Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead at EJHS & EHS!
A team of math and science teachers from EHS and EJHS are working together with Sr. High Principal, Doug Leisenring and myself to help bring STEM related instruction and opportunities to our Escanaba students. This is being done with the support of an i3 (SECEP) grant involving 5 ISD's around Michigan and Connecticut. STEM education refers to "Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics" and is becoming the focus to prepare our students for college and career readiness.
- Job outlook predictions estimate that jobs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) will increase 17% by 2018, with 1.2 million unfilled STEM jobs because of a lack of qualified workers.
We believe the our Escanaba Schools take STEM beyond just science, technology, engineering, and math, by incorporating what we do best...Arts! So, instead of just becoming a STEM school, we are focusing our efforts on being a S.T.E.A.M. school! We are looking to provide our students with all of the skills necessary to make them the qualified workers that employers will be looking for in the future, around the globe. The Escanaba Jr. High will be adopting a STEM program for the 2015-16 school year that will be provided to all of our 7th & 8th grade science students called "Project Lead the Way". This is a hands on, problem solving curriculum of STEM related lessons to help engage students' minds in looking at a problem, analyzing and designing a model or solution, testing it, and redesigning to meet what's necessary to produce a viable outcome to the problem. This technique will prepare our students more fully for what they can expect in college classes and their future careers. Watch for more information regarding STEAM in our schools, or feel free to check out more information on Project Lead the Way at: http://www.pltw.org .
