Canton Elementary Named Finalist For STEM Education Award

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Four Cherokee County School District schools have been named finalists for the STEM Education Award.

The Technology Association of Georgia and the TAG Education Collaborative on Monday announced that Canton Elementary School STEM Academy, Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy, Teasley Middle School and Creekview High School have been named as finalists for the 2015 Georgia STEM Education Awards.

“It was truly a challenge to choose from among the many applicants from around Georgia for these finalists,” said Tino Mantella, president & CEO of TAG. “We applaud all of our applicants for their excellent work in STEM.”

The Awards recognize schools, programs,and companies for outstanding efforts and achievements in supporting and promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education in Georgia.

“Mastery of STEM knowledge is crucial to successful careers in the global marketplace’s current and emerging fields that, overall, offer the highest pay and strongest job security; and we want each of our students to have the greatest opportunity to succeed in these arenas,” said Cherokee County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo. “It’s exceptional that four of our schools are receiving statewide recognition from such a prominent organization for this focus. We’ve made STEM a district-wide emphasis, with instructional units for all elementary school and middle school grades, a wide selection of Advanced Placement and Career Pathway courses in STEM subjects at all of our high schools, as well as a variety of extra-curricular STEM-related opportunities. Congratulations to these schools for their exemplary accomplishment\.” 

The four finalist schools from Cherokee County all have received recent attention for special STEM-related initiatives and successes including, but not limited to:

• Canton ES STEM Academy is home to the district’s first aquaponics lab, an innovative project funded through grants from educational organizations and community partners including the Rotary Club of Canton;
• Clark Creek ES STEM Academy is the system’s first school to undergo the rigorous review to earn the prestigious State STEM Certification, with the official certification visit scheduled for Sept. 16;
• Teasley Middle School is home to several of CCSD’s pilot technology programs including the one-to-one laptop initiative, mediascape centers and the Virtual Vortex 3-D STEM lab; and,
• Creekview High School is home to the 2014 Team America Rocketry Challenge National championship-winning and internationally competitive aeronautics program.

Winners will be announced Aug. 28 during a special awards gala at the Carlos Community Center in Atlanta. The event will recognize 40 schools, organizations and companies for their achievements.

Awards will be presented in eight categories: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, STEM Certified School Outreach, Extracurricular Program, Post Secondary Outreach, Georgia STEM Day Activity and Corporate Outreach. The event is sponsored in part by Georgia Tech Research Institute, Promethean and Cisco.

“It is so gratifying to see STEM education gaining momentum throughout the state of Georgia,” said Michael Robertson, executive director of TAG-Ed. “The programs selected as finalists are leading the way in this effort and sharing best practices that will prepare our students for the challenges ahead.”

For more information, see this webpage: http://www.tagonline.org/events/stem-education-awards/.

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Photo 1: Canton ES STEM Academy: A 2015 Georgia STEM Education Award finalist, Canton ES STEM Academy is home to CCSD’s first aquaponics lab, an innovative project funded through grants from educational organizations and community partners including the Rotary Club of Canton.
Photo 2: Creekview High School, a 2015 Georgia STEM Education Award finalist, is home to the 2014 Team America Rocketry Challenge National championship-winning and internationally competitive aeronautics program.
Photo 3: Clark Creek ES STEM Academy, the Cherokee County School District’s first school to undergo the rigorous review to earn the prestigious State STEM Certification, with the official certification visit scheduled for Sept. 16, now is a 2015 Georgia STEM Education Award finalist.
Photo 4: A 2015 Georgia STEM Education Award finalist, Teasley Middle School is home to several of CCSD’s pilot technology programs including the one-to-one laptop initiative, mediascape centers and the Virtual Vortex 3-D STEM lab.
Photo credits: Cherokee County School District