• Identify, define, measure and track cross-cutting STEM competencies using local assessments to gain a more comprehensive understanding of students’ STEM literacy. (ST1.8)

Since 2016, Fairforest Elementary School has made a conscious effort to build strong relationships with the greater community outside of our school to provide our students with STEM/STEAM experiences that connect their learning to various career fields, but to also help our students understand that people outside of their classrooms are invested in what they are doing and learning in school. Our ongoing partnership with Michelin has been a strong example of this with students provided with various engaging opportunities such as, question-and-answer sessions, virtual field trips, hands-on STEM activities, and small-group instructional support with our Michelin volunteers. This consistent collaboration has been extremely impactful for our students as they learn and understand that real-world scientists and engineers are diverse, having a wide range of jobs, differing interests, and relying on other experts to problem solve challenges.

Six years later, we are proud to share that Fair forest’s partnership with Michelin has only grown in its effectiveness regarding student achievement and are also proud to share that the school has fostered additional partnerships and connections to the greater community. As we have prioritized real-world connections to content-area learning, our teachers and instructional leaders have shifted planning discussions from "How will we teach this?" to "Who can help us with this?" We have utilized personal connections as well as social media to reach out to individuals who serve as experts in a field of study and/or take interests in learning about our students' culminating products. Examples of connections that have either supported instruction in a project-based learning experience or served as a larger audience for our students include:

• A civil engineer who spoke to our 1st and 3rd grade students about the geotechnical exploration that was taking place on our school grounds

• A meteorologist who visited both in-person and virtually to support studies on weather

• A curling athlete from Canada who spoke to our 5th graders about how his sport relates to forces and motion

• A local book shop manager who invited our students into the store for a book-signing party when they published their community photojournalism book

• Shout-outs and reposts from STEM personalities and organizations on social media, including Wonderopolis, Science Bob, and Ozobot

• Interviews and recognition of community "heroes" selected by our 2nd grade students in celebration of Giving Tuesday

While our students love the opportunity to share their learning with their peers and families, recognition and support from external stakeholders in the greater community has helped our students connect their learning to the real world. It is evident that Fairforest students approach classroom learning and project-based experiences with more enthusiasm and motivation when they know they have a real audience taking an interest in their work.

Since our initial accreditation in 2016, Fairforest has worked to not only strengthen our instructional practices, but to ensure that STEM/STEAM instruction is consistent and rigorous in ALL classrooms. When we began our journey six years ago as a STEM school, most teachers were planning in isolation, hindering collegial learning and growth as educators. Teachers who felt comfortable taking instructional risks with STEM, provided their students with relevant, real-word STEM/STEAM learning experiences while teachers who were hesitant about implementing a STEM-approach typically did not, hindering their students from receiving same opportunities as their peers in other classrooms.

Today, weekly grade level planning meetings and consistent time with instructional leaders has allowed all teachers opportunities to ask questions, request support, share ideas, and refocus instruction on rigor and student experience. With a school-wide scope-and sequence in science and a strong focus on meaningful application of ELA skills in content areas, our teachers have developed strong practices that are embedded in state standards and work to design units with end goals and assessments in mind. Clear, consistent expectations in planning and instruction have dramatically increased the rigor of classroom instruction and led to much more meaningful, relevant learning experiences for students.

When we began our STEM/STEAM journey, Fairforest teachers worked to become comfortable with engineering and design challenges that fostered creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. Unfortunately, many of the challenges did not provide students with opportunities to connect their learning to the greater world outside of the classroom. While these isolated activities helped our students develop perseverance and understanding of our STEM/STEAM approach, our faculty and staff realized that authentic, meaningful STEM/STEAM experiences had to connect to the outside world if our students were to truly understand that what they were learning in the classroom could impact the community and world. Initially, our students enjoyed STEM/STEAM projects, but struggled to understand or explain the purpose of them.

Six years later, Fairforest students are engaged and able to explain the "why" of their classroom learning. Our students have moved beyond isolated cup-stacking and bridge-building activities to projects that truly connect them with their communities, helping them develop and utilize the skills of real-world professionals.

Examples include:

• Creating a school-wide digital book shop of student-created texts for D.E.A.R. Day

• Using understanding of fractions and musical composition to create percussion performances for kindergarteners in our school

• Applying understanding of weather patterns and forecasting to film current meteorology reports for the daily school news

• Converting measurements to design and build a full-sized tiny house on school grounds

• Partnering with our local farmers' market to discuss planting in our school garden and assist in produce sales for school staff

• Using persuasive writing about environmental issues to secure a grant from DHEC, which enabled our 5th grade students to purchase and set up outdoor trash cans on our playground area

• Reaching out to real-world professionals in multiple STEM/STEAM-related fields (meteorologists, engineers, entrepreneurs, authors) for guidance on specific projects

• Partnering with the Spartanburg Humane Society and using social media to advocate for animal adoption

Fairforest students know that their classroom learning goes far beyond "because we have to" or "because it is in the standards." Our teachers and instructional leaders have become masterful at collaborating and planning standards-based learning experiences that are relevant to our students and help them recognize their potential to impact the real world. Through our rigorous, STEM/STEAM approach, FES students are engaged in the classroom and excited to share their learning with the world.

Fairforest Elementary's approach to a school-wide scope and sequence for science that includes common grade level planning, a backwards-by-design approach, and consistent, formalized instruction in our FES Design Process has greatly impacted project-based learning, student engagement, and rigor of instruction in every classroom. Over the past two years in particular, we have imbedded STEM/STEAM-specific professional development into every common planning time. What was once seen as an extra challenge or an option for those who wanted to "give it a try" is now a clear expectation and a fundamental part of who we are as a school. All teachers are supported as they learn STEM/STEAM practices and terminology and collaborate with instructional leaders and teammates to prepare and implement STEM/STEAM experiences in their classrooms. As a result, students in every classroom have an equal opportunity to be challenged and engaged through a meaningful, STEAM curriculum. At the beginning of each school year, teachers receive guidance in their first design challenge as our STEAM Coordinator plans, leads, and models for each grade level through students' first projects. Additionally, our collaborative approach to planning enables teachers to "get on the same page" with grade level projects and programs as we are truly working together to plan with the end goal in mind. Our formalized processes for instructional planning, along with common language and an emphasis on project-based learning, has enabled our faculty and staff to provide much more rigorous and relevant experiences for all students at FES.

Prioritizing a "backwards by design" approach has required our teachers and instructional leadership to collaborate and develop formative and summative assessments before instructional planning begins. Fairforest has worked to create a variety of assessments for each grade level, which are used consistently across classrooms, to ensure equity in opportunity and quality of instruction. This has been a particular area of focus and improvement since COVID as state testing data has been inconsistent and arguably unreliable source of information regarding our students' growth and understanding. Creating and utilizing common assessments, which are taken from our state standards, and providing our students with opportunities to demonstrate their competencies in a variety of ways has helped faculty and staff to gather reliable data regarding students' mastery of STEM/STEAM skills, understanding of content, and engagement with learning experiences.

Our approach to assessment has also enabled the school to identify new needs, which have arisen as a result of the pandemic, and to determine innovative ways to help our students recover and continue to move forward. Through the creation and implementation of rigorous, common assessments, Fairforest has been able to form a much clearer picture of our students' competencies and needs, enabling us to reinforce where needed, challenge each on an individual level, and provide rigorous, standards-based instruction.