Edgewood has a STEM Community Advisory Board that meets twice a year with over 20 different companies represented. This board has 45 community members, six teachers and two administrators that meet in the fall and in the spring. The community members represent a wide variety of area businesses, key stakeholders, and a strong representation from the orthopedic industry. The fall meeting focuses on planning for the year and how the community members can partner with the school to achieve our objectives and priorities for the year. In the spring meeting, the advisory board reconvenes to review the year’s progress, reflect and make recommendations for the upcoming year.

Edgewood also partners with area businesses and stakeholders for key projects like “Go Baby Go”, Manufacturing Week, "Forget Princess, I Want to be an Engineer," and robotics competitions. Edgewood’s manufacturing club has produced products that benefit our whole school corporation and area businesses. Repeat business indicates the Manufacturing club produces a quality product for a reasonable price. Currently, there are over 16 local community partners actively engaged in the STEM program.

GoBabyGo!: A project that brings students and community members together to work with special needs children to increase understanding and improve independent mobility for children with physical disabilities. The students invited to participate in this project are a diverse group of individuals, with a concentrated effort to include special needs and multiple nationalities. This project takes place in early spring.

Edgewood offers after school STEM activities such as Robotics, Manufacturing Club, and GoBabyGo! STEM activities are also shared within the community at First Fridays. We also offer extended learning opportunities during the day including “Forget Princess, I want to Be An Engineer” and “A Future In Manufacturing”. These two STEM activities are specifically designed to increase the awareness of our female students about careers they may want to pursue. This is especially important for Warsaw to retain the status of Orthopedic Capital of the World.

After school transportation is available for students participating in after school activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Buses run north and south, adjusting the routes based on student participation and the need for transportation. The activities during the day help to involve students who otherwise would not be able to participate. STEM activities are available during Student Resource Time (SRT) to increase the involvement of students.

Our STEM Coach, Abbi Richcreek, is assigned to a group of diverse students to work with during SRT. This group of students have been named the Student Project Manufacturers (SPM). Various enrichment engineering projects are completed by this group of students during the school day. Projects include building floatation devices for disabled children, creating a “boat” that floats and holds up to two people made out of cardboard and duct tape and manufacturing gifts for organizations, the corporation and the building.

Extended learning opportunities are available and accessible to over 50% of students on a continuous basis and participation mirrors school demographics.

Edgewood Middle School has partnered with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) to provide support and role models that work with our female population to complete a STEM activity linked to our “Forget Princess, I Want to Be an Engineer” in the fall semester. Female students complete an application to be invited to this event and then provide feedback to help us continue to improve each year.

In the spring semester, area orthopedic employees work with our female students and our lower socioeconomic students (SES) by introducing them to possible careers in the manufacturing industry. This activity will be called Futures in Manufacturing. Although we invite a broad range of students, we specifically reach out to students who want to break the poverty cycle by possibly selecting a career in the manufacturing industry. We also reach out to students who may have the perspective that manufacturing jobs are only for men.

Our GoBabyGo! activity connects students and community business leaders with students with disabilities. The STEM professionals who assist are from a variety of races, ethnic, and gender groups. One of our most active companies, Medtronics, supplies leaders who are ethnically diverse, to volunteer with our projects.

Students who participate in each of these three activities are specifically selected to make sure we have involvement from some of our underrepresented groups.