Prescott South Middle School has been re-designated as a STEAM School, celebrating excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.
The Tennessee Department of Education designates schools for their commitment to integrating each area into their curriculum. Prescott South Middle School Principal Tera Brooks said the designation represents the future.
“It shows to the community and to our students how focused we are in making sure that our students are gonna be well-rounded and problem solvers and thinkers for the future,” Brooks said. “It also exposes them to those different types of possible careers that might be out there once they get there.”
Prescott South Middle School STEM Teacher Michael Chaffin said 80 percent of the jobs that school systems are preparing students for will not exist as technology continues to advance. Chaffin said teaching kids problem-solving skills will help them adapt to a constantly changing workforce.
“The workspace that the students we have now is gonna look completely different than what we have, so just given them those skills like Tera was saying, giving them those problem-solving skills to be able to look at things kind of out of the box, and the reasoning skills is really really important to us because we want to have strong students that can go into that workforce and just be ready for anything,” Chaffin said.
Chaffin said becoming a STEAM school is a five-year process that requires the school to show growth in project-based learning activities. Chaffin said Prescott South was able to be re-designated by adding onto current STEM programs, while also adding additional programs such as two computer science classes.
“During that time, you are trying to show continual growth with everything that you are doing in your school,” Chaffin said. “You are growing your programs, you are creating new PBLs (Project-Based Learning) that you are using every year, and really engaging students in any way you can.”
Chaffin said Prescott South was first designated as a STEM school in 2019. Chaffin said two years ago the school’s STEM team wanted to be re-designated, but this time as a STEAM school.
