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Foothills Community School has a vibrant STEM culture that honors STEM education and STEM innovation. FCS has open houses that invite the community in quarterly to see student work. Daily work is showcased on social media sites from our multiple modes of communication for students and parents (this includes our @STEMFCS accounts and individual teacher accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook). Beyond that, student work graces the hallway physically and on our hallway digital displays. This lets us continuously celebrate the work that students are engaged in. Our school also offers Science Night support to elementary schools in which our scholar ambassadors travel to potential feeder schools and host fun STEM activities to intrigue students and help them experience hands-on learning with their parents. The hope is that this type of activity will entice these younger students to eventually become FCS scholars.
Foothills Community School partners with a variety of organizations to allow our scholar’s projects to be exhibited in a wide assortment of locations besides our own building. Locally, students have displayed projects at the McDowell Arts Council Association, Diamond Brand pop-up factory in Downtown Asheville, regionally presenting at Haywood County’s Soil and Water Center, Appalachian State (Regional Science Fair, Math Fair), Burnsville Middle School (robotics), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (robotics), East Lincolnton Middle School (robotics), Meredith University (State Science Fair), NC State University (science olympiad), Lenoir (Google Gravity Games), Mountain Marquee (local movie theater), Rotary Club, McDowell Chamber of Commerce, McDowell Business Association, Region 7 Workforce Pipeline, McDowell High School CTE program partners.
Annually, students are recognized at our awards ceremony for a multitude of accomplishments. Quarterly students are presented badging based on Future Ready guidelines (see badging criteria). These criteria were modeled after the Future Ready Schools guide to implementation and were brought about at Foothills Community School by the School Advisory Board at the end of the 2016-17 school year to recognize the hard work that students were doing and their alignment to industry standards. Besides quarterly leadership and program awards at the completion and showcase of projects, students have the opportunity to receive multiple recognitions through local, regional, state and national competitions that project-based learning involvement lends itself to. Classrooms also honor and incentivize innovations, activities, and work that is happening during clubs or content time.
At Foothills Community School the staff, administration, students, and stakeholders embrace a culture of inquiry. “I wonder” is a common statement that can be overheard as we dive deeper into ensuring that our content connects to the world around us. Teachers at Foothills Community School, work without fear of trying new things, ensuring that they will be supported as they build upon their own inquiry and creativity. This culture is no different for students. As students investigate and dig into projects, they continuously ask each other questions, when they want to try new solutions they consult with teachers and our administration who ensure students are able to explore, while ensuring their safety. This isn’t just the culture in faculty meetings or in family projects, this is the culture in the classroom too. The administrator sees herself as the lead learner and after several years out of the classroom, reentered to teach a class to ensure that she understood the classroom challenges that teachers are maneuvering within the structure that has been built at Foothills Community School.
Foothills Community School partners with a variety of organizations to allow our scholar’s projects to be exhibited in a wide assortment of locations besides our own building. Locally, students have displayed projects at the McDowell Arts Council Association, Diamond Brand pop-up factory in Downtown Asheville, regionally presenting at Haywood County’s Soil and Water Center, Appalachian State (Regional Science Fair, Math Fair), Burnsville Middle School (robotics), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (robotics), East Lincolnton Middle School (robotics), Meredith University (State Science Fair), NC State University (science olympiad), Lenoir (Google Gravity Games), Mountain Marquee (local movie theater), Rotary Club, McDowell Chamber of Commerce, McDowell Business Association, Region 7 Workforce Pipeline, McDowell High School CTE program partners.
Annually, students are recognized at our awards ceremony for a multitude of accomplishments. Quarterly students are presented badging based on Future Ready guidelines (see badging criteria). These criteria were modeled after the Future Ready Schools guide to implementation and were brought about at Foothills Community School by the School Advisory Board at the end of the 2016-17 school year to recognize the hard work that students were doing and their alignment to industry standards. Besides quarterly leadership and program awards at the completion and showcase of projects, students have the opportunity to receive multiple recognitions through local, regional, state and national competitions that project-based learning involvement lends itself to. Classrooms also honor and incentivize innovations, activities, and work that is happening during clubs or content time.
At Foothills Community School the staff, administration, students, and stakeholders embrace a culture of inquiry. “I wonder” is a common statement that can be overheard as we dive deeper into ensuring that our content connects to the world around us. Teachers at Foothills Community School, work without fear of trying new things, ensuring that they will be supported as they build upon their own inquiry and creativity. This culture is no different for students. As students investigate and dig into projects, they continuously ask each other questions, when they want to try new solutions they consult with teachers and our administration who ensure students are able to explore, while ensuring their safety. This isn’t just the culture in faculty meetings or in family projects, this is the culture in the classroom too. The administrator sees herself as the lead learner and after several years out of the classroom, reentered to teach a class to ensure that she understood the classroom challenges that teachers are maneuvering within the structure that has been built at Foothills Community School.
Evidence: Vibrant STEM Culture
Water Conservation Speech - Students exhibited their talents and won on a regional and state level.Student Exhibit to Local Business OwnersElementary Science NightsElementary Open House3D Printed Models for Clothing PresentationOpen HouseWelcome to Middle SchoolGravity GamesBadging CriteriaQuarterly BadgingFood Cook-off Robotics RecognitionNational RecognitionState Recognition Soil and WaterState Recognition RoboticsLocal RecognitionDrama LlamasCARP RecognitionState RecognitionDebate discussions picturesScience Fair Science ExperimentProblem SolvingMath InquiryLesson Plan for Social Studies Agriculture IDM, “Was the Development of Agriculture Good for Humans?” (This is what the kids see.)The Idea of Government IDM, “Is Government a Necessary Evil?” https://twitter.com/TheMrsShaver/status/1202989969419067397
Once every 9 weeks, students participate in Student Led Conferences. Student assess their own performance and they communicate those results with their parents and /or guardians. This is primarily used to help our students develop specific learning skills that they will need for professional competence. This process may assist in making students more aware of and more responsible for their own learning process.
This skilled self-assessment is a great tool for formative learning.
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