Program gets West
Oakland students on the path to science, technology, engineering and math
By Serena Valdez Oakland Tribune
OAKLAND -- For sophomore Kelton Runnels, being a McClymonds
High School Warrior meant playing football and competing on the track team.
But this school year, 16-year-old Runnels has found a new
hobby: engineering.
He is one of 13 sophomores at McClymonds High School
selected to take the new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)
class. The class was revealed to the community Tuesday with the grand opening
of the school's West Oakland STEM Center, a lab of computers needed to teach
the STEM curriculum.
"The class keeps you thinking on your feet, and I have
friends in the class who make me want to stay," he said. "We learn
more and have more fun."
In partnership with Project Lead the Way, a nonprofit
organization that develops the STEM program in schools nationwide, and Chevron,
¿Principal Kevin Taylor spent almost three years working to get STEM into his
school.
"We are proud to bring a program we believe
wholeheartedly will be the difference," he said. "This plus the
pipeline will hopefully get students fully integrated with engineering."
The pipeline is a plan to keep students in West Oakland by
establishing STEM programs at elementary, middle and high schools in the area
so the curriculum stays consistent from kindergarten to graduation.
"What impressed me was that Taylor said, 'If we can
change these students, we can change the community,'" said Duane Crum,
state leader for Project Lead the Way. "The magic is in the teachers, in
the classroom."
Kathryn Hall, who teaches the STEM class, joined the McClymonds
staff this school year for the sole purpose of teaching STEM.
What students need most is a basic understanding of how the
world functions today and in the future -- and STEM does that, she said.
"Engineering is so unique, just the educational experience
is the exact opposite of writing essays. You're not just solving problems;
you're taking real world problems and using critical thinking to solve
it," she said."This is all I ever wanted to do as a teacher. It's
phenomenal."
Runnels plans to stay in the STEM class until he graduates.
Since taking the class, his interests have expanded to include science and
engineering and hopes to study biology or forensic science in college. Even his
mom is happy he's found this new hobby, he said.
Updated: 03/21/2013
05:56:52 PM PDT
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