This spring, students at the Lemon Grove School District can participate in a 10-week after-school program that connects them with the STEAM community. San Diego leaders in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math will help bridge the gap between school-day and after-school programming. Organizations such as Fleet Science Center, transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project, RoboThink, and Arts Education Connection San Diego will contribute to this special event.
On January 25th, students of the Expanded Learning Program and their families gathered to choose their interests regarding the upcoming STEAM program. The community leaders utilized those choices to curate it.
In an announcement shared on the Fleet Science Center’s site, they revealed their particular slate for the after-school program will hone in on engineering and physical science, specifically electricity and forces.
The hope is that this collaborative process will ensure a fun and expansive environment for the students as they learn more about the subjects in STEAM that fascinate them. The objective is to empower student participants and broaden their knowledge horizons. Holistic, connected, and communal approaches to education have been shown to improve academic achievement, enhance mental and emotional well-being, increase problem-solving abilities, and reduce the impact of inequities.
This is such a wonderful idea. We should do everything we can to provide as much support as possible for our future innovators and boundary-breakers. Connecting students with esteemed STEAM community leaders in an engaging, safe environment promotes better learning. I hope more school districts follow Lemon Grove’s example and offer more opportunities for students to expand their STEAM knowledge.