Beginning in the fall of 2012, our district will offer a different approach to learning for all students at McKinley Elementary as well as for one 'House' at Willow Creek and Owatonna Junior High School. This program is called STEM. Detailed information on the STEM program can be found on the District's website for those interested in learning more about it. Almost 200 parents attended an informational meeting conducted at McKinley on Monday, February 27th.
At our last board meeting, and in some discussions that I've had with both faculty and community members, some questions have been asked related to, 'just how can we afford to implement new programs while facing budget cuts'? The STEM program has been thoroughly researched by a team of faculty and administrators over the past two years. Funding for the research came from special federal funds known as ARRA (American Recovery and Reconstruction Act) along with some staff development funds. We, along with all schools in the state and nation, were fortunate to receive these funds and put them to work to help build stronger programs and greater opportunities for students in the future.
Funds from our capital budget will be used to acquire new materials, furniture and technology for this program. This acquisition will require us to establish priorities in our capital budget. But capital budgets cannot be used for staffing purposes. There is, naturally, training that is necessary in order to properly prepare our teachers. The majority of this training will take place on the additional days of training made possible through the shortening of the school calendar.
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