Strengthening STEM School Culture

Earlier this year, representatives of member institutions from the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools gathered for the organization's annual leadership summit. Members represent both emerging and longstanding high schools that have defined the concept of STEM education since, well, before "STEM" was "STEM." They are local magnets, schools-within-schools, and even statewide public residential high schools. Though their approaches to innovation and student engagement differ, there is undoubtably a steadfast commitment to academic excellence, authentic student inquiry, and communities of learning centered around shared commitment from students, educators, and families.

It's always a pleasure to talk shop while discussing challenges that are familiar in the context of our specialized work, but one of the things I found exciting about the theme of the summit was exploring ways that even traditional public schools can develop cohesive beliefs about how to connect students and teachers to STEM. Further, the discussions were an excellent reminder that our commitment must run deeper than just valuing STEM; instead, meaningful connections to our mission of integrated education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics has to be threaded across all academic, co-curricular, student development, and even wellness components of our programmatic experiences.

At the conference, we discussed various aspects of school culture.  First, we considered the definition of "culture" and what impacts it.  On day two, we looked at the 9 Cultural Values that are important for organizations.  We individually considered what values define our school's culture the most as well as ways in which we might improve the cultures of our schools. The following thoughts were my own biggest takeaways from the many formal and informal conversations of that weekend.

• Understand that STEM is more than a simple acronym and that it is, instead, a broader commitment to student experiences, authentic teaching, as well as research and inquiry.

• Encourage, promote, and support opportunities for faculty and staff outside of STEM disciplines to be active contributors to institutional identity, daily work, and overall school successes.

• Develop growth mindsets for students that appreciate the academic, social, and personal challenges that are a part of a specialized learning environment.  Failure in its many forms should be norm in STEM, and success is more multifaceted than we want it to be at times.

• Understand that holistic needs of students must be in equal importance to our academic experiences and expectations.  Programs that develop culture, cultivate student leadership, address anxieties of adolescence, and promote wellness are equally important to our opportunities in STEM.

• As specialized programs with local, state, and national leadership profiles, we must understand that innovation is an important part of why we exist.   How we steward our public investments and translate our best practices that support other schools and learning environments is as important as our daily efforts to support our own students.

The following suggestions from participants surfaced throughout the weekend, especially during the culminating activity on Sunday, January 26th and were shared this year by NCSSS with participants.

1. Develop a shared STEM vision through a clear mission statement that is communicated and modeled by all stakeholders.

2. Align resources and regular professional learning to support your STEM values.

3. Be student centered, including seeking out student input and creating a STEM curriculum that allows for student voice and choice.

4. Recognize and strategize your STEM student wellness challenges with a clear crisis and wellness protocol.

5. Promote joy in STEM learning and celebrate your history by telling stories about who you are.

6. Do not exist in a silo! Approach STEM as interdisciplinary processes and create opportunities for collaborative programs within your school and with the broader community.

7. Create intentional public spaces that highlight your STEM culture and invite others into your STEM world.

8. Encourage innovation in your STEM faculty and staff through recognition, training, and celebrating people who try new things.

9. Incorporate annual STEM themes that can be used to promote values and serve as a framework for STEM activities.

10. Create a " School STEM Culture Team" to establish norms and cultivate respect and support among all community members.