Upperman Middle School wants to add a STEM Lab for career exploration, pending School Board approval.
Putnam County CTE Supervisor Jackie Vester said new Upperman Principal Amber Campbell came from recent STEM Lab recipient Algood Middle. Vester said Campbell wanted Upperman students to have the same opportunity.
“We’ve seen great success with student engagement in the other lab,” Vester said. “The setup allows students to not just learn about careers, but they’re actually exploring hands on some of the skills that go into the careers.”
Vester said adding CTE activities at the middle school level is important because it can help students identify their strengths and weaknesses. Vester said the interactive component is ideal for the middle school age group.
Vester said the modules offered in the lab offer students a low-risk chance to try out potential careers without committing to a program of study.
“We really want that exploration to really happen in middle school, so when they enter into high school, they’re starting to have an idea of the direction they’d like to go in their career,” Vester said. “What they like, what they don’t like, what they’re good at, and what they’re not as strong in.”
Over the last several years, a larger variety of career-based education has become part of the education system. Vester said this is because school systems are thinking about how they prepare students for a career.
“Whatever that path looks like to that career, we’re still preparing students for that,” Vester said. “So, we need to expose them to that as early as possible, so that it starts that thought process.”
Vester said holding back these opportunities is similar to a situation where students are not taught to read until high school. In other words, Vester said students need to begin thinking about what they want to do after high school as early as they can.
Vester said the lab would be mostly be used by the Upperman students, but there may be opportunities for other schools to take field trips there or use the modules like at Algood Middle.
Vester said the modules will be provided by the same vendor who supplied the Algood CTE Lab. Vester said there is a lead time of four to six weeks on the modules, and the purchase will need School Board approval.
Vester said Upperman is ready to install the lab as soon as the Board approves it. She said an existing classroom will be used to house the STEM Lab and modules.
