STEM Education in St. Mary’s County

1. STEM Education in St. Mary’s County

2. Why STEM in St. Mary’s County? In October 2002, the State of Maryland designated St. Mary’s County as the second Technology Corridor in the State. Source: Maryland Dept. of Licensing and Regulation

3. Why STEM? We must shift our past educational practices and seek a new paradigm for preparing our future scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. We must make sure St. Mary’s County Public School students can compete for high paying, highly technical jobs F-18 with F-35 (JSF) over NAS Pax River, Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy.

4. Charting a Course to Excellence St. Mary’s County Public Schools Michael J. Martirano, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools Partnerships NORTHROP GRUMMAN

5. Charting a Course to Excellence Grades4-12 Rigor. Relevance. Understanding. Application. Grades4-9 Grade5 Summer Space Camp for Students STARBASE Atlantis Program Summer extension Co-curricular partnership Advisory Committee Foundation St. Mary’s County Public Schools Michael J. Martirano, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools Partnerships

6. The STEM Academies Lexington Park Elementary Great Mills High Grades 9, 10, 11&12 • Grades 4 & 5 Spring Ridge Middle • Grades 6, 7 & 8

7. Elementary School • Lexington Park Elementary School • STEM Academy • fourth and fifth grade students • teamed teachers • comprehensive coursework focused upon the interdisciplinary connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. • The fifth grade year concludes with students participating in a Capstone Project.

8. Patuxent River Naval Air StationHuman Systems

9. Middle School • Spring Ridge Middle School • STEM Academy • tailored mathematics, science, and technology courses • interdisciplinary teacher teams • The courses are designed to deepen understanding of STEM learning by exposing students to the most current trends in technology, engineering, and science.

10. STEM Report on Space Camp Spring Ridge MS STEM Students who attended Space Camp shared their experiences with the Board of Education

11. Middle School-Grade 6 Grades 9, 10 and 11 Grades 9, 10 and 11 Grades 9, 10

12. St. Mary’s County Board MemberEngineering Design

13. Patuxent River Naval Air StationEnvironmental Engineering

14. Middle School-Grades 7 and 8

15. High School The Great Mills High School STEM Academy offers unique courses in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, giving students extraordinary knowledge and skills, as well as career exploration in numerous science and engineering pathways. The curricula includes dedicated research classes founded upon the application of mastered material, integrated contemporary technologies, and extensive problem-solving experience.

16. Patuxent River Naval Air Station - Gases This project is a presentation by Dr. Narducci and Bryan Otis from Pax River Naval Base to the STEM academy. Students were introduced to Liquid Nitrogen, atom cooling and tracking. Students’ previous learned knowledge of the Ideal Gas Laws allowed them to predict how the balloons would react to the liquid nitrogen and reflect how fast atoms move.

17. High School-Grade 9

18. STEM 9Engineering Lab

19. High School-Grades 10-12

20. Smart Technology • Interactive Tablets • Interactive Student Response • Mobile Laptop Carts • Desktop Computers • Visualizer / Document Cameras • Probeware/ Digital Sensors • GPS Units

21. Mentorship • A key feature of the STEM Academy program is the involvement of local business and industry individuals from science, mathematics and engineering career fields. • Mentors assist students with coursework offering academic and technical expertise as appropriate, and provide direction for specific senior project work. • Mentors visit classrooms and present on selected topics in mathematics, science, and engineering to enhance the instructional program. • Mentors provide access to their workplace and other sites within their industry or business.

22. Advisory Group • An Advisory Group, comprised of community partners and school system personnel, will provides ongoing counsel to the STEM Consortium leadership. • Their input is sought for curriculum integration, community support, and partnership collaboration.

23. Congressman Hoyer visit to SRMS STEM

24. Dr. Thomas, NASA Astronaut visit to SRMS STEM

25. Transportation • Bus transportation is provided at designated hubs for all students enrolled in the STEM Academies

26. Capstone Activities

27. “ STEM FOR ALL” Initiatives • All Students in All schools have the opportunity to participate in STEM for All activities • After School Robotics • DI (Destination Imagination) • Summer Space Camp

28. After School Robotics

29. Robotics Sponsors

30. Destination ImagiNation (DI) Destination ImagiNation is a community-based, school-friendly program that builds participants’ creativity, problem solving and teamwork in enjoyable and meaningful ways. Goals for participants are to: • Foster creative and critical thinking. • Learn and apply Creative Problem Solving methods and tools. • Develop teamwork, collaboration, and leadership skills. • Nurture research and inquiry skills • Enhance and apply written and verbal communication and presentation skills • Promote the recognition, use, and development of many and varied strengths and talents. • Encourage competence in, enthusiasm for, and commitment to real-life problem solving

31. Summer Space Camp Sponsored by the Patuxent Partnership Camp activities include the areas of science, mathematics, technology, and engineering.  Topics include Earth Science, Engineering, Rocketry, Space Citizenship, and Space Science. Authentic field experiences may include trips to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, NASA Goddard Space Center, and the National Air and Space Museum.