Spring Cove Awarded $25,000 to Advance STEM Education

The Spring Cove School District has been named a $25,000 grant recipient for the America's Farmers Grow Rural Education program, sponsored by the Bayer Fund.

The district celebrated with a check-presentation ceremony, led by Bayer Representative Steve Shipman, on Monday, Oct. 14, in the SCSD Administrative Office Board Room, Roaring Spring.

This award was made possible thanks to nominations from six local farmers: Brent Baker, Carl Detwiler, R. Gearhart, Larry Kulp, Phil Kulp and Gerald Smith.

The district plans to use the grant to equip its new Innovation Lab in Spring Cove Elementary School with STEM resources, including Bee Bots with Card Mats, Ozobots, Snap Circuits and Tubelox.

The grant will also support the creation of a One Button Studio within the new Innovation Lab at Central High School, and the purchase of a Promethean ActivPanel with stand. These resources will be used to integrate STEM activities across content areas.

Planned projects

• The Bee Bots and Card Mats will teach directionality, sequencing, problem solving, and coding and reinforce concepts such as letters, sounds, number recognition, sight words, shapes, addition and subtraction.

• Use of the Ozobots will require programming codes, sequencing and task persistence, while reinforcing letters, numbers, shapes and story retelling.

• Snap Circuits will help students develop problem-solving skills while teaching the basics of electricity.

• Tubelox will allow students to read blueprints or use their imaginations to build vehicles while learning about basic engineering, design and architectural skills.

• The One Button Studio will facilitate the development of creative videos across the curriculum, replacing traditional speeches and reports with a modern high tech option.

• The ActivPanel will foster interactive learning in classroom presentations and graduation projects.

According to the district, students will "actively engage in learning that includes research, problem-solving, teamwork and communication skills – the soft skills required for success in the 21st century workforce."

"Receiving this grant is an honor and an exciting opportunity for our school community," Dr. Betsy Baker, Spring Cove superintendent, said. "Locally and globally, there is a growing need for qualified workers with STEM-related skills and expertise, not only in traditional science and engineering fields, but across all industries.

"Our district's goal is to the meet the employment demands of our community and prepare our students for college, technical training, and career success through the integration of STEM learning across all subject areas, including within traditionally non-STEM courses, such as English Language Arts and Social Studies."

For an overview of the Grow Rural Education program, visit http://www.AmericasFarmers.com.