State Superintendent Richard Woods Presents Paulding County High School and McGarity Elementary School with STEM Certification Banners
Such an amazing day for STEM educators and students at Paulding County High School and McGarity Elementary School! State Superintendent Richard Woods traveled to Paulding County Wednesday to see STEM students in action.
At PCHS, Principal Craig Wilcox gave classroom and garden tours to State Superintendent Woods, PCSD Superintendent Steve Barnette, Paulding County Board of Education members Theresa Lyons and John Dean, State Representative Joseph Gullet, and State School Board member Phenna Petty. The team visited STEM labs and saw students in action testing the PH levels of soil. They also met many of the faculty members of the Academy of Science, Research and Medicine, PCHS’s magnet program.
Superintendent Woods then presented Paulding County High School with an official STEM banner confirming the school’s five-year STEM re-certification. This means school leaders and educators have shown and will continue to push forward with new, innovative ways for students to have more hands-on, project-based learning opportunities while integrating math and science.
Following an amazing lunch prepared by Paulding County High School Culinary students, Superintendent Woods and the team of visitors traveled to McGarity Elementary School for a STEM tour lead by Principal Karla Dodgen. They toured the kindergarten hallway to see an example of a Project Based Learning (PBL) graphic organizer. The next stop was the Children’s Garden and a visit with Mae and Belle, the school’s resident rabbits. They stopped in the media center to see examples of STEM journals and everyone also got to check out the newly opened Pollinator Garden.
Superintendent Woods then presented Principal Dodgen and McGarity Elementary School with its first STEM banner! As a Georgia STEM Certified school, McGarity has successfully shifted the school’s instructional practices to an integrated curriculum grounded in exploration and project-based learning. Students are solving real-world problems that are often present in their school community. After a lengthy evaluation process earlier this year, McGarity became a Georgia STEM Certified school in March 2022.
