Full STEAM ahead :
CREATING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS
How one school district created effective and award winning STEAM opportunities with a little bit of vision , focus and plenty of hard work .
22 Leadership
The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District ( HLPUSD ) is located in the San Gabriel Valley , serving 19,000- plus K-12 students and 20,000 adult education students throughout 35 schools in the communities of Hacienda Heights , City of Industry and La Puente .
Healthy relationships among students , teachers , administrators , staff , parents , and community are recognized as the foundation for success for the HLPUSD . “ What is happening on our campuses only happens with the cooperation between our Board of Education , personnel , parents and the community ,” said Superintendent Cynthia Parulan-Colfer . “ Parent participation really is the genesis of what we do to create a successful learning environment for their children .”
“ It ’ s all about the children ; everything we do has to be focused on them ,” said Board President Penny Fraumeni at the 2016 State of the District address , with a special acknowledgement to the teachers in attendance . “ It ’ s about our students ’ achievements and well-being .”
Data-driven need for STEM
The California Department of Education describes K-12 STEM education as encompassing the processes of critical thinking , analysis and collaboration in which students integrate the processes and concepts in real world contexts of science , technology , engineering and mathematics , fostering the development of STEM skills and competencies for college , career and life .
The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District analyzed its student assessment data and found that in grades 3-11 , students met or exceeded state standards in English and language arts . However , only third and fourth grades met or exceeded state standards in math .
“ We identified this trend a couple of years ago ,” Parulan-Colfer said , “ and did the first adoption of new instructional materials in mathematics .” To further support STEM , the district has a renewed focus on college
By Thomas Tan