News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Prescott South Middle School completes re-certification for state-funded STEM grant program.
The program, provided by the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, grants each participating school $8,000 to use for STEM-related programs and requires re-certification every four years. Principal Tera Brooks said Prescott joined the program in 2019, and since then, they’ve been able to give students greater tools for building future success.
“It’s real, hands-on things, and then we’re connecting that with our career coach that we’ve gotten this year–and they’re trying to tie in the different careers,” Brooks said. “So it’s that next step of exposing them to what’s out there for when they leave us and go to high school– it gets them ready to take up a path–and then hopefully that leads to what they want to do when they get out of high school.”
Brooks said it’s really about exposure, making sure students are aware of the options and opportunities that await them later in life.
Brooks said they offer students a wide array of classes like coding, horticulture, digital arts, and more. She said many of the classes have special program counterparts with long-term projects in order to further challenge the students.
“In the real world, we may have a problem that we can’t solve in two or three days, it takes weeks,” Brooks said. “And these mean learning about the stamina to test something and try it again, and that’s why we have these projects.”
Brooks said she is happy to have received the grant again and excited to continue adding to the program. She said there is so much that has already been done, but there is so much more they plan to add this year and beyond.
“Doing these projects and being involved with these classes and getting to experience things firsthand is so important for our students,” Brooks said. “I’m just so excited about the opportunity to get more students involved in that.”
