The fundamental purpose of my school was to engage students in a STEAM focus. Before the fall of my first year as principal, I met with a large contingent of teachers to begin to hear from them about their hopes and dreams for a new principal and for their school. I learned that the majority of teachers were hungry for a reimagined vision that was a 21st Century refreshing of the original purpose of the school in the 1980s. It was the district’s original math and environmental studies school replete with animals and foliage in the classrooms and hallways, weekly field trips, annual overnight camping trips, and plenty of science across the curriculum. The teachers felt that with district changes in funding and resources, the school had kind of lost its way as the years went by. Some teachers were actually still there who remembered the “glory days” of the old building. After that initial meeting, I planned a summer listening tour. I met with every teaching team at coffee shops and restaurants, held “Coffee with the Principal” for parents at a parent owned coffee shop, and held student meetings at the school. My sole purpose was to begin to building a collaborative vision with my new learning community. Once the school year started, I met with each grade level from kindergarten through eighth grade to get everyone’s input. The vision statement went through many drafts with staff and parents, and we finally landed on “Berwick Alternative K-8 is a STEAM-focused school where all who enter are encouraged, empowered, challenged, and inspired to be lifelong learners, high achievers, and socially responsible global leaders.”
Becoming a STEAM-focused school would prove to be more challenging than expected. There was a willingness for most, but having the time to incorporate professional development on the design cycle at all grade levels and the revising of lessons and how they can be delivered through a STEAM lens was daunting. We developed a Site Based Council comprised of staff and community partners. We partnered with the Columbus College of Art and Design and a local music producer to start with small projects to begin bringing the STEAM-feeling into our school. Every grade level agreed to work on at least one project-based lesson to showcase at the end of the year at our new STEAM Night. In our first year, we started a Fashion Club, STEAM-Mate middle and elementary class partnerships, an 8th grade CD project that included the writing of their own songs, and by our second year we had been awarded a $15,000.00 Battelle STEM Grant for a program we created called B.O.O.S.T. which stood for Building Ongoing Opportunities for STEAM Thinking. We had also presented at the AMLE Conference and had an article published in the AMLE magazine (see below).
We learned that actualizing our STEAM dream would take years and a plan. We hired a consultant to help us create a 3-year strategic plan. The plan included the phasing in of more community partners, staff professional development, and foundation building in reading and math. Ultimately, I had to leave the principalship for family reasons, but I am pleased to see that the school is moving forward to realizing the STEAM dream under new leadership.