Our Authentic STEM Impact Can Increase Your Impact

For over two years, the Penn State Center for Science and the Schools (CSATS) has had a growing relationship with Saint Patrick's School teachers Machele Lynch and Jay Raines. Machele teaches middle school math and Jay teaches middle school science. They embrace Convergence Education, the idea that authentic, complex problem-solving often involves creative, collaborative transdisciplinary approaches. This convergence breaks down traditional subject silos and enhances the engagement of learning through applied math and the creative arts. This helped inspire an idea for a transformative space which recently opened at Saint Patrick's School as The STEaM Innovation Center. The idea of such a center was put into action by the principal, Antoinette Oliverio, and others. Within a year of groundbreaking, it became a reality complete with creative arts rooms, an applied math room, an elementary STEaM room, a state-of-the-art science room, and collaborative spaces for students to work on STEaM projects. This Innovation Center is a best practice model where K12 STEM workforce development can flourish and serve the needs of the local community. The community sees the value of this resource and has stepped up to invest in it. CSATS has supported Saint Patrick's journey with ideation, connections to other STEM schools, resources, and pedagogy to help turn the vision into a sustainable program and practice. 

Jay and Machele’s students have participated in our KidWind and Solar Challenge competitions, often winning them. Jay and Machele have also benefited from several professional development opportunities and resources we have made available to them which they have eagerly taken advantage of such as Research Experience for Teachers (RETs), Youth Engineering Solutions (YES), AG-SEEDLINGS, and more. Machele and Jay are mentor leaders in how they approach STEaM and this has afforded them opportunities to attend and present at prestigious national STEM events as well as receive recognition from the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). 

At CSATS, #WeAre gratefully inspired by the teachers, students, and schools we have the privilege of working with like Saint Patrick's School of Carlisle. Please consider allowing us to help you increase your impact through authentic STEM.

Contact Jeff Remington at jeff_remington@psu.edu for more information on starting your authentic STEM journey.