STEM Skills and Competencies
Standard 14
Students develop STEM skills and cross-cutting competencies that support workforce readiness.
Students are supported in their STEM learning through adult-world connections and extended day opportunities.
SMMS STEM students are encouraged to continue their STEM pursuits beyond their classroom and capstone through various avenues, including STEM extracurricular clubs, local, regional and national competitions, voluntary field trips, and digital software extensions.
Some of our student's STEM extension highlights include:
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Participation in the 2014 Verizon App competition
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Participation in the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 Atlanta Regional SeaPerch Challenge
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Participation in the eCYBERMISSION Challenge 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
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Acceptance to the 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Fernbank Science Center Scientific Tools and Techniques Program (STT)
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Participation in the 2018 DeKalb Regional Science and Engineering Fair
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Participation in the 72nd Annual Georgia Science and Engineering Fair
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Participation in the 2018, 2019, DeKalb County Technology Fair
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Participation in the 2017, 2018 Georgia Educational Technology Fair
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Participation in the 2018 Code Initiative
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A common definition of STEM literacy is: “STEM literacy is the ability to identify, apply, and integrate concepts from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to understand complex problems and to innovate to solve them” (Balka, 2011, p. 7).
Therefore our students are exposed to and develop 21st century skills, career explorations, and experience hands on world of work applications.
Science Fair Winners, 2018, 2019
GA Air Quality Challenge
Hello I’m CSO Elizabeth. The CSO Program has taught me more about STEM and STEM careers. It allows people to get more involved with the community. It allows my voice to be heard.
STEM is important to me because people use it in their everyday life without even knowing it. For example, fixing a small item can later help you build a building.
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When I grow up, I would like to be an Electrical Engineer. Through the program, I would like to raise awareness about STEM education to younger people, and its importance to the world.
Hello I’m CSO Lina. The CSO Program has taught me more about STEM and its importance to the whole community. It helps inform people about the importance of STEM in our everyday lives.
STEM is important to me because it teaches me about things I did not know about, such as hydroponics and aquaponics. These projects help me understand about what is happening in my community, and how we can fix it.
When I grow up, I would like to be an Pharmacist. Through the program, I would like to raise awareness about global problems by reducing the amount of plastic pollution.
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Choosing STEM Beyond the Classroom
Part of the 2015-2016 assessment and accountability efforts of SMMS were the development and use of curriculum assessments. These are particularly helpful with our pilot curriculum, such as that used for the Aquaponics capstone completed in the 7th grade and the Flying Classroom Curriculum used throughout the grade levels.
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COVID-19 Project
COVID-19 Research
