Administration clearly supports and expects STEAM experiences to be integrated into the core instructional time each day, rather than during times when students may be pulled out of class for resource classes or interventions. No students are left out of a class activity or pulled from intervention to participate in a “special” STEAM project, because STEAM is now a constant focus in the regular classroom.

The evolution of Fairforest Elementary's strategic management has led to an increasing focus on providing our ID Mild, self-contained classes with STEAM experiences. Our special education students in these classes have always been included in activities such as, STEAM Lab, the school news, and special grade level programs, yet they were missing out on opportunities to build relevant, STEM/STEAM skills alongside like-aged peers. We have since created "buddy classes," which are general education classes that partner with our ID Mild classes. The "buddy classes" attend related arts, lunch and recess together as well as participate in various classroom STEM/STEAM activities. 5th grade's Force and Motion Carnival, is one example of how our "buddy classes" foster inclusion and collaboration among age-like peers with all ability levels. Students in our oldest ID Mild, self-contained class participated in the creation, sharing, and celebration of carnival games with their
"buddy class." Through FES's "buddy classes" we work to ensure all students are provided with opportunites to develop world-class knowledge and skills of The Profile of the South Carolina Graduate as well as STEM/STEAM skills and compentencies.

To provide 5th grade students with additional STEAM experiences, students have the opportunity to participate in morning clubs that focus on coding, theatre, yearbook publication, engineering, band, or orchestra. These clubs meet twice each week, during the school day, enabling all 5th grade students to participate in the activity of their choice, while developing and applying STEM/STEAM skills and practices. Integrating these club options into the regular school day provides equal access for all of our 5th graders, whereas a before- or after-school format would not.

Our support for STEAM-related activities and events outside of the regular school day, such as the science fair, has provided all students with the option to participate with confidence. In-person parent night presentations and resources/activities that can be accessed and explored at home support students and families alike, and help to even the playing field in a competitive event like the science fair. This support has had an impact, as 7 of our 13 FES participants earned regional awards in 2021.

Our school news program, once an exclusively 5th grade project, is now available to all students at Fairforest. While producing the news with their homeroom class, students work to develop communication and problem-solving skills, all while learning about the technology that makes broadcasts possible - both in class and in the real world. After changing our production schedule out of necessity during the pandemic, we made it a priority to offer this opportunity to students in all grades at our school. Even our youngest students are engaged and eager to participate in this authentic STEAM project each year. For information on how our news project expanded as a result of the pandemic, click HERE. To view a recent episode of FES News, click HERE.

Fairforest's school-wide science scope and sequence has had a huge impact on equity and inclusion in our STEAM program. With all teachers working collaboratively toward the same goals and standards of rigor, high-quality STEAM experiences are offered to all students in a particular grade level, rather than in one or two classrooms. The professional development that is embedded into each planning session has also improved equity among our teachers. Through grade level planning and professional development, all teachers are instructed in STEAM-specific strategies and approaches and are provided with the necessary supports to implement STEAM experiences for all students in their classrooms.

Special, STEAM-focused family nights are key to equitable opportunities for our students and their families, as many parents and caregivers also need support and clarification in terms of STEM/STEAM and our school's unique program. Family events (both in-person and virtual) are always literacy-focused, involve a low-risk design challenge or exploration, and provide ways for parents to engage in STEAM learning experiences along with their children. This is particularly helpful for our non-English-speaking families (accounting for 30% of our student population), as it offers simple ways to participate in and understand what their children are learning at school.

At-home family events, a necessity during the pandemic, have provided the added benefit of including families whose schedules may not allow them to participate in evening activities at school. Our Hour of Code event, which has been offered virtually for the past two years, allowed families to complete the school-wide challenge over the course of a week, rather than a set time on one particular date. This flexibility has helped us to increase participation among our families, and as a result, is something that we will continue to offer, even as our building opens back up to visitors. Other examples of at-home educational events for families include FES's Literacy at Home Newsletter for family participation in D.E.A.R. Day, Virtual Family Science Fair, and Families that Read together Succeed Together.

As a Title I school, we always have to be mindful of the cost of special programs or activities, and do our best to minimize or eliminate any extra expenses for our students. We are very fortunate to have access to our district's science center and planetarium and farm for various learning experience off-campus. For out-of-district trips and experiences, such as Diamond Del's (above), Hatcher Gardens, and visiting Spartanburg landmarks, the school utilizes school funds when possible to ensure that all students are able to participate free of charge.

During the pandemic, Fairforest utilzied Google Meet to provide equitable STEAM learning opportunities across grade levels as we worked to socially distance our students, faculty, and staff. Before the pandemic, grade level design challenges or activities for up to 7 homeroom classes at a time would usually be held in our cafeteria or auditorium with our STEAM Coordinator leading and classroom teachers co-teaching. Through Google Meet, FES was able to continue our grade level STEAM learning experiences for students during the pandemic with all students on a grade level receiving instruction on the same activity, at the same time. This strategy also allowed our STEAM Coordinator to continue her instructional support to teachers through "virtual co-teaching." (Examples: 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, and 5th Grade)

Collaborative grade-level planning has had a huge impact on the growth and development of our STEAM program in the past two years. All instruction, including science- and STEM/STEAM-specific activities and units, is the result of common plans created by teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators. Planning documents have evolved throughout the year, illustrating how grade level teams have adapted and made necessary changes based on the needs of their students. The instructional conversations and division of responsibilities across a grade level has also developed a greater sense of trust among colleagues and resulted in more consistent communication about pacing, planning, successes, and challenges in each classroom.

Our shared science focus and school-wide "wonder questions" allow for more collaboration among different grade levels as well. Teachers on different grade levels are now collaborating with each other and designing larger, school-wide projects and experiences. Our D.E.A.R. Day digital book shop and 2020 Election projects are examples of this vertical collaboration.

Teachers at Fairforest have constant support for developing instructional strategies, planning activities, and/or designing special projects from our STEAM Coordinator. Becasue of collaboration and shared goals, projects like first grade's Because of Winn Dixie Party allow FES educators to model collaboration with our first grade students observing every discussion between their teacher and our STEAM Coordinator. Through this learning experience, students utilzied their enthusiasm for a class read-aloud, knowledge of the FES Design Process (celebration pictured above), and observations of their teacher and STEAM Coordinator's collaboration to guide their own collaboration with classmates as they divided up their own workload to accomplish a goal together.

With our school's focus on literacy, and our goal of providing relevant, real-life applications for skills learned in the classroom, collaboration between the STEAM Coordinator and Literacy Coach is vital for the success of our teachers and students. When a grade level is in need of support for lesson plans or wants to discuss ideas for a new project or unit, the instructional coaches meet with the grade level to discuss ideas, strategies, activities, and projects. Following the meeting, the STEAM Coordinator and Literacy Coach work to then create an initial plan for the grade level that incorporates their ideas while ensuring integration of content areas and rigor of instruction. This also helps support classroom teachers as it lightens the workload and time required to plan, allowing teachers to focus on details and specific approaches to ensure student engagement and acquition of content and skills.

For our school, collaboration with ESOL teachers is essential to ensure equity of opportunity and experience for all of our students. Our STEAM Coordinator, Literacy Coach, and one of our ESOL teachers recently presented their collaborative approach at the Palmetto State Literacy Association conference in 2019 (above).

As previously mentioned, our family STEAM and literacy events (both in-person and virtual) are highly effective in maintaining our partnerships with parents and family members. In addition to the information and support that our they receive through these opportunities, the enthusiasm and desire of our families to be involved is evident; after nearly two years, we hosted our first back-in-person family STEAM Night in January, with an astounding 350 attendees.

Parent and family connections remain strong, even during pandemic restrictions, as a result of innovative ideas and continuous communication. As a result of changes that were forced upon us during COVID restrictions, parents are frequently invited to join special programs or presentations via Google Meet. Even as restrictions are gradually lifted, this option will continue to enable parents to actively participate in and celebrate their child/children's work.

Community connections are established and maintained by inviting real-world experts to speak and collaborate on STEAM projects throughout the year. This helps our students connect their learning to the outside world, and recognize the impact they can have on our larger community. Whether these experiences happen in-person or virtually, the connections students make with stakeholders outside of our building are an integral part of our students' STEAM experiences. (Examples: Michelin virtual visits, meteorologist interviews, and our Hub City Farmers' Market visitors)

Social media connections, through our school's Facebook and Instagram pages, have been surprisingly impactful to our students and their instruction. Not only can members of our local community gain information about our program and ways to support it, but feedback from science personalities (Science Bob), organizations (Wonderopolis), and other real-world innovators (Michael Platt) help our students to see what a large audience they truly have and understand how their learning can impact others, no matter how great the distance.

When possible, we strive to help students experience the community outside of our school to discover those real-world connections to classroom learning and understand their places in the world around us. 2nd grade's photojournalism project, and its subsequent book-signing party at a local book shop, provided our students with valuable outside experiences and the knowledge that our local community notices and cares deeply about the work that they do. For a local newspaper article on the project, click HERE.

As a result of our community involvement and social media engagement, FES was invited to participate in a local "Touch a Truck" event at the Hub City Railroad Museum. Volunteers from our school set up a booth with STEM/STEAM toys and activities, and enjoyed the opportunity to share our unique approach with attendees. As the only school program on display, we were encouraged to know that the experience we provide for our students is truly engaging and one-of-a kind.

While all STEM/STEAM activities and goals are the result of planning among entire grade levels, each team has 1-2 teachers who have been designated as our STEM/STEAM "experts" for planning. This STEAM instructional team takes on a leadership role within the grade level, while trusting their colleagues to be experts in other content areas. Our integrated approach allows all teachers the opportunity to both lead and learn from one another.

School-wide wonder questions and shared topics of study across grade levels enables students of all ages to become leaders who have valuable knowledge to share with their peers. Many projects, such as our D.E.A.R. Day digital book shop, shadow puppet theatre, and severe weather reports, have even required younger students to serve as mentors and share their experiences with older peers. Most recently, our 4th grade students wrote graphic novels for their 2nd grade audience, who were also studying weather conditions. Students in both grade levels challenged and supported each other in amazing ways; 2nd graders shared what they had already learned, and challenged the 4th grade students to find out and focus their writing on additional questions they had about weather. Once their graphic novels were ready, 4th grade students paired up with buddies in a 2nd grade class for read-alouds of the texts they had created (pictured above).

Our school news program gives every student, from kindergarten to 5th grade, the opportunity to serve as a voice for the school and share important information with their peers. Students are given as much support as they need, including scripting and instructions on camera operation, but this opportunity to step into the spotlight has a huge impact on many of our students. Our children see that the work they do results in an important production that is enjoyed by their peers each day, and they receive school-wide recognition for it. It is also a way for them to develop the understanding that there are many different ways to be leaders in our school.

Leadership in our STEM/STEAM program isn't only for students or school personnel. Our strategic management and dedication to clear, consistent communication with our stakeholders outside of the building, has been instrumental in helping our volunteers and families to understand our instructional program and how they can become involved in it. Stakeholders are able to discuss this with school leadership in detail during PTO, School Improvement Council, and Title I meetings. Stakeholder input is greatly valued and often influences decisions that are made regarding instruction and programs at our school. For example, the desire to see school-wide projects with a common focus and goal was initially shared by a parent during a School Improvement Council meeting.