HARLINGEN — There’s always something new with STEM education.
Yesterday, several Harlingen school administrations and community leaders met for an orientation about integrating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) into the regular curriculum.
The orientation was led by Discovery Education.
“We are partnering with Discovery Education to advance STEM instruction in the school district,” said Joseph Villarreal, assistant superintendent for secondary education.
“Discovery Education is a leader in STEM education,” he said. “They go into classrooms and teach teachers how to include STEM instruction into all content areas.”
Discovery Education is working with the district to help teachers know more about teaching STEM education, said Rob Underwood, senior director of professional learning.
“When we talk about STEM in the school district we are talking about how teachers can work the 4Cs — critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication,” he said. “Those are incorporated into what they do so that students have that realworld learning experience.”
Local business leaders attended to lend their expertise from their prospective fields, real world skills students could learn in the classroom as a STEM project.
“We had several community members, business people there to gain an understanding of what we’re doing in our STEM Academy and how they can become partners in this venture,” said Alicia Noyola, chief academic officer.
“We understand that to build a true STEM program, we need all of our partners at the table,” she added.
Members of the Harlingen Area Educational Foundation also attended.
“They were invited because they’ve been strategic in bringing partnerships to HCISD,” said Shane Strubhart, spokesperson for the district.
