NARRATIVE
Winfield City Schools has established a shared vision for STEM and has leadership structures to support the effective implementation of STEM. WCS has developed a model of shared leadership whereby structures exist both internally and externally to support and sustain STEM initiatives. STEM leadership at Winfield City Schools has effectively communicated a shared vision and mission for the STEM culture, with goals and intended outcomes for STEM initiatives.
Administrators are a key part of the strategy to sustain core tenets. Their involvement includes evaluating goals and providing district stakeholders with clear indicators of progress, which include program data attained through test scores, teacher and student surveys, and qualitative data. The leadership of the administrative team has been a significant catalyst for success with the development of the STE(A)M program. This leadership will continue to provide support and encouragement.
Winfield City Schools has leadership roles in place in order to provide the best STEM opportunities for our faculty and students. WCS has a STEM Coordinator and STEM Leadership Committees in place to provide support, encouragement, motivation, opportunities, professional development, etc. related to STEM.
Our motto is "A Tradition of Excellence," which is not used lightly at Winfield City Schools. Excellence comes from administration and flows through the faculty, staff, and students at Winfield City Schools. Furthermore, the administration has assigned a district STEM Coordinator, as well as a STEM Leadership Committee and STEM Lead Teacher for each school.
Strengths: Winfield City School's strengths in Standard 4 is Engagement and Embeddedness. Winfield administrators, faculty, staff, parents, and community members work tirelessly to create a collaborative, STEM culture for our students to experience. Furthermore, each school system has a STEM team in place to ensure STEM initiatives are flowing throughout the school.
Opportunities to Improve: Sustainability is the area that Winfield City School System can work on improving. The COVID pandemic did not halt our STEM initiatives, but it slowed down the growth from March 2019 until all students fully returned to school in March 2020.
STEM Leadership Committee
Winfield City Schools has built a STEM Leadership Committee for each school. The STEM Leadership Committee at Winfield Elementary School includes the principal, STEM coordinator, 3 classroom teachers, the library media specialist, the math coach, and the reading specialist.
This leadership team takes part in training, developing, and leading our school to meet the STEM standards. Each member of the team has spent time at STEM-specific training to ensure they are prepared to lead the school. Furthermore, the team has worked on collecting artifacts from our STEM implementation inside of Winfield Elementary School.
STEM Coordinator
Winfield City Schools has a STEM Coordinator in place in order to provide school-wide support of the school's STEM program through the coordination, development, and delivery of STEM initiatives. In addition, the STEM Coordinator oversees and assists the STEM Leadership teams at each school building. The STEM Coordinator is involved in developing STEM curricula, planning daily lessons, adopting a data-driven attitude towards measuring learner progress, and developing STEM learning activities.
STEM Days
Winfield City School's administration and STEM Leadership Committees work together to implement STEM learning days at the school. On these days, Winfield City School teachers will plan a full day of STEM instruction and activities for their students. A few examples of these days are National Rock Your School Day, House Competition Day, 2-22-22 Day, and the Solar Eclipse Day.
School Motto
"A Tradition of Excellence" has long been the motto for Winfield City Schools. This motto has manifested itself in several forms, which include research-based instructional practices that have resulted in high academic achievement. This statement is supported by both state and national recognition. Winfield Middle School consistently ranks as one of the top schools in Alabama based on state assessment scores. In and of itself, the academic accomplishments of Winfield Middle School are impressive; however, this success is significantly strengthened by the integration of STEAM instruction and skillsets in the district curriculum and practices.
Winfield Elementary 21-22 Strategy Map (1) (1).pdfAlabama Continuous Improvement Plan
As a Title I school, Winfield Elementary School is mandated by the government to develop and maintain the Alabama Continuous Improvement Plan. This is a living document that serves as a blueprint for educational opportunities, parent engagement, instruction, etc.