Our staff convene in committee groups on a monthly basis. One of these committees is the STEM leadership committee, which takes on various responsibilities. They plan STEM activities, organize staff training days, and procure the necessary STEM resources essential for effective implementation. Within the monthly STEM leadership meetings, the team engages in discussions to assess and enhance what's already working while considering new ideas and relevant information in the realm of STEM education. Despite our school's relatively small size and its independent operation within the Diocese, we actively seek input and collaborative ideas from the Noblesville community members, public school teachers, and school advisory council members. To further refine STEM best practices, our teachers and support staff come together during grade level planning sessions. This collaborative effort ensures a continuous improvement in our STEM education initiatives.

Additionally, as part of our commitment to making informed decisions, we encourage input and feedback from our certified staff. At least 95% of our certified staff members provide valuable feedback to the STEM Leadership team, which is comprised of administrators and teachers. This feedback plays a crucial role in shaping the decisions regarding the planning and implementation of our school's STEM program. It reflects our belief in shared governance and ensures that our STEM initiatives remain responsive to the needs and insights of our dedicated educators.

Every Wednesday, our TEAM staff meetings take place after school, running from 3:30 to 4:15 pm. Additionally, grade level teachers have the option to convene before school between 7:25 and 7:45 am. To facilitate collaboration, teachers are allocated a common prep time per grade level, providing each grade level with a shared 45-minute period. These scheduled meetings and collaboration times serve various purposes, such as crafting cross-curricular lesson plans, designing and implementing STEM units specific to each grade level, conducting peer observations, and collectively working to foster a positive learning environment for all our students. It's important to note that both teachers and administrators actively participate and contribute during these dedicated times. 

Funding for STEM instruction and technology is carefully managed and sustained through comprehensive budget planning and leveraging various grant opportunities. Our commitment to continuous improvement encompasses equipment, operations, professional development, sustainability of programming, and more.

Our Lady of Grace Catholic School utilizes a diverse range of funding sources to develop and maintain our STEM programming. This includes recent support from STEM integration grant, EANS grant monies, and technology grants. Additionally, we've secured funding through our Title IV initiatives, the Fund-A-Need program, and Cares Act grants. We've also organized donation days, particularly to support the growth of our robotics teams, and have used Title IIA funds to invest in teacher professional development in STEM.

In our pursuit of excellence, both our parish and school collaborate to boost funding for teacher training and the acquisition of STEM resources. As a private Catholic institution, we acknowledge that we maintain an ongoing effort to explore grant opportunities and creative funding efforts.  

It's worth noting that our Diocese does not provide financial support, so our dedicated staff are resourceful in seeking donations to ensure the full implementation of our STEM curriculum. This commitment to creative funding solutions underscores our school's determination to provide a robust STEM education.

To gather valuable insights, we employ a multi-faceted approach. Parent surveys are distributed through Google Forms, and we also make them available during Parent/Teacher conference sessions. This feedback serves as a critical tool in the evaluation and refinement of our STEM programs and offerings at Our Lady of Grace Catholic School.

In addition to parental feedback, we actively seek input from our students. Student Attitude/Interest surveys are provided to 100% of OLG 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. By considering both parental and student perspectives, we can make informed decisions and continually enhance our STEM education initiatives.

Our STEM team is committed to sharing the journey our school has undertaken to attain STEM certification. We've developed a series of presentations that we've used when presenting at both local and national conference sessions. Furthermore, we've taken proactive steps to involve our community partners and families in a range of STEM activities. This collaborative approach helps us spread the knowledge and benefits of STEM education within and beyond our school community. 

The Our Lady of Grace STEM team's commitment to sharing our school's journey toward STEM certification and involving community partners and families is a priority. Collaborating with the community is a crucial aspect of STEM education, as it helps build awareness and support for our STEM initiatives. Hosting STEM Family/Community nights or open houses to involve parents and the community in STEM activities helps them see what their children are learning and how they can support STEM at home. Highlighting our partnerships with local businesses, organizations, and universities and explaining how these collaborations have enriched our STEM program is also a  benefit to all those involved. 

Our Lady of Grace utilizes social media (Facebook and Instagram)  and our school's website to share our journey in real-time by posting updates, photos, and stories that keep our parents and community partners engaged and informed.

Having our STEM team present at local and national conferences, appear on Podcasts and speak in Virtual  Conferences helps spread our experiences to a broader audience, inspiring others educators and schools, and establishing Our Lady of Grace as a leader in STEM education. Our Lady of Grace's dedication to spreading the knowledge and benefits of STEM education is making a positive impact on our school and the wider community. 

The indicators of peer observations, lesson study, critical feedback, coaching, modeling, and mentoring demonstrate a comprehensive approach to evaluating and improving instructional practices at Our Lady of Grace is a priority. We utilize a nationally adapted evaluation tool of ELEOT from AdvancEd along with an instructional walkthrough tool from McRel specifically designed to identify and target STEM instructional practices. These tailored tools ensure that the evaluation process is closely aligned with the goals of STEM education within our school.  Through a collective cohort of STEM professionals, evaluator training in observing these targeted STEM instructional best practices.  Evaluators gain knowledge and skills necessary to accurately assess and provide feedback on STEM teaching methods. Feedback on these practices into both formative and summative evaluations is a key aspect of the process, promoting continuous improvement in STEM education. The feedback loop ensures that teachers are aware of their strengths and areas for growth in STEM instruction and create Professional Growth Plans.  And here's the cool part – they're taking all the feedback on these STEM practices and using it to help teachers. It's not just about judging; it's about improving. That's a big win for everyone.

We’re not leaving teachers hanging. If a teacher gets feedback from the evaluators, they're getting some kind of support, whether it's from peers, doing lesson studies, getting coaching, seeing how it's done (modeling), doing action research, or having mentors. It's like a whole toolkit to help teachers grow and make STEM education even better.

In our bustling school, the integration of STEM instruction and programming was an endeavor that bore fruit. The objective was clear: we aimed to ensure that 100% of our students actively participated in integrated STEM education, excluding their related arts classes. This was a journey toward inclusivity, diversity, and the holistic development of our students. In our middle school course offerings we carefully crafted a diverse range of STEM-related opportunities. Alongside core subjects, students were encouraged to explore STEM electives that aligned with their interests and passions. The selection included robotics, coding, environmental science, engineering, and more. We wanted to ensure that there was something for everyone. We also facilitate STEM integration in our schedule.   Our commitment to inclusivity was reflected in the STEM enrollment data. We monitored and analyzed enrollment statistics to ensure that the demographic diversity of our school was mirrored in our STEM electives. This meant that students with special education needs, students of different genders, races, and those economically disadvantaged were all actively encouraged to participate in our STEM programs. In order to protect STEM time from pull-outs for special programming such as Title I, resource classes, and remediation, we devised a well-structured schedule. This schedule ensured that students' STEM instruction was uninterrupted and undisturbed. Our curriculum maps were a critical component of our STEM integration success. These maps outlined the holistic approach to STEM education, highlighting the interconnectedness of various STEM subjects and real-world applications. Promoting STEM programming was not only about creating opportunities but also about ensuring students were aware of them. 

The journey to achieve 100% student participation in integrated STEM instruction was, at its core, a commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and excellence in education. We celebrated the fact that every student in our school, regardless of their background or circumstances, had the chance to explore and thrive in the world of STEM. Our success was not just reflected in the numbers, but in the enthusiasm, innovation, and passion that our students brought to STEM class. 

STREAM happens in the robotics lab, wood shop, outside, during mass, at specials and most importantly in the classroom. It happens when you are alone or in a group. STREAM is not confined to a certain space. It is a movement that happens throughout the building all day long. It touches the humanities and revolutionizes the thought processes of young minds. STREAM is found in the drawings and sculptures that are created in art. It touches students through technology, math, and science. Most importantly it is a way for students to grow through the Engineering Design Process. Our beliefs are that the R (religion) and A (arts) of STREAM education only enhance the regular STEM mindset.