STEM Certification

Executive Summary

Hawthorne Elementary
Our Background
Hawthorne Elementary School is a unique learning environment located in Atlanta,
Georgia. Hawthorne has been an integral part of the community since 1961. Several of our
teachers have also been students at Hawthorne. Our teachers are not only invested in this
community, but they work exceptionally hard in meeting the needs of our diverse student
population. Our school currently provides education to 464 students. We serve students from
grades Pre-K through 5th. In addition to the 4 major subjects, all students are offered specials
classes in French, Art, Music, STEM, and Physical Education.
Hawthorne is the model inclusion school for DeKalb County which allows for every
student to receive the services he or she needs in the least restrictive, loving, and supportive
environment. Specifically, 65% of our homeroom classes in grades K-5, has special education
students as well as typically developing students and is served by a full time general education
teacher and a full time special education teacher for the entire school day. This model allows
both special education and general education students to receive the support they need to
develop academically, socially, and emotionally. More importantly, it teaches our students to
respect differences and develop empathy at a very young age, thus following our school
purpose of celebrating the diversity and uniqueness of all individuals. In addition to our co-
taught classes, our school offers a Special Education Resource program, Early Intervention
Program (EIP), Discovery (gifted) classes, English to Speakers of Other Languages program
(ESOL), Speech therapy, Occupational therapy, Physical therapy and Vision Impairment
therapy.

Vision
Our vision for STEM changed and so did our master schedule to ensure
science/STEM happened every day. This was an absolute pre-requisite to ensure the
success the success of STEM at Hawthorne Elementary. Our vision for the STEM
program has three goals.
1. We strive to provide a challenging STEM focused learning environment, which
maximizes student potential and ensures that students are well-equipped to meet the
challenges in the world around them. This involves developing students capabilities for
critical thinking and independent problem solving skills.
2. We seek to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders, by developing a
passion for STEM focused content and careers at an early age.
 3. We endeavor to enhance the educational experiences of students, teachers,
and parents by increasing community involvement.

STEM Learner Profile

At Hawthorne Elementary we are consistently working toward developing and
encouraging STEM students who:
Ask higher-order questions
Use mathematics and computational thinking
Collaborate and communicate their ideas with others
Research answers to student-driven questions
Take ownership of their learning
Build 21st century skills (coding, collaborative critical thinking, Engineering by
Design)
Formulate arguments and support them with evidence
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Apply knowledge across curricular areas
Persevere in solving problems

Demographics
Hawthorne serves a diverse population including:
Ethnically diverse
English Language Learners
Students with Disabilities
Economically Disadvantaged
Female

Specific Demographics

English Language Learners 15%

Hispanic Students 36%

Students with Disabilities 20%

Students who receive free and reduced lunch 54%

Assessment Data
Our students have taken all nationally and state-wide required assessments, including
the Milestones Assessments (grades 3-5). The following scores are evidence that we, as
teachers, have more room for growth. Overall, for 2016 Milestones Assessments, in ELA 31% of
our students achieved scores in the beginning category, 32% were in the Developing category,
29% were Proficient, and 8% were Distinguished. In Math, 31% of students received scores in
the Beginning category, 39% in Developing, 24% in Proficient, and 6% in Distinguished. In
Science, 37% of students were in the Beginning category, 34% were Developing, 20% were
Proficient, and 9% were Distinguished. Lastly, the students took the Social Studies portion of the
Milestones Assessment. Thirty-five percent of the students achieved scores in the Beginning
category, 42% in the Developing category, 17% in Proficient, and 6% in Distinguished.
 The table below represents the combined expected growth percentages in the Developing,
Proficient and Distinguished performance categories for the Georgia Milestones for the next five
years.

Current and Projected

Developing, Proficient and Distinguished Performance Percentages
for the Georgia Milestones

2015-2016 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022

ELA 69 72 75 78 81 84
69
Math 72 75 78 81 84
63
Science 66 69 72 75 78
Social 65
Studies 68 71 74 77 80

Support System
Our school is diligent in making significant steps toward improvement. We have a school
improvement team which is dedicated to this endeavor. The development of our Consolidated
Improvement Plan (CIP) specifically outlined strategies and professional learning for STEM
standards and integration. In addition to teacher led support, our school is very fortunate in that
we have strong collaborative partnerships to provide adult-world connections and extended day
opportunities. Our community, professional, and parent support staff engage with teachers and
students to bridge experiences between school and home. We currently have a 3-fold support
system, which provides the foundation of our strong educational program: the Foundation,
School Council, and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). The foundation provides funding for
teachers to participate in professional learning opportunities. This organization has also
supported teachers in developing, maintaining, and organizing the stem lab. The School Council
provides an environment of open dialogue between teachers, parents, and administration. All
members are encouraged to share ideas on school improvement, including our STEM initiative.
Lastly, our PTA assists the school by funding various STEM in-school programs and assemblies.

Our Rationale
As we continue to move towards a more advanced society through technology, we
continue to face situations that only can be solved through complex and sophisticated problem-
solving strategies. Globalization will force our workers to be able to communicate with many
individuals from different cultures and communities. Our Assistant Principal, Stephanie Brown-
Bryant (2016), conducted extensive research on the importance of a strong STEM education
program. She has driven this process and brought a team of eager followers with her.
Enthusiasm grew among staff and interest in STEM concepts increased school-wide.
The following is an excerpt from her research.
 Over the past decades, STEM has become a major
conversation in educational reform (Beatty, 2011).
Many believe that our nations economic success
originates in the K-12 classroom, not solely in high-
level colleges (National Research Council of the
National Academies, 2011). However, the United
States has lost competitiveness in the areas of
science, technology, engineering and mathematics
fields. U. S. students are simply not able to compete
with students in other countries (Committee on
Science, Engineering and Public Policy, 2007).
STEM programs seem to offer a solution (at least
partially). This is borne out from several
perspectives. STEM graduates tend to be more
successful academically in fields important to the
economy. Beatty (2011) finds that STEM graduates
pursue STEM fields in college at a rate nearly 50%
higher than other students (Beatty, 2011). In professional fields, the need for STEM graduates is
also clear. Nine of the ten occupations most in demand will require a bachelors degree in a
STEM field by 2018 (Lacey & Wright, 2009; Wang, 2013). More than 120 CEOs of major
companies described the implications of the absence of skills in science, technology,
engineering and math (Business Roundtable, 2014). This shows that as our nation increases
efforts to address the needs of our global economy, it is important to examine how educators
collaborate and prepare to deliver STEM instruction.

Approximately 98% of CEOs say that the skills gap is a problem for their companies;

Nearly 60% of job openings require basic STEM literacy and 42% require advanced

STEM knowledge. Nearly two-thirds of job openings that require STEM skills are in

manufacturing and other services;

Sixty-two percent of CEOs report problems finding qualified applicants for jobs requiring

advanced computer/IT knowledge, and 41% report problems with jobs requiring

advanced quantitative knowledge;

Thirty-eight percent of CEOs say that at least half of their entry-level applicants lack

basic STEM literacy and 28% say that at least half of their new entry-level hires lack

basic STEM literacy.

 1. Provide a general description of the learning experiences in which the STEM
students were most successful. Additionally, generally describe the learning
experiences that need improvement for greater success.

Overall, the students at Hawthorne Elementary have been very successful in several
components of our STEM program, equipping them with STEM student profile key
components (ex. - Engineering by Design, working collaboratively and critical thinking). The
first STEM lab introduced to our students was the outdoor garden. Since the beginning of this
program, the teachers have utilized the garden to teach the Georgia Standards of Excellence,
through the lens of STEM. Some of the integrated curriculum. Some of the activities include -
measuring in the garden, using standard and non-standard units, creative writing, investigating
soil types, and planting plants native to the region. In addition to the general activities,
students have engaged in project-based learning. For example, students in 3rd grade
examined the garden for the effects of drought, researched the various causes of climate
change, designed and built models of drip irrigators for our garden, and then wrote letters to
their government representatives, encouraging them to make political changes which might
alleviate the problems of climate change. The mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed, responded to
some of those letters written by a class and scheduled time to speak to all students in the
school about how his job impacts citizens and how they can engage in activities that make a
difference in society. He answered individual questions from students about community
involvement, entrepreneurship, and how their everyday learning transfers to the job of a
mayor. As a result, one of our teachers, Mrs. LaTour-Hopkins facilitated the development of a
school store. Students identified a need in the school, developed teams, researched financial
obligations and advertised their products. Some of the proceeds from the sales will be
donated to the garden. The garden was and continues to be a very useful STEM lab.
Another aspect of our STEM program that has been highly effective is the Makerspace.
Every class is scheduled to use the Makerspace 2-3 times a semester. This space is designed
for students to use their creativity to solve real-world problems in a collaborative setting. The
teachers are provided with a guiding question, background information, and cross-curricular
integration ideas. Some of the activities have included making a monument out of recycled
materials (during Black History Month) and creating kites during the spring. The students
always seem to enjoy the challenges and look forward to these STEM activities.
We are very proud of our teachers for providing many before and after-school STEM
clubs. Our students have the chance to be a member of the garden club, STEM Ambassadors,
First Lego League/First Lego League Jr., Girls Coding Collective, and the After School
Extended Day program (ASEDP) which offers STEM focused classes. The garden club meets
weekly and is open to students of all ages. In this club, students plant, maintain, and beautify
the garden. The STEM Ambassadors club is open to 3rd-5th grade students and they meet
monthly. They attend science fairs, visit robotics labs, and serve as STEM leaders on our
campus. The Lego League (grades 4-5) and Lego League Jr (grade 3) meets twice weekly to
solve real-world problems through Lego construction. The Girls Coding Collective admits girls
in grades 4-5. They learn how to solve real world problems using the program Scratch. The
ASEDP program offers STEM classes to all students in grades K-5. The students in these clubs
have shared an increased interest in STEM activities and school overall.
Lastly, our students have had multiple opportunities to use their interactive notebooks.
Our teachers have worked very hard in modeling and instructing the students in the proper use
of these notebooks. The students record their questions, observations, initial and improvement
ideas, researched information, and responses to final projects. Not only do our students use the
notebooks in their science classes, but in all 4 major subjects. As a result, the students have
become accustomed to utilizing these notebooks at every stage of the Engineering Design
Process.
Even though our students experience many successes in our STEM program, there is
still a need for improvement. One area is increased use of and complexity of problem-based
learning (PBL) activities. While some teachers use this teaching strategy, we are encouraging
this to be done more often. Within the PBL activity, our students struggle with self-directed
learning (through collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and communication). We are
encouraging students to take more ownership of their learning and to become more self-
reliant in their projects and ideas. Teachers will be encouraged to ask guiding questions,
provide the students with sufficient background knowledge and the space in which to be
inventive and take chances. We believe this will encourage students to think creatively and
more independently.
Another area of improvement is our use of our Aquaponics system. Several teachers
were trained and are very comfortable with this system. However, we are in the process of
providing more teachers with PL opportunities so that a wider range of teachers are willing and
able to incorporate this system into their academic activities (short-term aim: whole school
professional learning for Aquaponics). As more teachers become comfortable with the system,
the more students will have chances to work with the Aquaponics. Our goal for this system is
for the students to understand self-sustainable agriculture and be successful in growing
produce, so that they can in turn, help alleviate the problem of hunger on a local and global
level.
The last STEM experience that needs some improvement concerns technology. We
had a goal to increase technology so we developed a list of action items which included hiring
a STEM teacher (who teaches ALL students programing/coding skills), professional learning
for technology integration (a local Microsoft team provided training for teachers and taught
students to code and use Microsoft products to share what they learn,) and purchasing
hardware necessary to increase technology-enhanced lessons for students. Last year, our
school received one 3-d printer from the DeKalb County STEM department and our principal
purchased one additional printer. Currently, this technology is being used intermittently by only
a couple of teachers. We plan to purchase more materials and, similar to the Aquaponics
system, provide more PL for the teachers. Students would then be able to create models of
their designed solutions to authentic problems.

2. Provide examples of how the STEM educators and facilitators implement and
sustain the core tenets of an effective and age-appropriate STEM curriculum.

Since 2013, the teachers and administration of

Hawthorne have realized the importance of bringing
STEM to our students. Technology integration has been
a priority at Hawthorne for several years. The Hawthorne Foundation funded a Mac Lab and
they have been constantly upgrading technology with iPads, tablets, InterActive Boards, and
other technology resources for our teachers and students to use. Our administration has
committed to funding technology as well. School administration has used surplus funding from
our ASEDP program to purchase tablets for all teachers, document cameras, a Promethian
table and a 3D printer. Additionally, a portion of our Title I funding was used to purchase 100
Macbooks for student use.
We have partnered with HATponics, Captain Planet, the Flying Classroom, and Georgia
Tech to both train and supply materials for our teachers. Various seed companies, such as
Johnnys Selected Seeds and Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, have donated seeds to
our garden so we could focus on agricultural engineering.
We have a core team of STEM leaders. These dynamic teachers represent each grade
level and serve in multiple roles to aid in the development of our schools STEM program. They
attend professional development opportunities, present at Science conferences, serve as model
STEM teachers, conduct professional learning sessions, and assist in developing a school-wide
STEM curriculum.
A large part of our STEM implementation is the frequent professional learning for our
teachers and staff. A local Microsoft training team taught teachers how to use Surface tablets
and integrate Microsoft Office products to enhance lessons, gather data and communicate. Our
local instructional technology representative, Resa Azar, met with administrators to facilitate
professional learning sessions that aligned with district initiatives and STEM goals (ex
instructional technology awareness courses for teachers and paraprofessionals). Many of our
teachers and administrators seek out outside STEM PL and conferences as documented below.

School Master Gardener Course Jun. 3-13, 2014

Region 2 STEM Conference Sept. 23, 2015
HATponics STEM Educator training Sept. 25-27, 2015
Georgia STEM Forum October 2015, 2016
GAETC Oct. 24-25, 2016
GETEA Oct. 1-2, 2015
Atlanta Maker Faire Oct. 3, 2015
Donors Choose training Oct. 5, 2015
Captain Planet Training Nov. 1-2, 2015
Flying Classroom Training Nov. 18, 2015
STEM to STEAM at the High Jan. 28, 2016
SeaPerch/NOAA training Mar. 16-17, 2016
STEM Ready Schools @ Ga. Tech Mar. 22, 2016
NSTA STEM Forum July 27-29, 2016

The STEM team provides bi-monthly trainings for the teachers to redeliver the
professional development our STEM committee has undertaken, such as the Flying Classroom,
Donors Choose, Engineering is Elementary, and the Captain Planet kitchen cart and the
supporting lessons. Training is also provided based on the feedback received from staff
surveys. These trainings occur during planning time, faculty meetings, teacher work days, and
during our pre-planning days.
As documented by our staff surveys, these trainings have raised the confidence and
buy-in level of our staff. On our most recent staff survey, the question The STEM professional
learning I have received has positively impacted the way I plan and teach my lessons
increased by 27% and the question I feel more competent in planning lessons that integrate
STEM standards and strategies, increased by 33%. The survey was based on a scale of 1-3
with 1 being disagree and 3 being agree.
The STEM leaders in the school participate in professional development provided by the
county as well as conferences such as the Georgia STEM Forum in Athens. Our STEM teacher
Ms. Richardson and our Kindergarten teacher Ms. Ledet both presented at the forum. They also
both presented at the Georgia Science Teacher Association conference in February. Hawthorne
also benefits from the administrative support for our STEM program. Both our principal and
assistant principal have attended the ISTE conference, our assistant principal has attended
several conferences with the STEM team, and our principal attended the Georgia STEM forum.
Our assistant principal Ms. Brown-Bryant is currently completing her dissertation on the
importance of STEM learning. Additionally, our principal, Ms. Limoncelli, participated in a three
day training on Aquaponics and received her Level 1 Certification alongside some of our
teachers. Additionally, the administration further supported our STEM journey by using one of
our allotment points to hire a STEM teacher. Our STEM teacher, Ms. Richardson, rotates on a
specials schedule and therefore sees all students every week. Ms. Richardson supports
student learning by aligning her lessons to the grade level standards and develops lesson plans
for teachers to extend learning through increased STEM awareness.
Hawthorne has committed to building a sustainable STEM program with the durability to
last. We have a committed staff - from administration to teachers, and the community at large.
In order continue with this level of sustainability, we will continue to monitor and support
Hawthornes STEM community data to ensure implementation throughout the school. Our plan
for sustainability includes continued support and expansion of the following:

Teachers at Hawthorne will continue to participate in numerous trainings on new and

innovative ways to implement STEM.
Hawthorne will continue to provide multiple opportunities for students to become
involved with STEM both before and after school. These opportunities include our STEM
ambassadors, LEGO programs from K-5 (Early Structures, First Lego Jr., and First
Lego), our all girls coding club and our Garden Club. Two of our teachers have
completed all of the necessary training to start a SeaPerch program. Although the
district decided not to provide funding for this program in elementary schools, our goal is
to secure alternative funding to start a SeaPerch program at Hawthorne.
Hawthorne administration will continue to support our STEM initiative by designating
funding to ensure that our school is equipped with tools and resources we need to make
our program successful.
Hawthorne will continue to actively collaborate with our current community and parent
partnerships as well as seek out new partnerships. We have partnered with Industry
Partners such as Captain Planet, the Flying Classroom, HATponics, Georgia Tech and
Baker Heirloom Seed Company. In addition, our teachers frequently are funded with
technology through Donors Choose. In addition, we recently established a connection
with the Rosser Corporation, a local architectural and engineering company to provide
more exposure to career exploration and support skills necessary to be successful in
STEM occupations.
.
A snapshot of STEM in Action at Hawthorne Elementary
Garden- Students are provided multiple opportunities to plan, care for, and plant in our
school garden. In addition to the students, we have also received support from Trees
Atlanta, and other local community organizations.
Aquaponics System- Student STEM ambassadors were trained by Ryan Cox (founder of
HATponics), who then delivered the information to fellow students. They also maintain
and interact with the system.
Flying Classroom- This program allows children to be engaged in real-world problem
solving activities.
Microsoft teacher training- Teachers were trained on the different uses of our Surface 2
tablets.
Little Bits- Students are able to experiment with and explore simple circuits.
Girls Coding Collective- Girls in grades 4-5 work through Googles CS first program, in
which they learn how to program in Scratch. They are also provided with field trip
opportunities.
First Lego League- Students in the 4th and 5th grade work with Legos and coding
programs to solve a real world problem. They are also able to compete.
 First Lego League Jr.- Students in the 3rd grade are encouraged to solve real world
problems with Legos.
Robotics: Beebots, Dot, Dash, Sphero- Students have the opportunity to interact/code
with a variety of robots in progressing levels of difficulty.
Maker Space- All classes are provided the opportunity to work in the Maker Space
approximately once a month.
Spruiell- Professional development for computational fluency
School wide mathematical process
Answer all parts of the problem
Calculate
Explain your answer
Double check your work
Polyas Problem Solving Model
Sagamore Math Tournament- Students are given the chance to compete in a district
wide competition.
3-D printer- Students are given the opportunity to plan and create designs. This area is
limited in its focus but is a target specialized for both faculty and students.

Summary
In summary, Hawthorne Elementary is proud of our multifaceted STEM program. We
have worked incredibly hard to build a sustainable STEM program. We believe that all
stakeholders (students, teachers, parents, and STEM partners) play an integral role in the
success of our program. We look forward to continuing to develop a stronger and more dynamic
STEM program, so that our children are empowered and have the relevant skillset to face the
challenges of a rapidly changing world.