LEXINGTON, Ky. — STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) inspired learning is making a difference for students at George Washington Carver’s STEM Academy in Lexington.
Frankie Allen is a student representing purple and green and has a love for animals in the water. He and his fellow students are participating in “ocean day” in class. The first graders are studying water animals.
Allen was excited to share what he learned about his personal favorite.
“It has a big head like it’s big and he’s red, white and blue. I know. I remember its name. It’s a flower horn fish,” he said.
It’s one topic seven-year-old Allen has developed a passion for.
With the help of encouraging teachers and projects that connect students to the general curriculum through a STEM-inspired lens, Allen is one of nearly 130 young boys who attend the all-boys school.
Lesson plans are incorporated with hands-on aspects at the end of each unit like ocean day, which focuses on animal structures in the water, and down the hall for chemistry, which includes pancake making.
The school has one teacher for every nine students. Principal Lamar Allen, who isn’t related to Frankie, says it’s part of how they ensure each student is being impacted and educated.
“It’s going to be hard to find a place where the student-to-teacher ratio is currently as small as it is and that allows us to truly differentiate the learning experience for each scholar,” Allen said.
Allen says the school offers a rare chance for young African American boys to be exposed to high-level opportunities in science subjects early establishing a clear path for an overall future.
“Getting kids their first dose of the stem field, the engineering design process, gives them getting their feet wet,” Allen said. “In this process, what we’re going to see and we see it with our achievement is that we’re going to have kids who are now going to be lifelong stem scholars,” he added.
Allen and other leaders say they encourage parents and people in the community to follow their school’s growth and upcoming engagement opportunities.
George Washington Carver STEM Academy started as kindergarten through second grade, but has expanded through the fourth grade.
Next year it will complete its development plan and add fifth-grade students.