New middle school project focuses on STEM skills

A new project underway at Teeland Middle School in Wasilla has potential to benefit students well into the future.

The Maker Space Afterschool Club is designed to engage interest in STEM-related education. STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math, coined by the National Science Foundation in 2001. It represents the collective study and understanding of skills needed for career readiness and global competitiveness in a digital future.

According to a 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics study, the median wage for all STEM occupations was $101,650, compared with $46,680 for non-STEM jobs. With continued growth projected in these career fields, getting kids involved early can bring lifelong benefits.

The project is being spear-headed by Teeland computer and robotics teacher Chancy Zahrt and librarian/media specialist Anne Bell. Zahrt said the main purpose is to provide students, individually or in groups, with a safe place to generate creative projects and display them around the school or at the students’ homes.

Participants in Maker Space, which Zahrt said is likely to undergo a name-change, will design and build robots, create digital art and 3-D models, coding projects, and more, while gaining skills that can lead to later employment.

“The project came from a need to include more students in after-school activities in a positive way,” he said. “We want students to feel like they are part of something at the school, to have access to a variety of creative resources, and to beautify the school with student work.”

The after-school project has been in the works for a while. But it moved into the fast lane in March when the Mat-Su Health Foundation stepped in with a grant for $20,500 that will supply four computers, a 3-D printer, two drawing tables, and an assortment of robotics and other STEM-related material.

“The Mat-Su Health Foundation is a great asset to the community,” Zahrt said. “This grant has expedited the creation and implementation of this program by allowing the purchase of some very engaging equipment.”

As part owner of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center since 2007, the nonprofit Mat-Su Health Foundation invests a share of its profits in community health and wellness. Through scholarships, sponsorships, and grants to nonprofit organizations like the one to Teeland Middle School, that investment has totaled more than $138 million in 17 years.

Some of the funding will also be used to print students’ creative works to help beautify the school.

Zahrt said the Maker Space Afterschool Club has potential beyond what it offers participants. It could lead to a base for established programs like Science Olympiad, Lego Robotics, Girls Who Code, KidWind Challenge, and others.

“Teeland has struggled since the pandemic to have STEM-related after-school programs,” he said. “So this program will hopefully reinvigorate student interest in activities that a Maker Space will provide.”

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https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20245