Loogootee Community Schools is a rural school district that has been developing in many ways. The district serves 740  students in kindergarten through twelfth grades. The leadership in the district has worked tirelessly to develop a strategic plan for improvement. Much of this improvement hinged on the need to engage students in STEM education, as a response to an article written by the Martin County Alliance for Economic Growth. Loogootee School Corporation resides in Marin County which ranks 4th highest in the nation with regards to STEM related jobs. Administrative personnel and responsibilities have been changed as the school board seeks to create a team of professionals whom are focused on increasing student success and creating a school that prepares the leaders of tomorrow.

Six years ago,  LCSC developed as strategic plan. At the center of the strategic plan was the instructional core which was being supported by intentional alignment of resources, stakeholders, systems, and processes. The instructional core consisted of interactions between students, content, and teachers. The district’s leadership was committed to making decisions that support the instructional core and the goals therein.

There were three goals for the strategic plan each of which will be realized through two strategies. The district leadership knew that the Ready Schools Planning Grant would be a valuable transition into making the changes needed to move the instructional core into higher levels of success. While not without growing pains, the process has resulted in a developed implementation plan that comes alongside the district’s strategic plan. Two teams were created for the planning grant. The Leadership Team is composed of teachers at all levels, administration, the superintendent, and district readiness coordinators. The other team was the Education and Workforce Advisory Team (EWAT) that included community leaders, industry leaders, and school board members. During a recent staff meeting, the district readiness coordinator asked the staff to stand if they had participated in the process by one or more of the following: interviews, school visits, surveys, or planning sessions. All members of the staff were standing except for two. This level of involvement is evidence of the district’s commitment to improvement.

The strategic plan resulted in LCSC being the smallest district in Indiana to implement Project Lead the Way (PLTW) from kindergarten to twelfth grade as well as implement multiple STEM pathways and a cross curricular WorkPlace Simulation (WPS) Project in partnership with Indiana University and community partners.  

The PLTW curriculum we use is an activity-, project-, and problem-based (APB) instructional design that centers on hands-on, real-world activities, projects, and problems that help students understand how the knowledge and skills they develop in the classroom may be applied in everyday life. The APB approach scaffolds student learning through structured activities and projects that empower students to become independent in the classroom and help them build skill sets to apply to an open-ended design problem. This approach provides students with unique opportunities to work collaboratively, identify problems, apply what they know, persevere through challenges, find unique solutions, and lead their own learning. (curriculum according to https://www.pltw.org/our-programs/curriculum ) 

One hundred percent of LCSC teachers are certified in PBL by Magnify Learning, PBL Works, and PBL by John Spencer. These Project Based Learning professional development workshops teach and model the PBL framework and enable educators to create authentic learning experiences through the design and implementation of PBL. Authentic learning experiences help students master content, acquire employability skills, and discover they have value and purpose inside and outside the classroom.

Students at LHS participate in many STEM activities where they are engaged in the design and engineering process. Teachers also introduce different career pathways that are connected to the STEM activities. In our student-run business, Lion Manufacturing, students are in engaged and collaborating while making, learning, and exploring new ideas and inventions. 

Teachers have been given several professional development opportunities focused on our corporation's STEM initiatives. Professional development has given the staff the knowledge to incorporate the PLTW curriculum, as well as other STEM activities. All staff members have been trained in PBL by Magnify Learning, PBL with John Spencer, and PBL Works. During STEM instruction at LHS, students are taught how to collaborate. Students understand roles and responsibilities within the groups. Technology is integrated in most STEM instruction. 

Instructional Strategies used at LHS:

• Collaborative Learning  - Students in STEM classes regularly work in teams to research problems and formulate solutions

• Teacher as facilitator  - Students given project to solve and teacher facilitates and guides through scaffolded assistance.

• Integrated Technology -  Students use technology to research, solve, and present solutions to problems.

The leadership team worked closely with the EWAT (Educational Workforce Advisory Team) to receive feedback throughout the continued initiative. During the planning process, members of the leadership team and EWAT, as well as other school staff, visited various models to determine which would be the best response to the identified needs. Throughout this process, the EWAT partnership resulted in increased support from the community. Recently, the leadership team shared the  overall proposal with the EWAT. The members responded with questions and comments focused on how they could help support the program and its implementation. The district is looking forward to the continued partnerships with EWAT members and other industry partners. Increased responsivity to industry needs is a component that is outlined throughout the implementation plan and is part of the evaluation. To ensure this ongoing review, the district has quarterly Leadership Team meetings and bi-annual EWAT Team meetings to reevaluate the grant and the effectiveness of the implementation.