As Tech Jobs Come to Atlanta, Some Schools Step Up STEM Instruction
Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen writes a “STEM question” for students at M. Agnes Jones Elementary School.
Martha Dalton / WABE
As Atlanta’s technology sector continues to grow, some schools are stepping up their efforts to prepare students for those jobs. The Georgia Department of Education offers STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) certification for schools.
The process is rigorous. Schools have to meet with business leaders and implement a STEM curriculum. Students have to demonstrate competence in subjects ranging from agriculture to computer science.
Dr. Margul Woolfolk is the principal at M. Agnes Jones, the first Atlanta public school to receive STEM certification from the state. She says the certification process was student-focused.
“It was all about what the children could do: What they saw from the children, what the children could articulate,” Woolfolk said. “So, that was exciting because that was genuine and it was authentic.”
Jones has three different STEM labs, its own chickens and vegetable gardens. There’s a farm across the street from the school where the students can conduct labs and explore.
“One thing we focused on was the crops and growing food for our community,” said Lindsey Rutledge, STEM teacher for pre-K through second grade. “Well, now the kids know that during certain seasons, you grow certain things.”
In addition, Rutledge says her students can master iPads and 3-D printers. The idea, she says, is to integrate all four STEM subjects so students see how they’re related.
“We make sure that we’re hitting those standards that they have to meet, but connecting it to the real world because they’re solving a problem and doing a project and actually going out into the field to get field experiences,” she said.
Jones is one of 57 STEM-certified schools in Georgia.
A note of disclosure: The Atlanta Board of Education holds WABE’s broadcast license.
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