Superintendent's Office

Children love to explore.

Whether it’s following a trail in the woods or looking through a microscope, kids have a natural curiosity. Kids like to see if they can figure things out.

This year, in an attempt to capitalize on those instincts, our district expanded our STEAM experiences for elementary children (STEAM represents a set of experiences in science, technology, engineering, art, and music.) Over the past couple of years, we have tried to provide our elementary students with a STEAM experience once a month. This year we expanded to providing our DK-5th grade students a STEAM experience once a week.

Our STEAM experiences encompass a wide variety of activities. Students code robots, build Lego cars to race down a track, or create parachutes out of out of napkins. The goal is to encourage creativity, develop a sense of wonder, and look at problems from a variety of perspectives.

I have been fortunate to visit our STEAM classrooms and watch our STEAM teachers engage our kindergarten through 5th grade students in a wide variety of activities. Our students’ interest is high and their willingness to try is exceptional.

Why is it important that we provide this experience for our students?

Students, at times, can feel like the only thing adults care about is how well they do on a test. We talk to our students a lot about setting goals and preparing for the future and making sure they are paying attention to this critical content. We can, unintentionally, communicate that what matters most is the grade you get on an assignment.

The STEAM experiences that we provide our students help remind all of us- teachers and students - that we come to school not to get a grade but to figure out how to learn. School is really about developing the skills we need to figure out problems, find information, and apply information in meaningful and, hopefully, magical ways.

Last week I was in one of our STEAM classrooms and the teacher held in her hand a small Ozobot Evo robot. It flashed a few lights and that caught the attention of the kindergarten students sitting before her. Then the teacher drew a line on a paper and showed the students how the robot could follow that line.

Our kindergarten students were mesmerized.

And the hope is that we can build upon experiences like this to create in our students a desire to explore and find answers.

Our district mission states that Rockford Public Schools will be a community of educational excellence, where students are challenged to think critically, act compassionately, and succeed boldly. Our teachers understand their role to engage students not only with the content of the class but with the curiosity to explore. Make the subject come alive. Help students understand not only the information but how it impacts their lives.

And I am proud to say that I see our teachers doing this each and every day.