Dr. Tony Donen, principal of the new STEM school at Chattanooga State, is conducting staff interviews. Several teaching positions have already been filled after an extensive interview process.
These include:
Joe Evans - social studies teacher from Sale Creek High School
Stacy Hill - math teacher from Red Bank High School, also certified in exceptional education
Nicelle Price - art teacher from Howard High School
Valery Taylor - science teacher from North Whitfield Middle School in Georgia, also certified in math
There are three other positions to fill at this time; the school secretary, an English teacher, and a Lead STEM Teacher (newly created and recently posted).
Curriculum Development
The vision for how the curriculum will engage students is becoming more clear. Dr.
Donen has met initially with a small core team to plan the process for finalizing curriculum. A curriculum advisory committee with representative from the business community is being formed. Some key concepts to the curriculum include:
Learning will take place in Collaborative Teams - both teacher teams and student teams.
Collaborative Team Focus - creating, designing, and implementing problem based learning and project based learning activities. All activities will incorporate five content components - math, science, English, social studies, and art.
Understanding by Design Planning - teachers will develop unit plans starting with creating summative assessments based on Common Core Standards, teacher will then develop formative assessments that provide student/teacher feedback, and the final piece will be where teachers design classroom experiences tailored to preparing students for the summative assessments.
Flipped Classroom and Formative Instruction - students will view online videos/resources prior to class setting and complete formative assessment to determine level of content mastery (basic, proficient, advanced). Students will use formative assessment results to sign up for appropriately leveled classroom experience. This process will take place weekly.The language needed in the grant award has been updated to acknowledge and allow for equipment purchases that exceed $5000. This important aspect of the grant contract language will allow construction and IT materials to be ordered for installation by the opening of school. With about 9 weeks left to school opening, the aggressive timeline is the biggest concern so overcoming the barrier to ordering supplies with the longest lead times is significant. The demolition is complete and a final materials review will be held with the principal and teaching staff on May 29th. The remaining greatest need for the school is still fundraising to fully meet the required budget. Those efforts continue to yield solid results and strong partnerships.
The STEM Teaching Fellows program kicked off on Thursday, May 24, with a two-day workshop in Chattanooga. Thirty educators from around the region were nominated by their superintendents to participate in this year-long professional development program focused on STEM education. Throughout the summer the cohort members will work within their communities to identify STEM resources supporting their local schools. The cohort will reconvene on July 23 for a 3-day workshop.
Research Experience for Teachers
Through the Hub’s partnership with Vanderbilt University, two Hamilton County teachers have been selected to attend the Vanderbilt University Engineering Design Research Experience for Teachers (RET). This program is funded by NSF and will give teachers engineering design experiences through meaningful research.
Engaging Partners
STEM Hub Advisory Committee Meeting
This STEM Hub Advisory Committee is part of the advisory framework guiding our regional STEM Initiative. The members of this committee will provide tactical guidance, resources and feedback on STEM Innovation Hub activities and programs. The first meeting will be held on June 11.
STEM Education Summit - July
Twenty school district superintendents from the 13-county area will be invited to attend a luncheon and facilitated meeting focused on the opportunities and challenges associated with STEM Education in our region. This meeting will take place in July at the site of a regional business.
STEM School Fundraising
In collaboration with HCDE, the Chattanooga Chamber and the Public Education Foundation, the STEM Innovation Hub is contributing to the fundraising efforts for the new STEM school. Conversations with business partners cover financial and in-kind options for supporting the STEM high school construction and technology infrastructure.
Informing the Community
STEM Branding
Marketing professionals at the Chattanooga Chamber are leading us through a branding process to clearly define the messaging and marketing design of the Southeast Tennessee STEM Initiative, the new STEM School and the STEM Innovation Hub. This process will develop a color palette, logos and marketing content to ensure consistency as we communicate our STEM programs to the region.
Communications
In June the STEM Hub will be updating the existing www.setennesseestem.org web site to reflect the new marketing themes and provide additional information on our structure and programs. We will also begin distributing an electronic newsletter to interested STEM stakeholders.
Sharing Innovations
Tennessee STEM Innovation Network
STEM Innovation Hub leaders from around the state gathered in Johnson City last week at the ETSU STEM conference to further cultivate knowledge sharing partnerships. These STEM Hub leaders also participate in bi-weekly conference calls.
STEM Web system
With support from the Chattanooga Technology Council, the STEM Hub has developed preliminary requirements for the region’s STEM web system. These requirements will be reviewed and enhanced by various stakeholder groups in the coming weeks. We are also working with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network to evaluate statewide web site needs and collaborate on defining enhancements to the state’s existing www.stemresources.com web site.