Angelo State Awarded $595K Contract to Boost STEM Education in Local Middle Schools

SAN ANGELO, TX - Angelo State University has been awarded a $595,000 contract by Sonoma State University for a joint project designed to help local and area middle schools improve student success in the sciences, as well as provide professional development opportunities for science teachers.

Titled "STEM and Computing Education Support (STEMACES)," the overall five-year project is being funded by a $7.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DoE), according to Angelo State.

Angelo State's part of the project will target 8th graders in San Angelo schools and area school districts, particularly districts in rural areas and those with substantial low-income and other underrepresented student populations.

Sonoma State initiated a similar project 10 years ago titled "Learning by Making" that is aimed at 9th-grade students, utilizing several DoE grants to build software, curriculum and other learning tools to support it. ASU will help adapt these elements into an 8th-grade model for improved learning in science, and specifically in computational thinking. The model to be implemented in San Angelo and area schools includes:

• An innovative 8th-grade curriculum
• Teacher professional development
• Ongoing teacher and student support

The ASU project is targeting 8th graders in an effort to enhance their science education prior to them having to take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam for science. For the 2023-24 academic year, only 42% of 8th graders "met grade level" on the STAAR science exam.

Dr. Kenneth Carrell, associate professor of physics and director of the ASU Planetarium, is the principal investigator for the ASU project.

"Our primary goal is to ensure that quality and engaging science education is available to all the students in our region and specifically for underrepresented student populations," Carrell said. "Often, middle school science teachers are teaching multiple STEM courses that may or may not be in their area of expertise. By helping them enhance their abilities and then providing ongoing support as they deliver this innovative curriculum, we will build lasting partnerships that benefit students and teachers throughout West Texas."

Dr. Michael Holcomb, assistant professor of physics, is the co-investigator for the ASU project, information from Angelo State reads. 

He and Carrell will work with local and area school districts and the Region 15 Education Service Center to begin recruiting middle school teachers and students into the STEMACES program later this fall. The teachers will be exposed to the learning tools and curriculum during comprehensive summer sessions, and the program will also provide them with a generous stipend. The goal over the life of the project is to reach 40 participating schools, according to the university.