Patriots STEM Elementary

Patriots STEM Elementary is staffed with a group of instructional coaches that provide support for our teachers in several areas of the curriculum. To provide support in STEM instruction we have a STEM Coach, STEM Coordinator, Technology Facilitator, and Lead Teacher. 

 

Meet our STEM coach, Brenda Eason

Mrs. Eason works with all of our teachers to create Professional Development goals. She works with teachers throughout the year to move them forward to reach their goals through classroom observations, modeling lessons, co-teaching, working with small groups or individual students, providing professional development, facilitating STEM events, organizing STEM clubs, and developing PBL lessons for/with teachers. She also evaluates PBLs submitted by each grade level monthly and provides feedback for teachers to continue increasing the quality of PBLs taught at Patriots. She also facilitates partnerships with schools and businesses in our community and encourages horizontal alignment with our sister STEM school, Coltrane-Webb Elementary. 

 

Meet our STEM Coordinator, Mary Ferguson

Mrs. Ferguson works with teachers to develop PBL lessons. She also co-teaches and models lessons for our teachers on a daily basis in the STEM lab. Teachers sign up for these sessions in the lab and work with Mrs. Ferguson to make sure they are providing PBL opportunities to all students. Mrs. Ferguson also models PBL lessons for teachers to ensure that all teachers have a solid model of PBL instruction. She also attends PLC/Grade Level Planning to encourage teachers to think outside the box with STEM content and encourage inquiry-based lessons. 

 

Meet our Technology Facilitator, Susann Spinell

Mrs. Spinell works with teachers to develop their technology skills and help them incorporate those skills into the classroom. She works with grade levels and individuals to provide training and update teachers on the latest technology programs and tools available. Mrs. Spinell is available to teachers throughout the day for assistance and often finds herself introducing new technology tools to students and modeling instruction for teachers.

 

Meet our Lead Teacher, Sherry Lee

Mrs. Lee is a great resource for our teachers on ways to integrate literacy into STEM instruction and how to integrate STEM into our literacy blocks. She helps with professional development in these areas and encourages teachers to integrate subjects and evaluate primary resources used for PBL instruction. She meets with teachers individually, as well as in grade level groups. She also provides interventions for math instruction. Mrs. Lee runs our mentoring program and helps new teachers set up peer observations. 

 

These coaches provide on the spot professional development inside of classrooms. They are constantly in and out of classrooms helping teachers reach their goals and become better STEM professionals. The coaches also meet weekly to collaborate on how to move forward and help teachers. All teachers have interactions with these coaches on a weekly basis through the means listed above, and are being supported in their growth through our instructional coaches. 

 

 

Below is a portion of the coaching log for our STEM coach, Brenda Eason. She records each session with teachers and how she is helping them grow.