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A group of students watching a video about Milo the Science Rover, their STEM project.
Circle Cross Ranch K-8 School is currently in the first year of a three-year transition, moving from being a public traditional school to becoming an accredited public S.T.E.M. Academy.
The transition is the result of research by school and district administrators that indicates S.T.E.M. education is the wave of future. Additionally, the transition also aims to increase enrollment in a S.T.E.M. diploma program when students reach high school.
“We know that’s where 90 percent of the jobs are going to be,” Circle Cross Ranch Principal Rebecca Hendry recently told the Ledger. “We have a great partnership with Poston Butte High School and they have a S.T.E.M. diploma program.”
According to Hendry, the first year of the transition has focused primarily on professional development, including all teachers acquiring their S.T.E.M. accreditation.
Tanielle Kazmierczak is in her first year as the school’s S.T.E.M. Master Teacher. Her responsibilities include training teachers to use a S.T.E.M. project and working with them to make it a fully-integrated unit. She’ll also help teachers who want to teach a particular topic and extend it to include S.T.E.M.
“Our hope is that our teachers will have complete comprehensive units based on S.T.E.M.-related topics that are cross-curricular every quarter by the end of the three-year implementation plan,” Hendry said. “Our goal this year to build our first (unit) and next year we’ll continue building until we reach every quarter where our teachers have a comprehensive unit to present.”
Kazmierczak currently works with K – 5 students, who report with their respective teachers to her classroom every other week. During a class’s assigned S.T.E.M. day students work on projects such as using ice cubes to learn how glaciers erode away sides of mountains. They’ll learn about erosion and deposition in the Grand Canyon and Mount McKinley in Alaska.
Second and third grade students are currently learning about robotics through the use of Lego-brand robotics kits – WeDo 2.0 – that were purchased through APS and Phoenix Suns mini-grants. Through the use of tablets, students will follow to directions to create Mini Milo and then learn how to computer program the robotic Lego figure.
The innovative hands-on experience that S.T.E.M. education allows keeps more students engaged in learning.
In her previous position as a fourth-grade teacher, Kazmierczak said attendance was never an issue when it came to S.T.E.M. projects.
“My students knew when we had a half-day it was S.T.E.M. day in our classroom,” she said. “I had 100 percent attendance every time on that day. I had kids coming in who were sick because they didn’t want to miss the S.T.E.M. project.”
“I know our students at Circle Cross Ranch are excited to come into the classroom for their S.T.E.M. day.”
For more information on Circle Cross Ranch S.T.E.M. Academy and the year-by-year implementation plan visit the school’s home page here.
Bringing Milo to life.
Milo the science rover
Mrs. Kazmierczak giving instruction to second-grade STEM students.
The students are reviewing the 26-step instructions to assemble Milo
WeDo 2.0
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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