- Campbell STEM Elementary
- Culture for Learning
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The evidence provided in Standard 1 and 2 demonstrates that all learners, their families, and staff at Campbell STEM are dedicated to being a STEM program. Campbell STEM staff work in collaboration to plan units of study with various forms of formative and summative assessments. Students are provided with opportunities to develop rubrics and demonstrate mastery in various ways. Families at Campbell STEM support student learning through school wide events occurring during and outside of school. These events include STEAM day, Indigenous Peoples celebration, Day of Caring, Science/STEM Fair, and various classroom events such as ice fishing and cooking. STEM is deeply rooted at Campbell STEM.
Campbell STEM has a 6-year history of STEM program alignment. STEM instruction continued during the Year of COVID on-line learning. Students attended online learning labs, lunch and learn, and STEM challenges and instruction. Campbell STEM believes a rigorous interdisciplinary STEM education, combining hands-on inquiry, the engineering design process, place-based learning, and real world problem-solving fosters the joy of discovery and understanding about the world that will prepare our diverse students for citizenship in the 21st Century. Our STEM instruction, Professional Learning Communities (PLC), staff meetings, class meetings, STEM Council, STEM Foundations, family involvement, School Business Partners, and school wide systems support Campbell STEM’s beliefs. Daily students are solving real-world problems, critically thinking, and applying problem-solving processes such as the Engineer Design Process. PreK through 6th grade students are using common language to increase learning opportunities and cross grade level collaboration. Campbell STEM’s culture for learning is highly valued by all stakeholders and will continue to be in the future.
Campbell STEM offers many STEM opportunities that are supported by the schools mission, vision, and philosophy. These opportunities include clubs, family nights, student showcases, makerspace, and school wide focus days such as explorations and STEM Day. These opportunities include inviting families and communities to interact and collaborate. Students are provided with opportunities to explain and showcase their learning. All staff are expected to provide opportunities for students to critically think, solve real-world problems, and implement the Engineer Design Process. Additional school wide initiatives include our Positive Behavior Incentive Program that focuses on school wide behavior, academics, and attendance. The expectations are explicitly taught in class, around the school and revisited daily on the morning announcements.
Staff development occurring is focused on growing our STEM program. The University of Alaska Anchorage and Campbell STEM have partnered to create a class for staff focusing on STEM Integration: Components and Practices. During the 2023-2024 school year the school and district focused on building collaboration through PLC’s. Teachers attend a weekly PLC every Monday. PLC’s are focused on grade levels, working in collaboration to support students' educational experience through developing STEM instruction that aligns with the Alaska State Standards. During PLC, teachers examine data, reflect, discuss next steps, and develop STEM units of instruction. Staff participated in a book study, “Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work" by DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Many, & Mattos. Campbell STEM staff have attended national STEM, leadership, PLC, and PBIS conferences this year bringing ideas and concepts back to the school and the district. Staff have worked with other ASD schools to share resources. Through these activities and many more, Campbell STEM has been able to expand our STEM program within the school and local community.