TOPPENISH, Wash. - When four teams from Toppenish Middle School in south-central Washington compete in a championship robotics tournament next month, it will be at least partly the result of their after-school program. In more Washington schools and after-school programs, the focus is on science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.

For the big competition - the VEX Robotics World Championships in Anaheim, California - the students are building robots that can pick up beanbags and toss them into containers, while competing with other teams' robots on the same course.

According to Kai Christianson, site supervisor for the 21st Century After-school Program at the school, the designs involve some very technical skills.

"Well, the kids need to know things about gear ratios, because they'll run these electric motors and they'll gear the wheels to move or the arms to lift," he related. "They also need to know about some mechanical engineering, structure, structural engineering, stress engineering."

Washington is one of five states that has just received a planning grant to develop a statewide system of STEM programs for after-school and summer learning.

Melanie Willis, who directs the 21st Century Learning Programs in the Yakima Valley, said it's a way to make tough topics fun and practical.

"I do believe that it's the linkage connecting the math and the science to real-life experiences," she said. "Because you hear, more often than not, 'When am I ever going to use this?' or 'Why is this important?' And so, I think they're really starting to make those connections, and then the light bulbs go off."

Christianson said the parts cost about $1,000 per robot, and his school has four of them. Add the travel and fees to attend the tournaments, and keeping a program running can be a financial challenge. However, he added, it's paying off in terms of getting students interested in career fields they might not otherwise have considered.

"A couple of them have indicated a real interest in wanting to pursue a field of study, maybe in mechanical engineering; or one student is fairly proficient at the programming and so, maybe computer engineering or electrical engineering," he said. "And so, those conversations have popped up more and more often."

The after-school STEM programs at Toppenish and other area schools are sponsored by the Northwest Community Action Center, which is part of the Yakima Valley Farmworkers' Clinic. Test scores have shown there is an achievement gap in STEM subjects for students of color in Washington, and after-school activities can offer opportunities to catch up.

More information about the VEX Robotics event is at RobotEvents.com.




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Educators and public school advocates are pushing back on a measure which would consolidate state-funded services that have been an important part of schools in rural Iowa for generations. Some state lawmakers said the funding could be used more efficiently.

Area Education Agencies have been the go-to place for educators in rural Iowa when they need state services at the local level, in all 99 Iowa counties. House Bill 2612 would consolidate the agencies, outsource some of their services and give the state oversight of them.

Mike Owen, deputy director of the group Common Good Iowa, said the agencies have been critical resources for generations.

"The Area Education Agencies have been a very valuable regional system that helps school districts, large and small, with various services that they can't really do on their own," Owen explained. "From special education to media services, to professional development of teachers."

Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed the measure, said it will provide a more efficient way to spend the state's education dollars. It is scheduled to take effect July 1.

The battle over public school funding has been playing out on a variety of fronts in Iowa, which enjoys a reputation for some of the best-quality public education in the nation. The state recently enacted a private school voucher program, paid for with state dollars.

Owen sees consolidating the Area Education Agencies and outsourcing some of the services they provide as another step in the wrong direction for Iowa's K-12 classrooms.

"It's total disrespect to locally elected decision-makers for schools," Owen contended. "One more example of how education, unfortunately, is being used to pit people against one another, when it is really a unifying value for Iowans."

There are nine Area Education Agencies in Iowa. The State Department of Education will assume oversight of all of them.


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The solar eclipse has sparked more interest in science and technology, especially among young people.

But the saying, 'You can't be what you don't see,' is a reality for youth of color considering a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math career.

A 2024 Black Girls and STEM Report indicates this demographic aspires to become astronauts, engineers and more -- but a lack of Black representation can dampen their enthusiasm.

Crystal Morton is the founder and director of the Girls STEM Institute, which offers courses for girls ages 7 to 18.
She said the emphasis is on relevant cultural content and careers for girls who might not otherwise have access to these experiences.

"That might be doing a session on the science of Black hair," said Morton, "looking at different products to understand the science behind how that product is made, and what's in that product or how it may be impacting them. So, we make our own products. You can be able to look at a label and say, 'Hey, I should be able to pronounce what I'm putting on my skin, or in my hair.'"

She said the students quickly get the connections.

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics says about one-third of STEM workers are women. But Black workers make up only 18% of the 35 million people employed in STEM fields.

Morton said the Institute's Saturday programs are in partnership with the Indiana University, Indianapolis School of Education. And in the summer, volunteers engage with students about careers in aviation and medicine.

As a former math teacher, Morton said she believes early exposure to this information is key, and said kids begin showing their curiosity as early as third grade.

"Understanding how things happen with technology, that they all need to have different mathematical levels of understanding," said Morton. "They need to have computational thinking skills, because that's the way this world is moving. And I believe that they do have it -- if you just sit back and watch them play, you see the problem solving happen."

A report on Indiana's STEM education priorities shows the number of undergraduate degrees is up since 2015, but the number of STEM-related degrees awarded hasn't moved much.

Hispanic and Black students earn between 3% and 5% of those STEM degrees. They make up 6% and 9% of the state's population, respectively.

In the past four years, the way New Mexico children are taught to read has undergone a major shift. Following passage of a state law in 2019, the state's elementary teachers have received training in "structured literacy" and the science of reading.

Research shows kids learn to read when they are able to identify letters or combinations of letters and connect those letters to sounds. But teaching that skill is not always intuitive.

Severo Martinez, Literacy and Humanities director, said there are more than 500 elementary schools in the state, and the two-year training occurs while teachers continue working in the classroom.

"Teachers of any discipline, they're teaching literacy skills, still -- even if they're a math teacher, if they're a science teacher, if it's social studies -- if you can't read, you can't do any of the assignments in any of those classes," Martinez explained.

In addition to boosting the number of students achieving reading proficiency, the program aims to reduce the number of students who require special education services.

This school year, the Public Education Department launched a reading challenge -- encouraging students to become "Superhero Readers" and "level up" their reading scores. Martinez even wrote a book for students focusing on the rich cultural diversity and history of New Mexico. He hopes it will all combine to make them proud adults -- eager to make a positive contribution to the world.

"With the Level Up Reading Challenge, we want to motivate students and supporting them in understanding the 'why' it is so important to learn to read and write - because that's going to open up a world of possibilities for them into the future," Martinez continued.

To catch common disabilities that stall reading proficiency, Martinez says New Mexico now requires that first-grade students receive screenings for dyslexia by the 40th day of the school year. Starting this summer, the Public Education Department will also offer tutoring to make sure all students achieve reading competence.


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