Education – Flavor

The ‘stem’ of progress

To anticipate the future need for workers with high math and science skills, Spokane-area school districts have launched in-depth, hands-on science programs.

Mead School District launched its Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) program four years ago at the high-school level.

“What we’ve tried to do is answer the call,” says Dan Butler, the district’s assistant superintendent. “We need more people, teens, interested in science and math. We need intellectual capital in this country to stay competitive.”

Butler estimates that 20 percent of the Spokane region’s economy is centered around biosciences and biomedicine, and the district sees potential to fill some of those jobs with local people.

In a survey, 60 percent of its eighth graders said they wanted more bioscience classes. So, the district began offering one class at each of its high schools as an elective for freshmen. About 300 students signed up.

“There’s incredible interest in it among our schools,” Butler says. “We’re going to start our second year of biomed at both the high schools.”

The courses are problem-solving oriented. For example, on the first day of a biomed class, students might see a mannequin representing a patient on the floor who had hypothetically exhibited a variety of symptoms then passed away. Students would then work in groups to determine how the “patient” died.

In addition to the biosciences, the district is entering its fourth year of offering engineering courses that include design, three-dimensional software, prototyping, and problem-solving exercises.

“The whole process of this STEM education is meant to get kids to think, to start thinking outside the box, and to start thinking about how to solve problems rather than filling up the bucket and having the kids regurgitate it,” Butler says.

Through the program, students integrate the sciences with writing, research, and entrepreneurship. They also work with new technologies and are connected to the business community.

The high school courses are so advanced that students can receive college credit.

In the fall of 2012, Mead School District opened the STEM Academy in the Innovate Washington Building at the Riverpoint Higher Education Park near downtown Spokane. Butler estimates the academy will house about 100 students of junior and senior standing, who will attend all their classes there and study the sciences more in depth.

“It’s absolutely the best thing in my 30-plus years in education,” he says. “The kids get excited. The teachers get excited. It also speaks to all kids, not just the privileged kids. It speaks to kids who struggle and speaks to kids who are gifted. We think we’re onto something.”

About a dozen more school districts in the Spokane area now are using the STEM program, he says.

Meanwhile, Spokane Public Schools is implementing its new biomedical science curriculum at Ferris, Lewis and Clark, Rogers, and Shadle high schools. It also will continue to offer classes at North Central High School’s acclaimed Institute of Science and Technology.

Spokane Valley Tech (SVT) is another new program that focuses on career and college readiness by providing a cutting edge environment for high school students – connecting them to their chosen career fields through internships and curricula, and inviting them to solve real-world problems in their fields of study. The program gives students technical skills and experience in growing industries including biomedicine, engineering and aerospace.

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