Willow Elementary in Grantsville is among eight public schools designated as a Gold STEM School by the state.
The designation was granted by the Utah State Board of Education at a meeting last Friday
The application and review process for the STEM designation took place during the 2015-16 school year. It involved a comprehensive digital portfolio that demonstrated the school’s excellence in STEM education, including student project-based learning, community partnerships and support for teacher professional learning, according to Willow Elementary Principal Angie Gillette.
“I am excited that Willow Elementary is now a designated STEM school. It has been an awesome year,” Gillette said. “We would like to thank all of our teachers, students and parents for helping us integrate STEM into school this year!”
STEM designation is designed to recognize and promote best practices in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education.
The goal of STEM education is to prepare Utah students to compete in a global workforce and ensure Utah’s continued economic success, according to the Utah STEM Action Center, a business and education partnership created to promote STEM education.
The STEM designation program furthers schools’ opportunities to engage in STEM-related discussions with faculty and community partners and develop instruction for students to prepare them for college and careers.
The designation also serves as an indicator for members of the public who are looking for quality STEM school experiences in Utah’s kindergarten through 12th grade education, according to state education officials.
“We are looking forward to implementing additional, science, technology, education and mathematics related material into our curriculum,” said Gillette. “It is so exciting to watch students creating, engineering, and collaborating on higher-level thinking activities that will benefit our students in the future.”
There are four levels of STEM designation: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The designation level depends on the number of points accumulated from the application criteria. The application has a total of 37 criteria with three points possible for each, for a maximum 111 points.
Bronze level is for schools with 70-80 points, silver 81-90 points, gold 91-99 points, and platinum 100 points and over.
This was the second year for the state board’s STEM designation program. Last year the state board designated 19 schools, including Tooele County School District’s Overlake Elementary School, as STEM schools.
West Elementary has also received a STEM designation as part of its Dual Language Immersion program.
“We applaud the effort these schools, and their teachers, students, parents and community partners, have put into STEM education,” said Dr. Sydnee Dickson, state superintendent of public instruction.