Embedded Files
Cold Spring School is fortunate to have countless community partners and volunteers who help to provide our students with amazing STEM opportunities. It starts with our Cold Spring Board, which is an aspect of our unique status as an innovation school and non-profit organization. Our Cold Spring Board is made up of community leaders who oversee the operation of Cold Spring School. Our Board is full of community leaders with STEM backgrounds and connections, including the founding Dean of the E. S. Witchger School of Engineering at Marian University, an engineer of an environmental engineering consulting firm that specializes in water resources, the director of education at the Indianapolis Zoo, a director of capital management for a leading construction company in central Indiana, and multiple parents. Cold Spring’s commitment to our students starts with this dedicated group of leaders who have a singular focus on doing what is best for the students and families of Cold Spring School.
Cold Spring looks for multiple ways to bring STEM leaders to our students and participate in our school community. Partners in the Environment Day alone has brought in more than 50 community volunteers to teach our students about STEM and the environment in the last five years alone. Our partnerships with organizations like NexTech and TechPoint Foundation have been instrumental in our robotics team's growth and success over the years, including our team’s ability to serve in the community through International Day of Girls, Girl Power robotic teams, and the CS for Good competition, which Cold Spring was the winner of the 2022 elementary competition.
We have also sought out funds from generous donors and grant programs that have directly added value to our STEM program at Cold Spring. In 2022, Cold Spring was fortunate to receive the 2022-2023 STEM Integration Award from the Indiana Department of Education, which helped us to purchase zSpace computers and licenses for our students to engage in state-of-the-art virtual and augmented reality learning. We are also very fortunate for our partnership with ScienTech Club Foundation, which has faithfully contributed to our two-week STEM Camp for multiple years, so that students on free or reduced lunch can attend this camp on full or partial scholarships.
Cold Spring is blessed to have so many great community partners and volunteers who are invested in helping all of our students succeed and cultivating new ways to incorporate STEM in our school.
4.1 Community Partner Feedback
4.1 Community Partner Feedback
In 4.1, you will find the full roster of our STEM Advisory Board, which is also our Cold Spring School Board’s Academic Committee, with a diverse group of leaders from four different sectors and great partners in our STEM work. You will learn about their efforts during the 22-23 school year to implement feedback from students, families, and staff to create and complete their committee goal of providing a high-quality STEM field experience for every grade level starting in the 23-24 school year. Finally, you will also find examples of the minutes and agendas.
4.2 STEM Career Exploration
4.2 STEM Career Exploration
In 4.2, you will find examples from our curriculum that introduce and explore STEM careers. Whether it is through specific partnerships and coursework with organizations like STARBASE and JA Biztown, or career exploration that is built into every PLTW unit, 100% of our students engage in career exploration as part of our curriculum. You will find documentation showcasing this participation and samples of unit and lesson plans that explicitly name the STEM career exposure that students receive.
4.3 Additional STEM Learning Opportunities
4.3 Additional STEM Learning Opportunities
In 4.3, you will find a robust list of the before and after school STEM activities that our students have access to at Cold Spring. You will learn about our transportation support and our latchkey support through our before and after school care partnership with AYS Kids. You will also find a full breakdown of our robotics team demographics and how they reflect our school-wide diversity in several key indicators. Finally, you will find our Calendar at a Glance which is created each year and highlights key STEM activities available to our students and families.
4.4 Access and Opportunity to STEM Experiences
4.4 Access and Opportunity to STEM Experiences
In 4.4, you will find a list of the opportunities Cold Spring has engaged with to help inspire and inform underrepresented student groups about careers in STEM fields. You will find our action plan, a breakdown of our demographics, and how we intentionally create opportunities for our students to engage with diverse professionals from a variety of STEM fields.
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