Executive Summary
Provide a general description of the learning experiences in which the STEM students were most successful. Additionally, generally describe the learning experiences that need improvement for greater student success.
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Mater Academy Charter Middle/High School and Performing Arts Academy is a seamless 6-12 public charter school in Hialeah Gardens, Florida in Miami-Dade County. At the very core, Mater’s mission is to ensure our students are career and college ready, paving a path for them to be confident, self-directed, and responsible life-long learners. Our primary STEM focus, therefore, accentuates our college-preparedness culture through rigorous high-quality STEM courses, and meaningful STEM experiences for all students.
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As a Title I School with 85% Free and Reduced Lunch, 95% Hispanic and 4% African American student population, Mater Academy is the very definition of a school focused on providing rich STEM opportunities to those underrepresented in STEM. Starting in the 6th grade, students are exposed to meaningful college preparatory courses using the College Board's Springboard Program, participating in high school credit classes such as Spanish, Algebra I, and Geometry, and STEM electives such as Project Lead the Way (PLTW), VEX Robotics, a variety of STEM summer camps, after school activities, and club opportunities.
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Twenty-five percent of our senior students graduate with their Associate in Arts Degree prior to high school graduation because of early exposure to STEM opportunities. Through a combination of STEM Dual Enrollment offerings, STEM Advanced Placement courses, STEM-based Industry Certification courses, Clubs, Honor Societies, and Summer Programs, our students graduate with rich and diverse STEM experiences.
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It is precisely these STEM opportunities that we plan to grow and improve upon as we move to the next phase of our STEM initiative. With the opening of our new state of the art STEM Building, we are growing our capacity to offer STEM-specific college level classes through our Dual Enrollment Partnership with Miami-Dade College (MDC), Doral College (DC), and Florida International University (FIU). We are actively working to increase our student placement in internships with community partners and local businesses, and we have partnered with international universities to provide our students with authentic study abroad college credit bearing programs.
Provide examples of how the STEM educators and facilitators implement and sustain the core tenets of an effective and age-appropriate STEM curriculum.
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Teachers and Administration at Mater Academy have adopted a STEM mindset which impacts every decision and practice throughout the entire school. The faculty and staff do not view STEM education as a specific set of classes or a set of activities offered, but rather as a seamless way of teaching and learning that permeates across the disciplines. Four years ago, Mater Academy began to quantify and document its STEM activities in an effort to monitor growth and progress. At the very heart of this process was a need to focus on teacher training and ongoing professional development. From technology training provided by our partners at Ed Tech Teacher to peer-led sessions offered to the entire Mater Inc. Network of schools, Mater Academy teachers are able to implement and sustain the core tenets of an effective STEM curriculum by engaging in high-quality professional development opportunities that include both formal sessions and conferences and also informal opportunities such as peer-to-peer mentoring, twitter chats, webinars, and student-led training.
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Along with professional development, school-wide STEM norms have been put into place across the curriculum. Mater teachers use a STEM lesson plan format that specifically asks them to identify what STEM components are a part of a particular lesson. Mater teachers also work in course and grade level teams engaging in frequent dialogue to create cross-curricular learning opportunities. Teams of teachers develop STEM-rich activities and incorporate the engineering design process, critical thinking skills, project and problem-based learning, and real-world application in all courses and grade-levels.
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Finally, our STEM curriculum is enhanced and sustained through the continued use of technology. Constantly pushing the envelope of how and when technology can be used, Mater Academy has partnered with organizations such as Verizon, Digital Promise, Apple, Project Lead the Way, VEX Robotics, Google, and many others to provide our students with access to devices and the necessary training required to use those devices at the highest level possible.
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In the past four years, we have grown our technology capacity by increasing the number of Computer Science classes from zero offerings to AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, Introduction to Coding Essentials, App Creators, and Cybersecurity. We have also moved to a 1:1 device platform in the middle school and a robust Bring Your Own Device/Rent A Device platform in the high school. We are moving to ClearTouch Screens in every classroom and offer numerous industry certification courses to better prepare our students for careers and college.
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At Mater Academy, STEM education has been readily adopted by both faculty and administration because at the heart of STEM education is the idea of innovation. The dynamic aim of constantly innovating has been the hallmark of Mater Academy since its inception. Mater Academy’s trademark programs: Advanced Academics, Springboard, Double/Accelerated Math, 1:1 devices, Mater Alumni Network and College Tours, Genius Squad and eSports, Teacher-Led Trainings, and many more were born because of Mater’s deeply held belief in the importance of innovation. Thinking outside the box, fearlessness in trying something new, teacher autonomy and creativity, using research and data to guide decision-making, and design thinking are daily occurrences at Mater Academy that will continue to fuel our STEM Program into the future.
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