St. Alphonsus Catholic School Awarded a $30,000 Grant

St. Alphonsus Catholic School has been awarded a Kern Family Foundation Grant for $30,000 to help fund a special curriculum that focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning for middle school students.

The funded curriculum, Gateway to Technology, was developed as part of the national organization Project Lead the Way (PLTW), and integrates STEM areas in project-based learning lessons that help students in grades six through eighth to become innovative and productive leaders through hands-on approaches.

“The projects are engaging and tied to real-world information and scenarios,” said St. Alphonsus Catholic School principal Pat Wadzinski. “For example, students currently taking the Energy & Environment module—which focuses on energy consumption in the United States—used kilowatt meters to measure energy consumption in every-day appliances, then graphed the results. Next, they will be starting an experiment that measures how much electricity a wind turbine can produce as well as how the shape and size of the turbine blades affect the electrical output. The students love this hands-on method; some have even approached me in the hallways to tell me how much they are enjoying their classes.”

As part of the application for the grant a project plan was developed that included goals, expectations and funding requirements.

Jane Otto, Technology Coordinator, created a plan to roll out the six-module course, which includes Energy and the Environment, Design and Modeling, Automation and Robotics, Flight and Space, Science of Technology, and Magic of Electrons.

A five-year comprehensive budget was also developed that would take students beyond the initial implementation into a maintenance phase.

The grant will be used to buy materials, train instructors for each module, to update software and purchase additional computers for the various module lesson plans.

The school hopes to offer all six modules by the beginning of the 2011 school year.

“The modules promote communication and collaboration between students by emphasizing a team approach,” Otto said. “This method utilizes the strengths of each team member to accomplish the goals of the project, while offering students education and learning challenges at all ability levels. They are being taught to think critically and use these skills to experiment and discover the answers on their own,” she said. “These skills are going to be an asset to them for the rest of their lives.”