FARMINGTON -- A new regional science specialist will help schools tie science, technology, engineering and mathematics instruction together while students have a chance to learn through projects.
Charles Cudney, director of the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative, announced plans to hire two science specialists during the monthly superintendents' meeting Thursday. Jenny Gammill, a former science specialist for the cooperative and for Fayetteville School District, and Cayce Neal, chairwoman of the science department at Kirksey Middle School in Rogers, start in their new roles this summer.
What is STEM?
• Acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics
• Increased academic emphasis on the four disciplines is intended to build a highly skilled and innovative workforce for Arkansas
• The Arkansas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Coalition is a state partnership involving business, education, government and community leaders
• The four disciplines apply to manufacturing plants, agriculture and small businesses
• The study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics takes student thinking from simple everyday science, mathematics and technology into more complex levels of thinking and problem-solving.
Source: Staff report
Gammill will work with elementary schools on science and how to use projects to teach children about mathematics, science and computer programming, Cudney said.
"This is a person who is over-the-moon excited about this concept. We think this is a huge step for us and will be a support for you," Cudney told the superintendents.
The cooperative, which assists school districts in Benton, Madison and Washington counties, also will have a new computer science specialist starting this summer. Jigish Patel will join the cooperative from the El Dorado School District where he teaches computer science, Cudney said.
The cooperative will offer various computer science training sessions for educators at no charge with funding from Gov. Asa Hutchinson for computer science education, said Department of Education spokeswoman Kimberly Friedman.
Schools across the state are implementing K-12 Science Standards that support connections among science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, Friedman said. The standards are being phased in over the next three years.
The department is developing a state accountability system under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which provides states and local districts with the flexibility to promote the four disciplines as part of a well-rounded education, Friedman said.
Northwest Arkansas is a progressive region with the capacity to support innovation, Gammill said. The arts, reading and history are important, but innovation often happens in the sciences, engineering and mathematics, she said.
Gammill hopes to help teachers understand what it looks like to provide instruction that combines STEM courses, rather than teaching those subjects separately, she said.
"I'm looking forward to working alongside teachers," she said. "I'm very passionate about those areas in education. There's so much energy around them in the business community."
Gammill worked for the cooperative before holding a position with the Fayetteville School District for a little more than six years before resigning in the spring of 2015.
The cooperative receives money from the state department for content specialists to provide training for teachers on how to improve student learning in their content areas, Cudney said. Content specialists earn $63,385 annually.
The state approved changing a Reading Recovery position being vacated this summer to STEM instruction at the kindergarten through fourth-grade level. The other newly hired science specialist will fill a position also being vacated this summer.
The cooperative in 2017-18 will continue to have three literacy specialists and has been approved to add a fourth, Cudney said.
The idea for the change came through discussions with cooperative staff, Cudney said. The ACT Aspire now tests schools in science, and schools are responding to Hutchinson's emphasis on computer science.
"We know what the future is," Cudney said. "STEM jobs are going to be huge as far as opportunities for young people growing up in today's world."
NW News on 04/07/2017