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Launching into STEAM 2019-20
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Last year, the San Diego Unified School District STEM Innovation office, led by Program Manager Michael Goodbody, Strategic Partnerships Nate Sachdeva and STEAM Architects Lacy Szuwalski and Zoë Randall, launched a “small” pilot supporting 32 Elementary Schools, 109 Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten teachers, and over 2,500 students. It was a great success thanks to the many individuals and partners who supported a novel new approach to engaging our youngest learners.
This year, we are proud to launch into the new school year with 45 elementary schools, 300 Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten and Grade 1 teachers, and over 7,000 students. This August, we kicked off the year at Taft Middle School with over 200 teachers who dedicated themselves to learn while still technically on their summer vacation.
Superintendent Cindy Marten applauded the STEAM efforts with encouraging words of support for our teachers:
“STEAM has been successful because of collaboration, and the desire to do what is necessary to best prepare our students for a rapidly changing world. Departments have come together, and with your input, designed learning experiences that have challenged what some thought was possible for our youngest learners. We are now seeing TK/K students taking the lead and advocating for change in communities across the district.”
STEAM Innovation, Instructional Technology, Visual and Performing Arts and other district and business partners have envisioned a program that aims to empower students to go out and change the world. STEAM is a collaborative, interdisciplinary, inquiry approach to learning. It enables students to see opportunities, build empathy, and create innovations with the potential to impact their world in real and powerful ways. Unified TK-12 STEAM experiences are grounded in grade level standards and driven by future opportunity in the San Diego region resulting in college, career, and life readiness.
We are so excited to see our students thrive in STEAM and look forward to sharing how our youngest learners are paving the road for our future.
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This week in STEAM!
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This week students had the opportunity to have their first taste test in the cafeteria with Harvest of the Month, our AmeriCorps volunteer Julie Prince. Every month students can try a new food, and vote if they like it or not. This is a part of Julie's work at Linda Vista STEAM Magnet School which includes maintaining our garden, teaching garden lessons as part of our STEAM program, and offering an after school garden club. The programs at Linda Vista would not be possible without the help of incredible parent volunteers like Marissa Grant! Linda Vista STEAM Magnet School created a school garden and outdoor learning space as part of their magnet award in 2013. Having students learn to capture their observations and pose questions is a building block of their STEAM curriculum.
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Illumina Cares Supply Drive for STEAM
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One of San Diego Unified’s valued partners, Illumina, supports our schools in multiple ways. Our high school BioMed pathways have been visiting Illumina’s beautiful campus in University City for years. The off campus experiences provide students with an overview of Illumina and their commitment to genomics research, a tour of the campus and manufacturing area, and concludes with a career panel of a diverse set of employees. Each year the Illumina team gives back through their Illumina Cares program, aiming to share time, talent, and technology with the communities where their members live and work. Efforts are focused on genomic literacy through STEM education and rare genetic diseases. When Illumina learned about San Diego Unified’s commitment to STEAM in our earliest elementary grade levels, they immediately reached out and asked how they could support. During the summer of 2019, the Illumina Cares drive provided over 1,400 school supplies to support students in our STEAM schools! Each of the 25 STEAM schools who participated were given backpacks with supplies for students to begin the year with everything they need to learn! We are very appreciative of the generosity of our partners who believe in supporting education in any way possible!
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Visioning the Future of Science in SDUSD
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San Diego Unified School District is one of 8 school districts and 2 charter management organizations in the state of California who have been a part of the CA Next Generation Science Standards K-8 Early Implementation Initiative. We are now entering our sixth and final year of the grant supported by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, WestEd and the K-12 Alliance.
In the first five years of the grant, San Diego Unified has been a district leader in the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): Over 400 teachers have been trained in implementing NGSS through district-wide lesson studies and capacity builder training. We have a core teacher leader network of dedicated teachers K-8 who are spearheading science efforts for the district. Students are benefitting from an inquiry-driven approach to standards that is three-dimensional: learning content in the context of science and engineering practices as well as cross-cutting concepts that span all disciplines of science. Middle school science is integrated. Life, physical and Earth science are not taught in isolation but in the context of real world phenomena.
This September, our Regional Director facilitated a visioning session around the future of science education with members of the Core Leadership Team, Program Managers for STEAM and School Innovation, as well as STEAM and Science Resource Teachers.
As we enter into this sixth and final year of the grant work, we hope to share a clear vision and mission for science education for the future and gain new partnerships for sustainability to ensure that all students receive a quality science education everyday.
Why is this work imperative? Students like Greta Thurnberg lead the charge; "Sometimes we just simply have to find a way. The moment we decide to fulfill something, we can do anything. And I’m sure that the moment we start behaving as if we were in an emergency, we can avoid climate and ecological catastrophe. Humans are very adaptable: we can still fix this. But the opportunity to do so will not last for long. We must start today. We have no more excuses." - Greta Thurnberg, Climate Activist, 16 years old.
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SDEM Pilot in Full Swing!
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Many students in Integrated Math 1 classes across the district are kicking off the new school year participating in SDUSD’s mathematics initiative, San Diego Enhanced Math (SDEM). SDEM starts with the curriculum most highly rated by EdReports, Illustrative Mathematics, and enhances it with additional projects, connections, and deeper and more complex problems to challenge students. Both teachers and students are excited to try on new instructional routines that get kids up and moving, talking, and digging deeper into the Common Core Standards. Warhawks, Tigers, Chieftains, and Pointers are taking on the challenge, and everyone is eager to learn with the new materials. Step One? community building activities to foster a sense of belonging, acceptance, and trust in peers. Once students have built solid working relationships, rigorous work lies ahead, and there’s no stopping their success!
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Career and Leadership Night with the Padres at Petco Park!
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On Tuesday September 10th, high school students from across San Diego Unified were invited to attend a Career and Leadership Night with the San Diego Padres! The night began with a Career Panel consisting of executives from the Padres, Hewlett-Packard and Fox Sports San Diego. Each panel member explained their personal career journey and inspired our students to persevere through obstacles to follow their dreams! During the Career Fair portion of the program students met with executives in small groups to have informal conversations about specific careers and seek career advice from professionals. Students were encouraged to bring their resumes to the event for members of the Padres Human Resources department to review and offer feedback. Thanks to a donation from Hewlett-Packard, 200 of our students attended the event for free. Schools that were represented included San Diego HS, Madison HS, Serra HS, Mission Bay HS, Marcy HS, Lincoln HS, Crawford HS, Scripps Ranch HS, Henry HS, and Hoover HS. After the Career and Leadership program students were invited to stay for the game against the Chicago Cubs that resulted in an extra innings 9-8 victory for our San Diego Padres!
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Rady's Annual Lab Coat Ceremony
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Rady Children’s Hospital FACES for the Future Program held their annual Lab Coat Ceremony on Thursday, September 19th. Three of our district’s biomedical programs will be participating in 6 week rotations at the hospital that include 26 departments that range from supply chain to neonatal intensive care units.
These seniors accepted their lab coats and the commitment that entails as they began their internships with Rady’s. This year, 24 students from Kearny will be given the opportunity to join 31 students from Crawford and 64 students from Hoover. Rady Children’s Hospital launched the FACES program back in 2009. Over the years the support of this program and the work-based experiences have impacted hundreds. We thank Rady Children’s Hospital for providing these incredible opportunities for our students. These students are very excited to continue their journey toward careers in the healthcare industry!
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San Diego Apprenticeship Expo
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Over a hundred and fifty SDUSD Career Technical Education (CTE) students attended the 2nd Annual Apprenticeship & Vocational Training Career EXPO. Students had the opportunity to hear directly from a panel of speakers and representatives from various San Diego Apprenticeship organizations.
This year the event included over 30 agencies represented in the Expo Hall where students received career information on mid to high paying jobs in Energy and Utilities, Construction, Engineering, Manufacturing, Clean Energy and dozens of other technical skilled trades and careers here in San Diego. Throughout the school year, SDUSD CTE students will have the opportunity to visit the electrical training center, and participate in workshops, and learn more about technical careers and the application process.
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2019 Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM) Conference
The Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM) Conference will take place in San Diego on October 12-16. The annual event features four engaging days of integrative health and medicine education, interprofessional collaboration, self-care, networking, and inspiration. Students in the Biomedical pathway at La Jolla High School will be attending the event on October 15th to get a firsthand look at how doctors in the field continue their learning and how Naturopathic Physicians (ND) and Medical Doctors (MD) interact to improve patient care. Additionally, representatives from AIHM will be talking to the students about various career options in the medical and natural medical fields. For more information, please visit https://conference.aihm.org/annual/2019/index.cfm.
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Recognizing Students Interested in Computing
The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing (AiC) honors 9th-12th grade students who self-identify as women, genderqueer, or non-binary for their computing-related achievements and interests, and encourages them to pursue their passions. Award recipients are selected based on their aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing, as demonstrated by their computing experience, computing-related activities, leadership experience, tenacity in the face of barriers to access, and plans for post-secondary education. Since 2007, nearly 14,000 students have received an Award for AiC.
Recipients of the award:
• Receive personalized trophies or certificates & AiC award swag
• Are recognized at local AiC Regional Affiliate event
• Join the AiC Community, where they will build friendships and gain exclusive access to scholarships, internships, and job opportunities.
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Young Women in Bio - Selfies are out. Self made is in!
The Young Women in Bio Organization and Winward Academy is offering a FREE program for interested students and their families to attend the “Selfies are out. Self Made is in!” Symposium. The goal of the panel is to bring together female leaders in STEM to share their journeys, challenges, life lessons, and advice for high school students. It’s also a great networking opportunity for the students who attend to learn about internships, college pathways, and careers. The event is on Sunday October 27, 2019 from 2:00pm to 4:30pm at the AMN Healthcare Theater. You can view a list of speakers and bios here. Please register all students, family members, and teachers/mentors using this link to ensure enough refreshments are provided.
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10th Grade Mentoring Experience
The UCSD San Diego Supercomputer Center has partnered with two undergraduate campus organizations, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and Women in Computing (WIC), to provide a unique mentoring experience for students in grade 10 through the Anita Borg Leadership and Engagement program.
The program's mission is to engage young women in the fields of computer science and engineering through workshops, campus and community events, corporate visits and undergraduate mentor matches. By providing a first-hand look into these two areas of interest and highlighting a variety of career opportunities in an encouraging and supportive environment, it is our hope that these young women continue on to pursue careers in STEM fields.
Students joining the program each year have the opportunity to learn and experience a variety of computer science and engineering focused workshops, events and tours and will have the opportunity to stay involved with ABLE through their high school graduation. The program is open to 10th grade students only at this time. For more information, please visit http://education.sdsc.edu/studenttech/?page_id=678. To apply, please visit https://tinyurl.com/ABLEApp1920.
Application Deadline: Friday, October 4, 2019
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