Moving STEM Forward

OrthoWorx recently announced an extension of its partnership with the Warsaw Community School Corporation to drive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education into all elementary schools in the region.

Earlier this summer, we announced that we would support the continuation of the Washington Elementary STEM Academy in its second year of STEM concentration.

“Plans are rapidly coming to fruition since the press release a few weeks ago announcing the continued partnership with OrthoWorx,” stated Ben Barkey, STEM Coach for Washington STEM Academy. “Washington STEM has begun the planning of our Biomedical instructional focus which will impact every student. We are also working on professional learning opportunities throughout the elementary schools to increase teachers’ capacity to teach STEM topics.”

The Moving STEM Forward Program has four main pillars: development of a formal roadmap for STEM education through all grades; teacher professional development at the elementary level and the establishment of STEM champions at all schools; creation of an OrthoWorx STEM advisor position; and creation of a STEM Mobile Learning Laboratory.

Today, approximately 20% of all US jobs can be considered STEM jobs, according to the Brookings Institution, but that number has been rising and is expected to continue to grow. STEM education is especially important in the Warsaw region, with its concentration of jobs in the medical device industry and the agriculture industry.

“We have a vision that our local schools would offer STEM-focused learning to students from kindergarten through high school,” said Brad Bishop, OrthoWorx Executive Director. “So while we want to work toward a high school STEM academy, we believe students must receive a solid foundation in STEM topics early in their schooling, and to be effective STEM education must capture students’ fascination through educational approaches such as inquiry-based and project-based learning.”

“We are very excited to watch the advancement of student learning in the Warsaw Community Schools (WCS) increase due to the implementation of STEM,” said David Hoffert, Vice President of Instruction. “Over the past two years, WCS in collaboration with OrthoWorx, and the Indiana Department of Education, was able to open Washington STEM Academy and begin to take the steps to ensure that all students in each of our schools are provided a STEM infused guaranteed curriculum. As we continue forward, our priorities include further partnerships with our local orthopedic community, road mapping a long-term plan of action for K-12 curriculum, providing additional professional learning opportunities for teachers and showcasing the amazing student learning taking place inside of Warsaw Community Schools. Our school corporation is extremely blessed with amazing parents, educators, industrial leaders, and community stakeholders that wish to ensure our students are prepared for the STEM-based professions of the future.”

OrthoWorx, along with several other area partners, is also working on a “career-technical” education STEM initiative. The regional group recently received a two-year grant for $60,000 from the Indiana Workforce Innovation Network. This initiative, along with the current developments at WCS, ensures STEM will continue to play a vital role in education in our community.