ST1.10
Community, post-secondary, business/industry partners and/or families actively support and are engaged with teachers and students in the STEM program.
The LSHS STEM program is fortunate to have an extensive network of individuals and businesses who are invested in the success of the Academy. In order to expand our STEM pipeline, we are constantly striving to increase the kinds and quality of outreach strategies designed to engage all stakeholders.
We endeavor to maintain on-going and comprehensive communication. With parents, we utilize real-time messaging services (I.e. Remind.com), monthly parent/ Booster Club meetings, social media, and various outreach events. Parents frequently gifts us with their time and abilities in the form of being or providing guest speakers, volunteering for events, and working with teachers to accomplish various tasks.
With business/industry (and potential partners), we rely on Advisory Board meetings, community events, and student written correspondence. We rely on our partnerships to provide guest speakers, project mentors, and students internship opportunities, and are grateful for the support we receive. Greystone Power, a local electric company, donated $10,000 toward the development of our interdisciplinary units of study, and even sent a representative to aid students with the use of their infrared photography equipment to assist in the analysis of microbial growth locations.
In order to engage partners in higher education, STEM teachers establish relationships with mentors at local colleges and encourage students to do the same. For the 2016 cross-curricular project, students were connected to a professor from the University of West Georgia who brought the students in to her lab to teach sterile plating techniques which were vital to the collection of bacteria on campus. Further, a student interested in Bioinspired Design for her independent research project established a relationship with Professor Yen, the director of the Center for Biologically Inspired Design of the Georgia Institute of Technology. This student not only audited many of Professor Yen's courses, but was also invited to conduct research in her lab.
In an effort to strengthen support for the STEM Academy, we are focused on improving both our STEM Academy alumni relations as well as our community, business, and university partnerships with the hope of offering our students greater opportunities in the summer. Currently, due to the young nature of our program, our alumni numbers are small but growing with each passing year. It is our goal to implement a system to both improve and maintain our alumni relations not only through post-secondary schooling, but into the workforce. In doing so, we hope to create an ever-growing resource for both students and teachers with regards to mentorships, internships, and other educational opportunities. It is also our hope to strengthen partnerships with universities and businesses to offer our students greater opportunities for learning and growth during the summer. Due to the location of our school and extenuating factors, it can be difficult for students to travel great distances to visit universities and businesses. By tapping into online platforms and resources, it is our hope to present all STEM Academy students with opportunities for extended summer opportunities.
We endeavor to maintain on-going and comprehensive communication. With parents, we utilize real-time messaging services (I.e. Remind.com), monthly parent/ Booster Club meetings, social media, and various outreach events. Parents frequently gifts us with their time and abilities in the form of being or providing guest speakers, volunteering for events, and working with teachers to accomplish various tasks.
With business/industry (and potential partners), we rely on Advisory Board meetings, community events, and student written correspondence. We rely on our partnerships to provide guest speakers, project mentors, and students internship opportunities, and are grateful for the support we receive. Greystone Power, a local electric company, donated $10,000 toward the development of our interdisciplinary units of study, and even sent a representative to aid students with the use of their infrared photography equipment to assist in the analysis of microbial growth locations.
In order to engage partners in higher education, STEM teachers establish relationships with mentors at local colleges and encourage students to do the same. For the 2016 cross-curricular project, students were connected to a professor from the University of West Georgia who brought the students in to her lab to teach sterile plating techniques which were vital to the collection of bacteria on campus. Further, a student interested in Bioinspired Design for her independent research project established a relationship with Professor Yen, the director of the Center for Biologically Inspired Design of the Georgia Institute of Technology. This student not only audited many of Professor Yen's courses, but was also invited to conduct research in her lab.
In an effort to strengthen support for the STEM Academy, we are focused on improving both our STEM Academy alumni relations as well as our community, business, and university partnerships with the hope of offering our students greater opportunities in the summer. Currently, due to the young nature of our program, our alumni numbers are small but growing with each passing year. It is our goal to implement a system to both improve and maintain our alumni relations not only through post-secondary schooling, but into the workforce. In doing so, we hope to create an ever-growing resource for both students and teachers with regards to mentorships, internships, and other educational opportunities. It is also our hope to strengthen partnerships with universities and businesses to offer our students greater opportunities for learning and growth during the summer. Due to the location of our school and extenuating factors, it can be difficult for students to travel great distances to visit universities and businesses. By tapping into online platforms and resources, it is our hope to present all STEM Academy students with opportunities for extended summer opportunities.
Calendar of Stakeholder Meetings: Below you will find a calendar of stakeholder meetings for the current school year. These include STEM Booster Club officer meetings, STEM Booster Club general meetings, STEM Advisory Board meetings, and weekly STEM PLC meetings. Meetings are composed of a combination of parents, students, teachers, administrators, and community members.
Representative Minutes from Stakeholder Meetings: These slides outline the meeting agendas and minutes for stakeholder meetings, including the Advisory Board and STEM Booster Club Meetings. These meetings have designated times to meet and discuss STEM Business, including but not limited to STEM cross-curricular projects, opportunities for schools to partner with businesses, and how to best provide students with real world simulations to better prepare them for the workforce.
Booster Club Support Documents: The Booster Club Brochure outlines the purpose of the STEM Booster Club at Lithia Springs High School. It provides information on the purpose and goals of the Booster Club and provides individuals with information about how the Booster Club operates at LSHS. This brochure is also used as a tool to recruit both industry members and students interested in participating with the STEM Academy at the high school.
The Booster Club Bylaws provide the proper ethical regulations that members within the STEM Program need to follow. It provides information about Purpose, Membership, the Executive Board, Officers and Elections, Duties of Officers, Finances, Conflicts of Interest, and more.
Social Media and Parent Communication: The STEM Academy uses a variety of communication methods to inform students, parents, and teachers about upcoming meetings, events, and opportunities within the school and community. Here are some examples of social media (Facebook) and parent/student communication (via Remind) in use.
