices.

Ongoing instructional support is crucial in the ability to keep up with the implementation of STEM in the classroom. Jennings County Schools and Graham Creek Elementary strive to provide our teachers with ample opportunity to receive assistance in various modalities such as coaching, modeling, and training.

Graham Creek Elementary ensures that 100% of all students have equal access and opportunity to STEM in and out of the regular classroom. The Master School Schedule provides evidence that each student, grades K-6, has a protected STEM opportunities each week as part of GCE's elementary Curriculum. Students who require additional instructional support receive "push-in" assistance from Title I and Special Education teachers to ensure STEM instruction and learning time is protected and modifications and accommodations are used if needed. In addition to specific opportunities for STEM instruction for 100% of all students, Type to Learn and Computer Science with Code.org are also integrated components of STEM that are used to ensure STEM instruction is received beyond the related arts classes.