Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math—or as we know it at Delta Elementary School, STEAM!
Many of these subjects often fade into the background in elementary schools, where the
government-mandated focus is primarily on language arts and math.
Although our teachers do a great job of integrating STEAM when they can, they simply don’t have the time
or resources to give these subjects the attention they deserve. At DES, we focus on the whole child—but
there’s only so much time in the day. The amount of STEAM exposure students receive varies from teacher
to teacher depending on their expertise, and very few students have access to our Fab Lab or coding
opportunities, both of which are crucial for their future experiences in junior high and high school.
What we need is a teacher devoted solely to STEAM—someone who can meet with each class weekly,
bringing the expertise and time to focus on grade-level content in these subjects.
Enter the Department of Defense.
Thanks to a very generous grant from them, we’ve been able to hire a full-time STEAM teacher for the next
four years. Now, every teacher can bring their class into the STEAM room for 40 minutes each week and
partner with the STEAM teacher to deliver instruction and create hands-on learning experiences.
Even more exciting, our classroom teachers are learning alongside their students. They see firsthand how
engaging STEAM can be, and how students who may struggle in traditional subjects often flourish in science
and hands-on activities. This experience empowers teachers to bring that knowledge back into their own
classrooms and develop their own weekly STEAM lessons.
We’d love for our community to take a larger role in this process. We’re holding a parent meeting on
September 30 at 5:00 PM, where we’ll share more details and also go over our parent-teacher compact for
the Title I grant. Please join us!
If you’re interested in volunteering or have an idea for a fun, STEAM-related activity you could lead, we’d
love to hear from you! Simply call the DES office at 907-895-4696.