Hillsboro's Quatama Elementary Hosts Governor

Governor Kate Brown stopped by Quatama Elementary School Thursday morning to meet with fourth graders and witness for herself the success story that's building there.

The school places great emphasis on STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math - and the results have been drawing attention.

In 2014, they received a grant that they used to invest in technology and last November, they were recognized by the White House.

"Just walk in the door and you catch the vibe," says one of the STEAM coordinators for the Hillsboro School District, Sandie Grinnell.

"That the kids are so engaged in learning, it has become embedded in the culture."

Grinnell told Patch that the school works hard to teach kids in a way that emphasizes the connection of things, the ways that science and social studies intersect.

"There was a lesson on rafts," she said. "It had to do with science but also helped teach about Oregon's earliest settlers."

Grinnell, who has been an educator for 20 years and working in STEAM for three, says the approach gives her a renewed sense of optimism.

"It's changed how I view what can be accomplished," she said. "It shows what happens when teachers can collaborate, how much more involved the students become."