I wanted to share with you the following article that was published by the Saratogian: Saratogian: Saratoga Springs school district wins award for new STEM program

[caption id="attachment_12825" align="alignnone" width="599"] Saratoga Springs High School seniors Emma Price, Chris Guillotte and Johanna Gangi along with technology teacher Michael Gallagher are shown Tuesday. MIKE McMAHON —MMcMAHON@DIGITALFIRSTMEDIA.COM[/caption]

By Jennie Grey, The Saratogian 10/1/2014

SARATOGA SPRINGS >> Saratoga Springs is one of just three New York state districts to win the third annual Be the Change for Kids Innovation Award, given to schools with novel approaches to science, technology, engineering and math programs.

New York State School Boards Association and State University of New York Polytechnic Institute, which present the $5,000 awards, chose Saratoga for its new Educating Young Engineers program, held Saturdays for elementary students. The program teaches basic engineering concepts to inspire students at an early age and has raised community support for bringing elementary engineering content into the regular school curriculum.

“I’m brimming with pride,” Saratoga Springs City School Superintendent Michael Piccirillo said. “What’s really special in the Be the Change for Kids award is that for us, students are teaching students. It’s organic. The interest in and desire for learning are being passed down as our high school students connect with the younger children.”

EYE began as the Project Lead the Way Engineering Design and Development course project of Sara Wilner-Giwerc, class of 2014. While a senior in the high school, she and her classmate Kayleah Griffen put together the Saturday program.

Saratoga Springs High School technology teacher Michael Gallagher said, “Sara and Kayleah wanted to develop engineering programs to inspire elementary kids to go into the field. When the girls first launched the program, they had a waiting list. So they scheduled a second session to accommodate the wait-listed — and then that session had a waiting list. It really is organic.”

Back in February, with the volunteer assistance of six district teachers, parents and high school students, Wilner-Giwerc and Griffen helped children in kindergarten through sixth grade create such projects as “Egg Crash Cars” and “Brush Bots.” While the kids spun their tiny toothbrush-head robots and designed soaring contraptions, the girls moved around the high school cafeteria directing and encouraging.

After the morning session, Wilner-Giwerc rounded the kids up and asked, “Is it a good thing or a bad thing to fail?”

The kids shouted, “It’s a good thing to fail!”

Inspired by Thomas Edison, who from 1878 to 1880 worked on 3,000 different theories to develop an efficient incandescent lamp, the young students tried different ideas when faced with challenges and came up with unique creations.

Overseen by Gallagher, EYE is now run by high school seniors Johanna Gangi, Emma Price and Chris Guillotte. These three students volunteered for EYE last year and enjoy working with the younger kids, especially at the EYE Lego Clubs at Division Street and Dorothy Nolan elementary schools.

“It’s so much fun,” Price said. “We get to teach kids and play with Legos at the same time.”

EYE isn’t simply child’s play for these seniors — each of them has a chosen field of study ahead. Price will major in electrical engineering and Guillotte in aeronautical engineering. Gangi was STEM-focused from childhood on, once wanting to be an astronaut when she grew up.

The three students agreed that project-based learning, which they began in their middle school technology classes, interested them and also fascinates the younger children in the EYE program.

“We’re having three Saturday sessions again this year,” Gangi said. “We have some new themes, such as sports and music, around which to create our engineering projects.”

SUNY Poly faculty, staff and alumni chose the three winning programs based on their ability to promote student curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and civic responsibility; prepare students for STEM-based careers; and be easily replicated by other school districts.

Broome County’s Chenango Forks School District won for its Chenango Forks STEAM Academy program, which arranged credit-bearing internships for high school juniors and seniors that were matched to the students’ intellectual and career interests. In addition to using the STEM to STEAM model of education that adds “A” for arts and focusing on hands-on, project-based, cross-curricular educational opportunities, students also gained basic workplace skills and learned about concepts related to professional demeanor, social skills, deportment and appearance.

Nassau Count’s Mineola Union Free School District won for its STEMineola program, which with the science education company Knowing Science created hands-on STEM laboratory activities for all students in grades three through seven. Mineola found that the close coordination of lab content with other subjects increased critical thinking as well as oral and written communications skills.

NYSSBA President Lynne Lenhardt wrote in a press release, “From solving engineering problems, to applying classroom lessons in industry, to using lab activities to increase critical thinking skills, these students and teachers are raising the creative bar.”

The EYE advisers are raising the bar by making their club a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

“We’d like a volunteer lawyer and a volunteer accountant to help us through the paperwork,” Gallagher said, smiling.

Go to www.saratogian.com for more on EYE.