Embedded Files
At North Elementary School, we seek to inspire our students to be problem-solvers and teach them the skills they need to be successful and thrive in a changing world through STEM opportunities. Our vision is to prepare our students to confidently innovate and engineer solutions through authentic and collaborative STEM opportunities. Our STEM programming is outlined by our mission and vision and is further supported by the positive, collaborative culture in our building.
Our teachers and students work together to build STEM lessons and learning opportunities that are made available to all of our students - especially those most at-risk and who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM Careers. To provide our students with exposure to emerging STEM career opportunities, our school hosts an annual Career Fair, complete with presentations from our community partners. Furthermore, our PLTW STEM curriculum explicitly incorporates STEM career exploration into every unit. Collaboration between staff and students is facilitated through rigorous STEM curriculum, integrated seamlessly into classroom instruction. Teachers are provided with common planning time that is intentionally focused on STEM in the classroom. Building administrator works with district administration and community partners to develop a plan for sustaining and expanding our STEM programming. Parents are invited to participate in student STEM experiences through classroom contact and extended programming. We value the input of all of our stakeholders and use the data that we obtain from surveys to improve and refine our STEM plan for our school.
Professional development is a high priority for our school. We have invested in formal training for our teachers through PLTW and other district-provided training sessions. Additionally, our teachers and students are further supported through instructional coaching at both the building and district level to ensure integration of STEM instruction in 100% of our classrooms.
1.1 Decision-Making
1.1 Decision-Making
In order to provide evidence, we have included copies of our staff surveys from Spring 2020 and Fall 2020. These surveys show that 95% of our staff have had the opportunity to provide feedback on our STEM programming at North Elementary. Our STEM team regularly uses this feedback to improve our comprehensive STEM plan. Additionally, we have included a copy of our working agenda, which documents our progress as a school towards STEM Certification over the past three years, and a copy of our overall School Improvement Plan.
1.2 Continuity of Learning Plan
1.2 Continuity of Learning Plan
The provided evidence to the right (our continuous learning plan, school improvement plan, master schedule, and STEM Schedule Explanation) shows how STEM has been added to the daily schedule. Teachers are providing STEM lessons that implement collaborative team work and assess student learning in different ways. STEM instruction can continue whether in-person or virtual. Teachers include integrated STEM lessons throughout classroom and virtual instruction. Activities are linked to content areas and completed either in the classroom or at home. Students collaborate virtually and in person on problem based learning units.
1.3 Common Work Time
1.3 Common Work Time
All of our teachers are provided with collaborative planning time on a weekly basis. During our grade level meetings each week, our teachers regularly discuss, plan for, and develop engaging STEM learning opportunities for our students across all subjects and grade levels. In this section, we have shared our grade level teams' weekly planning agendas/notes as well as a copy of our master schedule to further evidence our collaborative planning time.
1.4 Sustainability Plan
1.4 Sustainability Plan
There is a 5-Year Plan in place to continue re-assessing STEM education at North Elementary. Also, we have included our school's Technology Plan. The STEM Team will meet annually to assess current student needs and interests to make modifications.
PLTW Lead Teacher Certificate
1.5 Measurement of Students' Attitudes/Interests
1.5 Measurement of Students' Attitudes/Interests
In order to measure students understanding of STEM, a survey was completed by our students. This survey provides evidence of attitudes towards STEM in the classroom and future career pathways. This information is used by our STEM Team to assess modifications to our STEM curriculum.
1.6 Student/Parent Feedback Data
1.6 Student/Parent Feedback Data
Twice a year, parent and student surveys are administers to gather feedback and information from our stakeholders. We use this survey data to inform future decisions for how to continuously improve our STEM program.
Spring 2020 NE - Parent Survey.pdfSpring 2020 Parent Survey Results
Fall 2020 NE - Parent Survey.pdfFall 2020 Parent Survey Results
Spring 2020 NE - Student Survey.pdfSpring 2020 Student Survey Results
Fall 2020 NE - Student Survey.pdfFall 2020 Student Survey Results
1.7 STEM Instructional Feedback
1.7 STEM Instructional Feedback
This evidence demonstrates teacher evaluation criteria in our evaluation plan. Additionally, our school has invested in training for our administrator on evaluating effective STEM instruction and providing meaningful feedback to our teachers. An amendment to this plan is also provided. This amendment addresses changes to add walk through language that provides feedback to teachers on STEM/Technology implementation. Administration attends STEM training along side teachers. Certification and agendas for this training are provided.
PLTW Teacher Training Agenda.pdfPLTW Launch Teacher Training Agenda
2020-21 PLTW Launch Classroom Teacher Credential_90340984.pdfPrincipal Launch Teacher Certificate
1.8 Instructional Support
1.8 Instructional Support
We have attached evidence of a summary of supports that we provide to all teachers at our school. We believe our most valued assets are our teachers, support staff, and students. As such, we are dedicated to providing as much support to our staff as possible as they integrate STEM in their classrooms.
1.9 STEM Communications
1.9 STEM Communications
STEM communications must be made understandable in multi-level environments for both oral delivery and written expression using structural features of writing and public speaking to connect with our families and community partners. This evidence to support communication is based through our social media and newsletters.
Examples of Weekly Newsletters
1.10 Equity
1.10 Equity
At North Elementary School, 100% of our students regularly participate in integrated STEM instruction and programming. Our school's master schedule reflects this through dedicated time in our Innovate and Media Literacy classes for all students. Additionally, we have included copies of our STEM and Computer Science Curriculum Maps to further demonstrate our comprehensive plan for integration in grades PK-6 to ensure equitable access for our students. Lesson plans have been provided to show the integration of STEM into all content areas.
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