STEM Experiences

Table of Contents:

Indicator 10 Narrative

Community involvement is an essential part of our STEM curriculum here at BMS. Under the umbrella of community is post-secondary, business and industry, families, and all additional stakeholders working together towards our common goal of preparing students to be global thinkers and learners. When we began our journey towards STEM certification, we quickly realized community involvement as an area of weakness and concern. With this realization, our staff created the goal of turning this weakness into a strength, and as a result, we have made great strides in this area.

Through our monthly STEM day, we have been able to form valuable community partners. BMS works hard to engage all stakeholders, especially in connecting our community to our students. Each month, every teacher invites an expert from the community to present career information for our club day. In each STEM club, teachers are in charge of including a guest speaker related to the STEM activities they incorporate into these monthly opportunities. We have engineers, bankers, machinists, artists, nurses, and members of our United States Military present every month, to name a few. We work in conjunction with our town's mayor, Drew Gilbert, on various issues and activities involving our town's government. We partner with 'Bevill State Community college to provide several post-secondary opportunities for our students, as well. All 8th grade students are tour The Walker County Center of Technology (WCCT) in preparation for educational options in 9th grade, and through this program, several students are able to attain several credentials prior to their high school graduation. A number of our 8th graders are involved in the WCCT STEM Group where they are exposed to STEM career opportunities one school day of every week. We also offer numerous opportunities throughout the year for the entire community to interact with our students and staff. A few examples are The Living Wax Museum, showcases, student-led programs, BEST Robotics exhibitions, Quiz Bowl, and Math Competitions.

Even though we have made tremendous progress in this area, we are striving to build even stronger relationships with business and industry partners. Our goal is to double our current partnerships over the next two years.

Community Partners

BMS works hard to engage all stakeholders, especially in connecting our community to our students. Each month, every teacher invites an expert from the community to present career information for our club day. We have engineers, bankers, machinists, restaurant owners, professional photographers and videographers, artists, dancers, nurses, and members of our United States Military present every month. In the picture below, Cordova's very own Mayor Drew Gilbert visits to discuss resume building and interview tips. We also have made strong connections with the Tuscaloosa Health Department, and we have a group of 8th grade students that spend every Tuesday participating in the Walker County Center of Technology STEM Group.

Post-Secondary Educational Partners

We are very intentional in taking full advantage of our proximity to Bevill State Community College. Every year our eighth graders participate in a career fair that we host on the BSCC campus in Sumiton. Students pick six vendors to interview and record their conversations on a clipboard. There are around sixty vendors to choose from, including carpentry, aviation, welding, electrical systems, collision repair, agriculture, machinists, engineering design, and air conditioning to name a few.

We also partner with BSCC in touring their Center of Technology departments like HVAC, Machine Tool Technology (MTT), Engineering Design Technology (EDT), and Computer Science. Students pick their top three departments at the end of the day, and as ninth graders they will spend an entire day visiting two of those.

In addition, students participate in BSCC's Educational Talent Search Pre-College Program. This program is designed to help selected students interested in attending college with academic and career interests and needs. A representative from Bevill visits BMS once a month to talk with students about educational goals, identifying areas of potential, and assist in achieving academic success. They also offer programs over the summer for students to participate in.

Business / Industry Partners

We have built strong business and industry relationships with Alabama Water Watch, our local Fire Department, the city council and mayor, Alabama Power, the Tuscaloosa Health Department, and the Walker County Youth Advocacy Program. In the picture below, Alabama Power's Britton Lightsey presents a check for $2,500 to Bankhead Middle School. The grant was used to purchase art supplies for an art-based intervention program for students who need extra assistance with math and reading.

Indicator 11 Narrative

BMS has a plethora of opportunities for STEM learning. In fact, this is perhaps our greatest strength. The rule at our school is "Everybody is in charge of something," and by something we mean an extracurricular opportunity for our students. All of these are extended-day opportunities such as Start with Hello, Anchor Club, Junior Robotics Team, The Science Fair, BEST Robotics, Junior National Honor Society, Junior National Beta Club, The Math Team, The Technology Team, Quiz Bowl Team, SGA, Spirit Club, Coding, and many others.

Adult-world connections are involved in several aspects of our curriculum. For example, our Community Service club works closely with organizations such as Red Cross, United Way, and the American Cancer Society, and our Patriot Club works closely on numerous projects with various members of the Armed Forces. These are only a couple of examples of the adult-world connections being made with our students at BMS.

Extended Learning

BMS students have extended learning opportunities with BEST Robotics. We have received trainings in the area of CAD, programming, soldering, and marketing from faculties at Northwest Shoals Community College and Bevill State Community College. In the years our robotics teams advances to Auburn, we tour a part of the university's campus. We have toured the Department of Industrial Design and the Department of Engineering. We are scheduled to tour the College of Science and Mathematics on December 6th.

Service-Learning

Students at BMS engage in monthly service-learning projects to connect classroom learning to the real world. Mrs. Matthews and Mrs. Smith sponsor a club that visits the nursing home each month, Mrs. Scarberry makes real world connections between students and US military veterans and active members in her Patriot Club, and Mrs. Prince leads a club on charitable organizations. In the latter club, students are taught what non-profit charities are and then they research charities to see how they help people. These include Red Cross, United Way, and American Cancer Society just to name a few. One of the charities we put a lot of focus on is Pennies for Patients, which is part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). A representative from the LLS organization comes out to speak to the club, and students raise money over a 3 week period during the second semester of school. Students in the club design posters and flyers to hang in the school, and each week the students add up the receipts from the Coin Star. At the end of the last week, the grade level with the most money gets to pie the principal, assistant principal, and a teacher they choose in the face. The purpose for this club is to make students understand that we are put here on this earth to give back to people in need and to be aware of the right charities to give to.

WCCT Measure Up Program

Mr. Palmer from the Walker County Center of Technology visits Bankhead. He is introducing the Tape Measure Program to all 6th graders. Mr. Palmer discussed how math application has a direct relation to what a person's salary could be as an adult and why it's important to work hard in math classes. Mr. Palmer also donated tape measures to all the 6th grade students.