Special to the Record
The STEM work happening inside the schools in Chelsea was featured prominently last week during Massachusetts STEM Week. Annually in October, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts recognizes the work happening in schools across the state in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
On Monday, October 16, Sokolowski administrators and teachers welcomed local and state dignitaries to observe a second-grade classroom where students are working with the Engineering is Elementary curriculum or “EiE”. The EiE framework was implemented at the Sokolowski as part of a partnership between Chelsea Public Schools (CPS) and the Museum of Science. EiE inspires children when they are young students to become life long problem solvers and STEM learners.
State and local dignitaries visited the Sokolowski to watch the curriculum at work including Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, State Senator Sal DiDomenico, State Representative Judith Garcia, Superintendent Dr. Almi G. Abeyta, School Committee Chairwoman Kelly Garcia and City Councilor Tanairi Garcia as well as representatives from a variety of other organizations including the Museum of Science’s President Tim Ritchie.
The gathered guests observed students partake in a lesson where they designed their own Play-Doh. EiE follows the Engineering Design Process and uses scientific inquiry, enabling students to make connections to the real world. The curriculum presents real world challenges that encourage students to explore multiple ways to solve a problem. As part of today’s lesson, students were challenged to gather their own ingredients, experiment with different colors, and evaluate their creations afterwards. Even if students determined that their Play-Doh design could be improved, the evaluative component of the scientific process gave them the confidence to try and try again.
Meanwhile, Meleny Rodriguez, a student in 10th grade at Chelsea High School, attended the state’s STEM Week Kick-Off event hosted at Boston University’s Center for Computing and Data Science. Meleny discussed her experiences with BU’s Upward Bound Math Science Program where she worked on a project in environmental science with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler, PhD., and Boston University interim provost Kenneth Lutchen attended the prestigious event.
Classrooms across CPS celebrated STEM Week with special activities and assignments. From elementary education to the work of stellar students like Meleny at CHS, STEM instruction at CPS is making an impact on Chelsea students’ lives.