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AdvancED?STEM Certification STEM Standard Narrative Reflect upon your responses to each of the indicators and performance levels by considering and responding to the following questions to complete this narrative response. Use language from the performance level descriptions to guide your writing. Save this document in Word and submit to your school’s STEM Lead Reviewer.What were the areas of strength noted in the Self-Assessment? What were areas in need of improvement? What actions are being implemented to sustain the areas of strength? What plans are being made to improve the areas of need?Working collaboratively, Huntley Hills STEM committee and administrators met in April 2016 to engage in an AdvanED STEM self-assessment to review STEM Indicators. ?The team worked to develop a consensus regarding the school’s self-assessment.Indicator 1.1 The STEM school/program supports non-traditional student participation through outreach to groups often underrepresented in STEM program areas. A strength for Indicator 1.1 is Huntley Hills ensures all students participate in the STEM program during the school day. School-wide STEM opportunities for all students ensure we target 50% of our female population and 54% of our minority population. Offering the STEM program to all students ensures underrepresented groups are served. The school has an outreach plan to increase the number minorities in STEM clubs, minority students and families attending STEM nights, and provide school visits highlighting our approach to academics and STEM. The STEM outreach plan has measureable goals to increase enrollment, support, and retention of students from under-represented groups. The STEM 2015-2016 enrollment plan is specific with measurable goals:Increase the number of minorities participating in STEM clubs as SeaPerch, Technology Club, FirstLego League, Science Olympiad, and Lego Club. Teachers reach out to minority students to participateIncrease the number of minority students and parents participating in STEM family nights Implement International STEM night to reach minority families within Huntley HillsSchool visits highlight the STEM program and hands-on approach to academics. Enrollment Goals 15-16 Goal ActualMinorities in STEM Clubs5062Minority Families STEM Night100153School visits2027The team believes this Indicator is one of the weakest areas from the self-assessment. From the discussion, we should include a focus on girls in STEM. In addition, we need to revise our STEM outreach plan and action steps. We already plan to implement the following goals next year.Goal #1 Girst in STEM to prrovide specific activities that promote STEM interest with girls Actions:Begin Girls in STEM clubUtilize SciGirls Outreach curriculumMeet with girls twice a monthProvide STEM activities for females such Assembly with Female engineersAttend an excursion highlighting a STEM fieldTeachers attend workshops and conferences regarding girls in STEMGoal #2 Increase the number of minorities participating in STEM Clubs Actions:Information session with students and parents during Open HouseFirst week of school Huntley Hill will host STEM clubs Expo (prior students present)Assist with organizing transportation for students in needCurrently, Huntley Hills has a Young Ladies of Distinction and Boys to Men club. Students in these clubs meet monthly to discuss STEM careers and fields and attend Georgia Institute of Technology annually for an outreach STEM activity. The Young Ladies hosted an outreach for Sheltering Arms Pre-K students. We plan to incorporate more STEM activities with students and have them provide more outreach to young students. To sustain our strengths, we will continue providing STEM education to all students and hosting an International STEM night.Indicator 1.2 Students work independently and collaboratively in an inquiry-based learning environment that encourages finding creative solutions to authentic and complex problems.?A strength for Indicator 1.2 is Huntley Hills provides learning experiences to include real-world, relevant, and open ended problems that require investigation and analysis. Instead of automatically presenting students with the information they are meant to learn, the?process?requires students to conduct an investigation in order to reach a conclusion or solution to a problem.?Inquiry-based learning?helps our students analyze information through an engineering design process, a key skill in STEM fields.?An example is students had to work together to create a bionic arm to perform certain tasks. Students have multiple opportunities to work independently and collaboratively to solve problems. Inquiry-based lessons utilize a central real- world problem connected to science, math, literacy, or social studies standard (s) to frame the engineering challenge. Students solve the problem themselves, discovering and learning through the engineering design process, technological, and research skills. Students explore on their own, moving the teacher to a facilitator. An example is students had to design containers to support plants in the Aquaponics system, and design a cover to protect the fish from falling objects. All STEM lessons have the following components:Collaboration and self-directionCreativity and InnovationCritical Thinking and Problem SolvingScience, Math, Social Studies and/or Literacy connectionsMaterials and Methods integrating technologyData collections to show success and failureReal-world application There are areas for improvement for Indicator 1.2. One area is focusing more on real-world, locally relevant problems that require problem identification, investigation, and analysis. Also, our students follow the engineering design process; however, they could create their own problem solving technique. We plan to focus on incorporating multiple opportunities for students to work independently and collaboratively and have students to create their own problem solving techniques. To sustain our strengths, we will continue to ensure STEM lessons have all components and provide problems for students to solve.Indicator 1.3 Students are empowered to personalize and self-direct their STEM learning experiences supporting by STEM educators who facilitate their learning.A strength for Indicator 1.3 is Huntley Hills believes the capacity for?self-direction?is the foundation for learning; therefore, students have some opportunities to be owners of their own STEM learning experiences and processes. Students participate in monthly STEM challenges, attend STEM lab and Technology lab once a week to engage in STEM experiences. Teachers also implement two 6-week STEM units each semester, in addition to the Flying Classroom and Engineering is Elementary lessons. In one challenge, students created various insulators and after testing designs found the insulator did not work. Students redesigned their insulators to work properly. Students who develop a sense of responsibility for their own learning are prepared to master?rigorous academic content,?think critically and analytically,?communicate effectively,?and?collaborate?productively.?To build self-directed learners, teachers frequently serve as facilitators who provide guidance, critical thinking questions, and support for students. ?An area for improvement is to ensure students have multiple and frequent opportunities to be owners of their STEM learning. The plan to improve is to incorporate a weekly Genius hour. Genius hour is where students are able to personalize what they would like to learn and create anything they would like. This allows students to take a more personalized, self-directed approach to STEM. To sustain our strength, we will continue to encourage self-directed learning and provide STEM challenges for students.For Indicator 1.4 Students use technology resources to conduct research, demonstrate creative and critical thinking and communicate and work collaboratively.At Huntley Hills our strength is that most students have access to various technology tools for research and collaboration and demonstrate critical and creative thinking. Every classroom is equipped with computers, laptops or iPads for research. Students have access to digital cameras, as well as a Padcaster and Green Screen for larger projects. Huntley Hills has one 3-D printer for STEM lessons. The school incorporates MineCraftEDU where students use virtual worlds to solve problems. Students have opportunities to “code” with Beebots, LegoWedos, and Mindstorm EV3 robotics sets. During STEM lessons, students use technology to think critically, be creative, and work collaboratively. Huntley Hills has invested in STEM equipment to provide students with experiences to support STEM fields. This equipment includes:Over 50 Apple iPads school-wideComputer Lab equipped with Padcaster, Green screen, 32 computers, and 3 MacsLego MindStorm EV3 robotics setsLegosWedo Robotic setsEngineering is Elementary kitsOne 3D printer (including a Form 1+ high resolution printer)MindcraftEDU licenseProgrammable Beebots and Dash n Dots robots Littlebits Circuitry workshop setUS Navy Submersible (SeaPerch)Sustainable Agricultural Aquaponics system to test ph levels and grow plantsExamples of technology integration projects in our STEM curriculum is the Day of Code. The technology teacher and classroom teacher guided students through the world of computer science. ?Majority of students participated in activities that accentuated understanding of the field of computer science and programming within classroom. ?Kindergarten students used their bodies to "program" each other to move forward, backward, and side to side. ?First grade students worked with? HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" BlueBot, a blue tooth, programmable bee, to complete obstacle course style?challenges. ?Second and third grade students took a look at paper airplanes and decided the algorithm for making, and improving their designs. ?Fourth grade students created binary bracelets of their name, as they learned how to code more than just directions. ?Fifth grade students created tangrams using their coding skills. Our students have several tools at their disposal to enable them to work collaboratively. ?The first tool available is Office 365. ?All students in grades K-5 have this tool available. ?At present, students in grades 2-5 are actually using the tool. ?As with any tool, we are still in the process of teaching our students how to use all the features. ?The upper grades are able to share documents through OneDrive, as well as communicate via email. ?Lower grade students understand email, but are still working towards the use of OneDrive. Another tool that is available for students in grades 4 and 5 is Edmodo. ?Each student has an account to use to communicate with other students. ?Edmodo promotes student communication by giving them a "Facebook-like" interface, making it much more user friendly. We are proud of the technologies students utilize for STEM learning. Our school's technology club is the hub for our broadcasting enterprise. ?The broadcast is created by students for students with adult supervision. ?At present, we create one broadcast a month in an "as live" format. ?Older students oversee the completion of assignments for the broadcast. ?Then, they are responsible for assembling all aspects of the broadcast. ?Ms. Powell, the technology club staff sponsor, oversees the final editing and production of the broadcast. An area for improvement is providing students with technology away from school. In the future, we would like to provide one-to-one device for each student for school and home use. To sustain our strength, we will continue looking for new technology to enhance our STEM program and develop students’ 21st century skills. Indicator 1.5 Students demonstrate their learning through performance-based assessments and express their conclusions through elaborated explanations of their thinking. Huntley Hill’s strength for Indicator 1.5 is teachers measure student achievement through performance- based assessments which allow students to demonstrate what they have learned. Huntley Hills’ teachers provide students with various ways to elaborate and demonstrate their learning and thinking, such as the following:Group projects?enable a number of students to work together on a complex problem that requires planning, research, internal discussion, and group presentation. Group projects?enable a number of students to work together on a complex problem that requires planning, research, internal discussion, and group presentation.Essays?assess students' understanding of a subject through a written description, analysis, explanation, or summary.Experiments?show how well students understand scientific concepts and can carry out scientific processes.Demonstrations?gives students opportunities to clarify, elaborate, and or defend their thinking and conclusions using verbal or productsMicrosoft office programs allow?students to provide a broad portrait of their performance in combination with literacy skills.STEM journals?allows?students to plan, create, and record their STEM thinkingMath Exemplars allow students to develop problem solving skills with real-world problem scenarios. Rubrics assure students are measured on 21st century learning skills and competenciesMost students have the opportunity to present their STEM learning to a range of stakeholders within and outside of school. Students present to parents, peers, and the community. In addition, most students have multiple opportunities to clarify, elaborate, and defend their thinking and conclusions. Teachers utilize rubrics for projects, independent work, and math exemplars. An area we would like to improve is using a school-wide rubric during STEM days. We also want rubrics to include Habits of Mind; such as, communication, cooperation, and openness to curiosity. We plan to provide professional learning with teachers regarding a school-wide rubric and other performance based assessments. To sustain our strength, we continue to provide multiple performance assessments for students to demonstrate their learning.Indicator 1.6 The interdisciplinary problem-based curriculum focusing on real-world applications.Our strength for Indicator 1.6 is the STEM curriculum expands from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Huntley Hills STEM curriculum?supports interdisciplinary problem-based activities to promote interest, along with critical and creative thinking skills. Our STEM curriculum allows students to work together to solve authentic and complex problems.??Lessons are aligned to?internationally accepted technology standards, in addition to engineering lessons?and inquiry-based activities through science, technology, and math. ?Students participate in monthly STEM Days and weekly Technology lab and STEM lab lesson where content areas are integrated with engineering.??Huntley Hills STEM curriculum consists of?Common Core standards,?Georgia standards of Excellence,?Next Generation Science standards,?National STEM standards, ?Engineering is Elementary curriculum,?National Educational Technology standards,?Mathematics Georgia Standards of Excellence?and a?Framework for K-12 Science Education. Lesson plans, units, and STEM projects support the STEM curriculum at Huntley Hills. During each summer, teachers plan the STEM curriculum with the STEM coordinator. ?During this time, content area teachers collaborate to create interdisciplinary STEM lessons and units. Lessons are differentiated based on student’s abilities and needs. Teachers begin with the science, math and literacy standards. Teachers map and make connections with standards. Afterwards, teachers use the DeKalb County’s STEM project checklist.The checklist incorporates 12 components which include: Four disciplines Integration Problems as learning vehiclesReal-world connections Student collaboration High expectationsAuthentic (connections to real world and realistic careers) Reflect, revise, and improveCriteria based assessmentCommunicationEntry points into subjectsEngineering Design ProcessThe unit development begins through various resources, discussions, ideas, technology, materials, higher order questions, and viewing various STEM websites. After the resources are discussed, teachers start developing the units with specific lessons. Teachers also find STEM lesson online; however, the lesson are reviewed and revised to meet the STEM components and standards of our STEM curriculum. The technology teacher collaborates with homeroom teachers regarding standards so standards can be integrated with technology. The STEM coordinator works with teachers, to implement STEM lessons within a unit. The STEM coordinator and teacher co-teach, facilitating the learning process.A portion of the STEM curriculum also utilizes the Engineering is Elementary (EiE) curriculum developed by Boston Science Museum. Our EiE curriculum provides additional STEM opportunities and experiments that promote a multi-faceted, hands-on approach to developing real-world problem solving skills in our students. Teachers also have access to the Flying Classroom curriculum to enhance science and engineering lessons. Teachers implement the curriculum through developing student’s research, technological, and problem solving skills. Instead of automatically presenting students with information teachers facilitate the engineering design process with students in order to reach a conclusion or solution to the problem. The core structure facilitators use to guide problem solving is the engineering design process (EDP). Students use the EDP to answer a real-world problem using collaboration, 21st century, digital, and critical thinking skills. Teachers use higher order questioning techniques to support students during collaboration and problems solving. Monthly STEM challenges are therefore clearly focused on science, technology, and math standards combing with the engineering design process. Additionally, the principal highlights a book related to STEM or engineering. All classes create a STEM project or produce a writing piece for bulletin display. The principal’s book of the month helps to incorporate literacy through STEM.An area of improvement is increasing the level of rigor in the curriculum as students become more familiar with open-ended critical thinking problems. We plan to update units throughout the year collaborating with teachers and provide professional development for teachers. To sustain, we will continue planning the STEM curriculum over the summer, and providing professional development to teachers. Indicator 1.7 STEM educators collaborate as an interdisciplinary team to plan, implement, and improve integrated STEM learning experiences.A strength for Indicator 1.7 is our teachers meet regularly to collaborate regarding STEM expectations and plan STEM lessons. Teachers have daily common planning time that supports collaboration for teachers to discuss vertically and horizontally instructional practices needed to plan STEM lessons and units. Lessons are differentiated to meet the needs of students. Teachers also meet every summer to plan STEM units. Although teachers briefly discuss the outcome of STEM experiences, one area of growth is to have teachers review students’ STEM work collaboratively. Next year, we plan to be more deliberate in bringing students’ STEM products to review standards of mastery. To sustain our strengths, teachers will continue to meet regularly to collaborate regarding STEM expectations and plan lessons.Indicator 1.8 STEM learning outcomes demonstrate students’ STEM literacy necessary for the next level of STEM learning and for post-secondary and workforce readiness.The team believes STEM learning for post-secondary and workforce readiness is challenging to measure in elementary school and another weak area. The school has data from the College Career Readiness Progress Index (CCPRI) which shows growth of achievement for post readiness. In addition to limited data, Huntley Hills transient rate also causes challenges in measuring students’ postsecondary readiness. It is difficult to track transient students. Moreover, the school recently implemented STEM in 2012, and prior students attending Chamblee Middle School are only in the 7th grade. These factors pose challenges in providing longitudinal data for STEM literacy. Figure 1: CCRPI Post Elementary School Readiness Pass Scores 2012-2014 Indicators201220132014% of ELL with positive movement808383% of Spec in General636757Meet/Exceeds in writing8780Lexile 3686385Lexile 5635877% career N/A6090Attendance969696An area for improvement is to find a systematic way to monitor students through high school. We plan to personally begin monitoring our students who transition to Chamblee Middle School and interview them for qualitative data. To sustain, we will continue to provide STEM lessons and focus on math and science content knowledge for post-secondary and workforce readiness.Indicator 1.9 STEM teachers and leaders participate in a continuous program of STEM specific professional learning.Strengths in Indicator 1.9, is teachers are given opportunities to stay current about practices in the STEM world through professional learning. During pre-planning, professional learning communities, grade level meetings, conferences, STEM article studies and after school workshops. Teachers have ongoing opportunities to expand their proficiency in the use of technology and individual needs. Teachers can request to attend any conference or workshop regarding technology, STEM, differentiated learning, math, science, engineering to enhance content knowledge, and practices. Integration of technology is an area of growth, in addition to providing more industry partners and engineers to provide professional development for staff. As it relates to technology, as we gain additional technology, programs, Ipad apps throughout the year it is important to have a strategic professional development plan on key technologies. In the future, a more specific plan for technology professional development and additional engineers to provide professional development will assist all teachers in understanding equipment and enhance STEM teaching and learning. One area for improvement is to seek engineers and university staff to train teachers. We plan to reach out to STEM related field professionals and universities to provide professional development for teachers. Teachers and administrators will present at STEM conferences and share STEM ideas and implementation with other educators. To sustain our strength, teachers will continue to engage in STEM professional development.Indicator 1.10 points out community, post-secondary and industry partners and/or families actively support and are engaged with teachers and students in the STEM program. A strength for Indicator 1.10 is Huntley Hills parents and industry partners regularly engage with teachers and students in the STEM program. For example, an electrical engineer came to speak at a STEM assembly discussing electrical circuits and how they tie into various machines. This presentation correlated with the principal’s book of the month Benjamin Franklin. The electrical engineer also spoke to 5th grade who were designing flashlights for a STEM challenge. Captain Barrington from the Flying Classroom provided a presentation of exhibitions and how they relate to STEM. Captain Barrington discussed the global aspect of the integration of STEM. The school implemented plans to maintain support and engagement of community, post-secondary, and industry partners. This year, we contacted Oglethorpe University’s Chemistry Department to partner with and support our STEM program. Huntley Hills has created a partners sign-up on the principal’s and school’s website. Huntley Hills STEM committee, coordinator, PTA, Foundation, and School Council frequently seek STEM resources to support the STEM curriculum The PTA supports, the Georgia University Bio Bus, STEM excursions and aquaponics system. An area for improvement is to seek engineering partners with various backgrounds to have interact with students during STEM lessons. We plan to create STEM goals, reach out to various engineers to partner with the school, and continue working with parents to improve STEM partnerships. In an effort to connect students with our STEM partners, we plan to Skype with universities and STEM professionals to lend their expertise with projects, lessons, and student career interest. To sustain, we will continue with the created partnerships.Indicator 1.11 Students are supported in their STEM learning through adult-world connections and extended day opportunities. Our strength for 1.11 is Huntley Hills provides ongoing and multiple extended day opportunities and adult-world connections for students through clubs, competitions, and STEM excursions. Huntley Hills has a technology club to support STEM. The technology club allows students to have the ability to work on different projects around the building, including broadcasting, public service announcements, and participate in the Technology Fair. Lego club uses LegoWedo Construction Set. This set is easy-to-use for young children and introduces students to robotics when combined with the LEGO Education WeDo Software. Students build LEGO models featuring working motors and sensors; program their models; and explore a series of cross-curricular, theme-based activities while developing their skills in STEM as well as literacy. In First Lego League, students use Lego Mindstorms Ev3sto program a robot to drive fixed distances in set patterns. Even these simple programming constructs require precise, thoughtful communication between student and robot – how far should the robot move? How far should it turn? As the challenges become more complex, students learn to break the large problems down into simpler ones, and construct solutions with care, one step at a timeThe school has a US Navy SeaPerch club as a way to integrate in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) after school. SeaPerch aligns to the national science standards and lends itself well to interdisciplinary projects. SeaPerch is an innovative underwater robotics program that teaches teachers and students to build an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). Students build the ROV from a kit comprised of easily accessible parts, following a STEM curriculum with a marine engineering theme. Throughout the project, students learn engineering concepts, problem solving, teamwork design skills, and are exposed to all the careers that are possible in naval architecture and marine/ocean engineering.Science Olympiad Club prepares students for competitions that are like academic track meets, consisting of a series of 23 team events in each division. Each year, a portion of the events are rotated to reflect the ever-changing nature of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering and technology. By combining events from all disciplines, Science Olympiad encourages active, hands-on group participation. Through Science Olympiad club, students use teamwork which is a required skill in most scientific careers. Other Clubs incorporating STEM are the following:Girls in STEM-new!Lego ClubArt ClubRecycle ClubBoyz to Men ClubYoung ladies of Distinction/Boys to Men ClubLion King production-costume designAcademic BowlSocial Studies FairDrama ClubThe school uses competition to provide adult-world experiences. Student compete in FIRST?LEGO League. FIRST?LEGO League introduces a scientific and real-world challenge for teams to focus and research on.?The robotics part of the competition involves designing and programming?Lego Mindstorms?robots to complete tasks. The students work out solutions to the various problems they are given and then meet for regional tournaments to share their knowledge, compare ideas, and display their robots. The Recycle club has won competitions such as, Atlanta Falcons Rise Up Recycle grand prize of $25,000 and $500 for a recycle project and video. There are several competitions of participation such as, DeKalb County Technology Fair, Science Olympiad, SeaPerch, Academic Bowl, Helen Ruffin Bowl, and Geography Bee. We have approximately 40-50 students participating in these competitive teams. ? Students are able to engage in several STEM excursions throughout the year. Fifth grade students attended Driftwood Educational Center for two days. Students dissected squids and sharks, beach experiments, collected animal samples, composted all meals discussing food waste, and much more. First grade students went to the Puppetry Center for Performing Arts where they had a chance to create a working puppet that could move its arms and legs which created various shadows. Afterwards, students created their own puppet show. Several grade levels attended the Paper Museum where students explored history of paper, technology, process, and the art of making strong paper. An area for improvement is extending STEM clubs to Kindergarten through second grade. We plan to implement a Girls in STEM and Odyssey of the Mind Club next year. Huntley HIlls also plans to find opportunities for our partners to interact with clubs. To sustain our strengths, we will continue STEM clubs, competitions, and excursions. ................
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