Schools
Is It Full STEAM Ahead for Coronado Schools?
The Board of Education looks at ways to prepare students for the 21st Century job market.
STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. The concept was introduced to students in fall 2010, and now Superintendent Jeffrey Felix wants the school board to approve the program for all Coronado students. The board will vote on the proposal at its meeting today.
STEAM is an approach to education that shows the interrelationship between school subjects and real life, according to the program’s website. The concept shows students and teachers how to interpret science and technology through engineering and the arts. All instruction areas are based in math.
STEAM also encourages a partnership with the community and local industries.
Find out what's happening in Coronadowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The concept was developed by Georgette Yakman in 2006, when she was a graduate student at Virginia Polytechnic.
Felix’s recommendation said, the district “must develop the ideas that could transform and strengthen the community, ensure a skilled workforce for American industry, and guarantee that all Coronado students are provided the educational resources and tools needed to participate fully in the science and technology based economy of the 21st Century.”
Find out what's happening in Coronadowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Among the programs proposed are science labs for elementary students, biotechnology and performing arts classes for middle school students, and gardening and sustainability courses at Palm Academy and Coronado High School. Coronado Schools Foundation has agreed to fund the programs, which would cost about $200,000.
The board will also vote on whether to approve the Site and District Plans for 2011, which include significant changes for Palm Academy and Student Services, previously called Special Education.
At Palm Academy, online learning would be expanded, more emphasis would be placed on career and technical education options, and personalized education plans would be developed for each student. There would also be more integration between it and its sister school, Coronado High.
Student Services would embrace the “whole” student, including attendance reviews, guidance counseling and health services, Assistant Superintendent Richard Erhard explained.
The school board meets Thursday, April 7 at 4:30 p.m. in the , which are located at 201 Sixth Ave.