Community Faculty & Staff Science

Here’s to Mars rovers, community support and teachers of the year

In the wake of Thanksgiving and a mountain of leftover turkey and mashed potatoes, the Institute for School Partnership is pausing for a moment to reflect on what it is thankful for, and it just might be you!

To Mars and Beyond

Wide-eyed, students listened as graduate student Michael Bouchard described a not-so-mystical land of mile-high mountains and canyons that stretch the length of the United States.

On Nov. 7, students from Hancock Middle School came to Washington University in St. Louis to participate in a Mars exploration day. Through the coordination of the ISP and K-12 Connections, along with the support of the Department of Physics in Arts & Sciences, the students were able to get an in-depth look at Mars through a hands-on activity, a view of the Mars rover replica and a real robot in action.

The ISP is thankful for university collaboration at its finest and the impact it has on students throughout St. Louis.

Commitment to Education

This fall, in an effort to improve education in the St. Louis region, many local corporations stepped up to support the ISP.

Each corporation has been a longtime partner with the ISP in improving K-12 education, and these funds will be specifically dedicated to the STEM Teacher Quality Institute (STEM TQ), a program that instructs teachers on how to integrate STEM into lesson planning, introduces students to real-world applications and creates STEM capable learners. These corporations include Sigma-Aldrich, Maritz, Express Scripts, Mallinckrodt, Bank of America, Monsanto, Boeing, Laclede Group, Peabody Energy, Ameren, Emerson, Master Card and AT&T.

The ISP is appreciative of each of these partners who commit to funding its education initiatives every year.

Honoring Teacher Leaders

Carnahan High School educator and ISP partner Kelly Taylor was named one of St. Louis Public Schools Teacher of the Year honorees. The ISP first met Taylor, the science department chair and technology liaison at Carnahan, in 2011. Taylor participated in the third cohort of the Life Sciences for a Global Community Teacher Institute. The institute was a product of a National Science Foundation grant designed to develop teacher leadership skills and competency in biology subject matter.

The ISP is grateful to celebrate the success of one of our many passionate teacher leaders.