Standard 1.11
Students are supported in their STEM learning through adult-world connections and extended day opportunities.
Standard 1.11 Narrative
Strength
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At Fayetteville School, learning isn’t confined to the four walls of the classroom. Adult-world connections and extended day opportunities are vital to the development of the whole child regardless if they are elementary, middle, or high school age. Fayetteville Students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of leadership clubs that support and challenge them beyond classroom learning. Robotics is a new club offered this year to secondary students to support STEAM education. This competitive club provides students with opportunities to strengthen critical thinking, creativity and collaboration skills as well as grow an authentic interest in how the World works.
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Career tech classes such as; nursing assistant, law and public safety, welding, machining and agriculture science are available for students that want to begin certification in these career specific areas. The career technical opportunity offers students a comprehensive set of skills designed to give them many advantages after graduation. Students that choose this educational path will gain skills such as creativity, teamwork, problem solving, and communication.
Teachers at Fayetteville School also collaborate and plan exciting field trips so that students may connect their STEAM learning to real world situations. Because many of our students have limited experiences outside the Fayetteville community, we plan a variety of out of school experiences to create enthusiasm and broaden the educational experience.
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Sustain
Fayetteville School will sustain our STEAM program by continuing to strengthen our relationships with parents and community. We will continue our work with extended day programs by offering STEAM related field trips, bring experts into the classroom both physically and virtually, and enhance our after-school clubs. We will continue to offer Fayetteville School students the opportunity to tour the career technical facility at a neighboring school so to spark greater interest in these beneficial programs.
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Area of Focus
Many students at Fayetteville School reside in homes where both parents work outside the home. With parents working late hours, transportation can make it difficult for students to participate in extended day opportunities. An additional area of improvement would be extending career technical opportunities for more students.
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Plans to Improve Area of Need
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To improve, we will continue to refine and expand leadership clubs and the integration of real-world connections. To increase participation in clubs and resolve transportation issues, we plan to provide students with the opportunity to participate virtually. We will explore innovative online activities that help create community and leadership opportunities that are supportive and beneficial to STEAM learning. An allocation of funds needed to improve the transporting of student’s home following after school activities is in the planning stages as well. We also plan to find various ways to encourage more students to participate in the career technical program.
Key Exemplars
Elementary
Elementary Robotics Club
Students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade participated in monthly robotics club. Fayetteville School teachers know that teaching robotics to young students throughout their school career can increase their ability to be creative and innovative thinkers and more productive members of society. During club day, students apply computational thinking by working with coding to get the robots to complete a task. This also allows students to learn the importance of giving and following precise instructions. Robotics help address the demand for teaching STEAM.
Gardening Club
Kindergarten through fifth grade students are supported in their STEAM learning through adult-world connections and extended opportunity by participating in the “Green Thumb” club. During scheduled club days, students planted various plants in the raised flower beds as well as trees across the school campus. Students learned how to start these garden areas as well as maintain them throughout the school year.
At Fayetteville School we utilize gardening activities to teach health, nutrition, science, math. environmental studies. language arts, art and social studies. These living classrooms cultivate more than just plants. These activities provides students with hands-on experiences that are directly correlated to their classroom learning. While these experiences help to establish and nurture life-long healthy habits, is also teaches students about cooperation, responsibility, patience and caring for living things.
Summer STEAM Camp
Summer STEAM Camp provided elementary students with support in their STEAM learning and extended day opportunities. Students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade were provided hands on experiences that required the use of critical thinking, collaboration, communication, computational thinking, and creativity in order to solve real world problems. Fayetteville School had a thief and someone broke into the school trophy case and stole trophies. Students were charged with designing a way to secure the school trophy case.
Middle School
Middle School Field Trip
Huntsville Space and Rocket Center
As an extension of classroom learning, students in grades sixth through eighth visited the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center. Middle school teachers planned this field trip to support student's STEAM learning and provide adult-world connections. Through this connection, students cultivated curiosity in this field through hands-on experience outside the classroom. Students also explored various careers associated with aeronautics. This field trip allowed students to see how the different content areas correlate with adult world connections.
STEAM Night
At Fayetteville School, we have implemented extended day opportunities for our students and parents by introducing family stem nights. We provide opportunities for students and parents to engage in various stem lessons and have hands-on science, math, and engineering activities for students and families to complete together.
World of Work
Middle school students have the opportunity to participate in World of Work. Many students wonder if they will ever use what they are learning in school in their future. This opportunity provides students with lessons that involve everyday subjects related to a new field and why it is important to learn those skills and values. World of Work also gives every child a chance to learn about many careers and paths for success. While on a trip to explore new careers, students were excited to explore the endless possibilities for their future.
High School
Mock Interviews
Students at Fayetteville School are supported in their STEAM learning through adult-world connections each year by participating in mock interviews. Students are given the opportunity to practice and gain the experience of a professional interview. Each student must provide the interviewer a printed copy of their resume and be prepared to answer general and specific questions. Interviewers for mock interview day are comprised of community and business leaders.
This allows students to make real-world connections with adults in their community. The interviewers play their part well. Interviewers provide students with constructive feedback. This includes feedback on their resume, interview response skills, and the student’s level of professionalism. Mock interview day is successful for students on both ends of the spectrum. Students who perform well in their mock interview leave with strengthened confidence about their ability to perform in a real world interview. Students who are not well prepared leave with constructive feedback on what skills they need to strengthen. Mock interview day gives students a real opportunity to learn how to market themselves as jobseekers with experience from local adults in the community.
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Students in the Future Business Leaders of America travel to Jacksonville State University each year to compete in the Alabama Consortium for Technology in Education Technology Fair. JSU hosts our region fair, and students who place first and second in each category and age group are eligible to compete in the State Tech Fair held in Montgomery each year.
Students may present projects in a wide range of categories, including:
Animation
Audio Production
Computer Programming
Digital Art (Digital Photography & Graphic Design)
Digital Game Design
Hardware Modification
Internet Applications
Multimedia Applications
Multi-Dimensional Design (3D Modeling)
Productivity Design
Robotics
Technology Information Literacy Test
Team Computer Programming Challenge- Level III, IV, and V
Video Production
Website Design
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Students develop their project and prepare a project notebook. Projects can cover any subject matter, but higher scores are received from projects that show deeper levels of learning took place. Students are provided with a rubric for scoring and guidance in preparing their project. Notebooks address questions such as why they chose that topic, where information was gathered (copyright notations, etc), and the process explaining how the project was prepared. Each category has specific items that must be addressed. For example: “Computer Project Programming: What software and compiler language did you use? Show copies of the source code, algorithms and any printed or screen generated output from the program. Write a narrative description of the program with purpose, organization chart, 5-step plan, flow chart, etc.”
While at the tech fair students present their project and notebook to volunteer judges who have experience and knowledge in their specific category. Judges offer feedback and suggestions to improve the project, or ideas for their next project.
Alabama Consortium for Technology in Education Technology Fair
The FHS team at Silver Lakes Credit Union.
Modeling ‘swag’ from CPCU and LSCU.
2018 Financial Knowledge Tournament
Coosa Pines Federal Credit Union sponsors a team from FHS each year to attend the Financial Knowledge Tournament hosted by the League of Southeastern Credit Unions (LSCU). The 2018 tournament was held at the Silver Lakes Country Club at 6 p.m. on April 4, 2018.
Students practice each year by playing the online version of the game as well as using a set of study material provided by LSCU. The team meets outside school hours to practice and plan strategies. The competition is set up using the Financial Football software from VISA and is played in rounds using double elimination to determine the final winner from our district. The first place team then travels to Orlando Florida for a National Tournament. 2018 was the second year Fayetteville School was able to participate.
Students are given the opportunity to interact with adults in the banking and financial world including CEOs for several credit unions in our region.