In addition to large-scale, district-wide initiatives like the Delran Innovation & Fabrication Lab, DelranSTEM is also interested in helping teachers implement creative, innovative projects in their individual classrooms and schools. We hope that by making classroom projects possible for teachers, we will ignite a spark of inspiration for them and their students.
Championed by DelranSTEM partner Allan Croly, who works at Lockheed Martin, DelranSTEM has invited teachers to apply for small grants to further STEM learning in their classrooms for the past several years. Teachers submitted project ideas and requests for STEM learning materials, which were judged based on intended STEM outcomes for students. A recap of last year's projects can be viewed here.
We are pleased to announce the support of 8 new projects this year, which will impact students from kindergarten through high school!
Steven Rood-Ojalvo and Kevin Romanik, DHS physics teachers, were awarded a grant to purchase 4 PASCO Smart Carts. These will be used to enhance velocity, acceleration, collision, and momentum labs in high school physics classes.
Sharon Kernan and Patrick Myers, DIS Sustainability Managers, were awarded a grant to create an outdoor classroom that can be used by all students and teachers at DIS. Green Team members will participate in hydroponics experiments, vegetation growth experiments, and temperature tracking. The results will be presented at the STEM Fair in May!
Perri Myers and Elise Landolt, Sustainability Managers at Millbridge, were awarded a grant to purchase a water bottle refilling station. This project will bring awareness of plastic usage to all teachers and students at Millbridge, and will help reduce the plastic waste produced in the school.
Denise Perrino, Katrina Harnischfeger, and Sabrina Simon, teachers at DIS, were awarded a grant to purchase materials for portable STEM/STEAM carts. The carts will provide many different STEM projects and opportunities, connect STEM with literacy, and will be available to all teachers at DIS.
Daniel Sasse, Siobhan McVay, and Linda Mason, Chemistry teachers at DHS, were awarded a grant to purchase hands-on materials such as blocks and bunchems. These materials will allow students to model chemical reactions, stoichiometry, crystal structures, and relative bond energies.
Siobhan McVay and Saba Kennedy-Flomo, physical science teachers at DHS, were awarded a grant to purchase hands-on, inquiry-based materials, such as additional balances, to decrease the number of students per groups and increase their access to the content during lab work, The grant will also support materials to enhance student achievement with academic vocabulary in physical science.
Finally, Erin McCabe and Kelsea Arcaini, kindergarten teachers at Millbridge, were awarded a grant for STEAM and Old Familiar Fairy Tales. These materials combine familiar fairy tales with STEM building materials, allowing for cross curricular connections and hands-on experiences, which are powerful for all students, but especially effective for English Language Learners.
We are so thrilled with this year's grant awards! The teachers mentioned above are passionate and care deeply about their students. They've come up with amazingly creative ideas to make the learning more meaningful to the children in their care, and we can't wait to see these projects in action!
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