SRP education grant winners

Creating a "STEM Makerspace" where all 1,050 PreK-8th grade students are able to investigate STEM related concepts and build their personal knowledge of technology is the primary goal of this project. The goal is to increase student opportunities to incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math through hands-on activities, grade level STEM challenges, and school-wide STEM days. This SRP grant would allow them to purchase MakerSpace supplies and 3D printer filament, Raspberry Pi's with keyboards and monitors, and both consumable and non-consumable STEM kits. Currently, with higher enrollment numbers, only a few students can participate in each class instead of the entire class working together in small flexible groups. Students will have the chance to share their projects and ideas through a newly added district-wide STEM Fair, presenting to other classes and parents, and through self-made infomercials shared with the community and stakeholders via social media. This project truly has the power to open the world of science, math, and technology to students and their families.

Bologna Elementary needs IPADS for students to work on their coding skills with regards to robotics. Students in grades K-6 will use their math skills and science simulations with age-appropriate activities using existing Vex Robotics Kits. This will give students the knowledge and real-world application skills needed for technology related jobs of the future. The IPADs will provide the technology piece required for students to complete the coding portion of the robotics vehicles they will be creating with the coding app.

Desert Oasis is planning an extended unit on electronics and energy helping their students become an “Evil Genius” Through this grant Desert Oasis will be able to purchase supplies for students to explore electronics and energy. Students will be exploring electricity and circuitry using a variety of tasks, while also developing their 21st century tech skills. Students will be learning to program, design and build simple circuits, program Makey Makeys to perform different tasks, and use 3D printers to design and print necessary components for their plans. Each grade level, from 3rd -- 8th will take on a different project that will have them focus on all of the skills they have learned through Tech classes and STEM.

"Inspired by the Women of Color of STEM" is a project where students will learn about the contributions made by women and explore their fields of expertise with hands-on learning experiences. The materials will be used to train 6th Grade Dual Language students, at Gilbert Elementary, a Title 1 school. Once trained 6th graders will facilitate sessions in the Spanish STEM Club for 2nd Graders. This inspires and helps develop a community of learners.

The goal of the program is to boost girls' interest in technology. Plans include a primary (K-2) and intermediate (3-6) club for the girls at our school. The Makey Makey is an electronic invention kit for all ages. The Makey Makey allows students to take everyday objects and combine them with technology. Students use alligator clips attached to any conductive material they can control like the keyboard of their computer. This kit gives students the ability to invent anywhere. If they think of it then they can create it. Club members will start out easy with a banana piano. Then they can create game controllers, invent musical instruments, make voting machines, and light up paper circuits.

Legacy will be purchasing microscopes for 4th graders to explore the world around them. The science curriculum includes learning about plant parts, but the students are not actually able to see them. They must strictly rely on illustrations and graphs in their textbooks. With the microscopes, they will be able to see the capillaries and other minute parts of plants as well as insects that they are studying.

The STEM elective teacher for all K-6 students on campus seeks STEM education funding to purchase robotics. The SRP Learning Grant will support the students need for continued acquisition of high-quality STEM experiences. STEM is an integral part of the future in education. The skills students learn from projects such as the Sphero Kart Balloon Battle will prepare them for STEM electives in middle and high school, make them more competitive in their college applications, and also in a job market where these skills are in high demand. As of May 2021, STEM-based careers are growing at an average of 24% and this will likely continue to rise. According to the National Science Foundation, "to be prepared for the STEM careers of the future, all learners must have an equitable opportunity to acquire foundational STEM knowledge." Being able to have a set of high-quality learning tools such as the Sphero BOLT robots will greatly support this important academic endeavor.

STEM and STEAM are an integrated aspect of learning at CTA Independence. Currently, all 900 students in grade K - 6 receive STEM instruction weekly as a specials class. Our current Engineering Design Process works with building materials that are consumable, such as cardboard, tape, craft materials, and paper. The materials used help to provide experiential learning through the SRP Learning Grant. Funding will be used to purchase robotic systems that will allow students to use multiple energy systems to design structures, learn coding, and actively engage in the engineering design process in a 21st Century environment. Using a robotic system to engage students will allow students to work and problem solve real-world situations and connect STEM and STEAM learning to future career paths, science experimentation, innovation, and invention.

Payson Elementary would like to purchase materials needed to create science kits. The materials that would be purchased would be used for many years. Some of the materials would include large amounts of magnets, solar system models for 7 classes, various models to show the different types of energy, solar powered model cars, etc.

Deaf students are, by nature, visual, kinesthetic learners. They thrive when they get to experience the world by touching what they are learning. Light tables are a great resource for making learning fun and, more importantly, helping students remember what they were taught. They provide multi-sensory learning in all academic areas, but the goal of this project is to begin using them for math and science. More specifically, they will be used to match numbers, count objects, make patterns, build using magnetic tiles, and experiment with scientific tools such as magnifying glasses, tweezers, buckets, shovels, etc. All of this and that's just the academics! Let alone the sensory benefits for students who have autism, sensory processing disorder, and deaf students.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) kits will be used for all of our Julia Randall Elementary (JRE) students. Each class will be able to sign them out, and use them to inspire and educate their students. Allowing students to use STEM kits during science expands their critical thinking attributes. The kits will include FOSS Kit battery holders, LG-4 Light Generators, and basic electrical circuit materials.

This project is for 7 color changing light tables, 7 complete math tray sets, and 7 complete math manipulative centers. The complete math tray sets include mats for patterns, counting and sorting. The complete math manipulative centers include translucent math chips, dominoes, numbers and pattern blocks. This project will be for 3 kindergarten classes and 4 first grade classes.

This grant is for Weinberg Gifted Academy to purchase an additional two aeroponic Tower Gardens with dedicated solar power systems to demonstrate sustainably running self-contained food gardens off-grid. Solar as a source of alternative power is a new Science standard for 3rd grade. As part of the current science and math studies, 3rd grade students share the operation of an indoor and outdoor mains-powered Tower Garden. They investigate the pros and cons of growing herbs and vegetables in different environments, using a faster paced growing system and water-efficient method of organic food production. Adding tower systems that are solar powered will directly impact 100 third grade students annually allowing each of the four classrooms autonomy to operate and maintain their own Tower Garden. These gardens will be a practical working example of the integration of sustainable technologies to the other 500 students, parents, and visitors to campus.

The purpose of this grant is to provide a rich, hands-on science learning experience for the 7th and 8th grade science students of Andersen Junior High School. The project is to fully equip the six science labs of AJHS with up-to-date lab equipment: beakers, test tubes, graduated cylinders, scales, Newton's cradles, etc. for the students to fully engage in their science learning and content and compete with their peers on district and state testing. The lab equipment would be used regularly to teach science curriculum throughout the school year and engage in hands-on, inquiry, and project-based learning of the content. Andersen is a Title I school with many students who have not experienced science before junior high. The nature of how Title I students learn is founded in hands-on, project-based learning. The students coming from different cultural and language backgrounds require a deep and active curriculum that allows them to make sense of the material physically before they can comprehend the content as individuals. Most equipment is outdated and in poor condition. What is available to use has to be shared among the five science teachers causing the teaching of our curriculum to have to vary between teachers. The SRP grant will help alleviate this burden and provide each teacher with a full set of equipment necessary to teach all lessons and have full lab stations of materials.

This project would allow students at Arete Preparatory Academy to conduct laboratory experiments and field work to determine how water reshapes the surface of the Earth. By using stream tables, students can have "ideal" conditions where they can control parameters such as slope, precipitation rate, and sediment type. They will see how features form over time as well as how the shape of a river changes over time. Then, students will study these features in Google Earth by researching and collecting data on real world rivers for comparison to their stream table experiments. Finally, students will travel to Gila River to collect stream profiles (cross sections) in the field and calculate discharge rates for the river. They will also look at the fluvial features present for comparison to their laboratory experiment as well as their aerial view from Google Earth.

Creating an Eco-friendly City project will enable 4th-8th grade students at Estrella Foothills Global Academy to achieve high standards within the district. As a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate Middle Year Program, the students, faculty, and administration strive to meet the rigorous demands of the program. Additionally, this school in its second year demonstrates its commitment to educational excellence by bringing real-world applications to the classroom. Funding for this grant will be used to purchase environmental and ecological kits for students. The International Baccalaureate program requires middle school science students to use engineering design to define a problem, explore, create a solution, try it out, and make improvements.

Gilbert Classical Academy grades 7th -- 12th is interested in creating a "Makerspace" where students can investigate STEM related concepts. With funds provided by the SRP, GCA club sponsor/teachers would be able to purchase materials to create a "MakerSpace". With the creation of "MakerSpace" two new clubs will be formed, one at the Junior High level and one at the High School level. These clubs will provide opportunities for students to explore STEM activities. Students will incorporate math, science, physics, technology, and robotics. The SRP grant would fund the purchase of 3D printers, Arduino's, Raspberry Pi's, LED's --light emitting diodes, LittleBits: color coded electronic building blocks that connect magnets, MakeyMakey invention kits that conduct electricity, and Squishy Circuits that explore circuits using playdoh and electronics. The project will be implemented this school year 2022-23 with the hope of up to 6 club meetings. In the late spring the school would host a small STEM night event showing their explorations to the potential new incoming 6th graders.

Kino Junior High School has a robust STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program, but their robots are breaking down. The school's Lego NXT robots, which have been in use for over 10 years, are no longer in production. They are doing all they can to keep the technology working. They are so old even the model that Lego replaced them with has been retired. This technology is vital to the education of students as their school's robotics class is often students first exposure to building and programming robots. The project will ensure students have a successful introduction to the world of robotics by providing them with the new Spike robots that will be used for years to come. Kino students deserve the same materials more affluent schools use in their STEM programs.

This is a training project which will reach and benefit teachers and students in 15 school districts across Pinal County. They are seeking funding to create energy kits and supplies in order to train teachers throughout Pinal County on three-dimensional science energy and climate lessons. The goal is to create kits that teachers can check out and use with their students once they have gone through the professional development on the importance, benefits and methods of using the kits in their classrooms. The program has the potential to reach 4,000 students in Pinal County.

Santan Junior High is piloting an Honors Science class for 8th graders during the 2022-2023 school year. Microscopes will allow these students to study cells, organs, organ systems, and genetics at a deeper level. Students will have the opportunity to study like the scientists in their community to discover how cells are the basic structure and function of all living things. Microscopes have the ability to impact student learning in multiple ways. Santan Junior High 8th Grade Honors Science hopes to encourage students to pursue higher level science courses in high school and college.

Smith Jr. High offers elective class called Future Makers. More than 150 7th and 8th grade students come from extremely diverse backgrounds, but they have one thing in common: they have a passion for technology and engineering. Students are introduced to various modes of technology, engineering, and construction through hands-on projects that incorporate the engineering design process and inquiry-based learning. Currently they have a fully functioning wood shop and 3D printer, which allows students to work with a variety of machines to design and create unique projects. They would like to add a laser cutter to the workshop, which would allow students to create more intricate designs and learn new CAD (computer-aided design) skills.

3D printing is definitely one of today's key future technologies. As advanced as it may seem, it is critical for students to have an understanding of this program in order for them to compete and succeed in the 21st-century global economy. 3D printing generates creativity. Students can express their understanding of content and apply their learning in their terms. It is a technology that scientists and engineers of today are using to change the world. Putting that same technology into the hands of students introduces them to some of the challenges facing our community. It builds empathy, teamwork, and real-world problem-solving skills leading them into STEM careers.

Tonalea K-8 in the upcoming school year (2022-2023) will transition into two schools Yavapai elementary and Tonalea Middle School (TMS). TMS will be a Title I school serving students in South Scottsdale in the Coronado Complex representing Scottsdale Unified School District. Currently, their elective program choices need revamping and Forensic Science is one of those electives that students desire. In this class, students will be learning "hands on and getting down and dirty" with the use of scientific research, critical thinking, make observations, analyze facts, and draw conclusions as it relates to a criminal investigation. Students will analyze fingerprints, and physics to study blood splatter patterns (math) and glass fracture patterns. Students are more willing to apply math, science, and technology to their studies if it helps them solve crime and that is what forensic science will allow them to do. We are building this program from scratch. Biological microscopes, three Microsoft Surface units to process and analyze findings, and photo enhancement software are what is planned for the funding.

This project is all about learning how power generation is done along with different means of power generation and which one is more practical and efficient. In this day and age we have different means to generate power for regular consumers, but some are more expensive than others, so in this continuation of a previous SRP grant, we aid to continue our research on this topic and hopefully find a way to generate power more efficiently and is our own unique design that has never been done before. Their goal is to design and construct a hydroelectric generator.

In order to help science classrooms provide meaningful scientific analysis from data collected in labs, proper equipment is needed. Vernier sensors and probes allow students to take measurements and use Bluetooth technology to access the data on their Chromebooks. All of Highland’s students have Chromebooks so this would enable students to collect and analyze data in an efficient way. Once students have the data, they will then be able to engage in new science and engineering practices adopted by Arizona in 2018, specifically: 1) analyzing and interpreting data and 2) using mathematics and computational thinking, 3) engaging in argument from evidence.

This grant would purchase 10 Vernier Stand Alone Logger Pro 3's. These devices will be used for at least the next 5-8 years. The goal for these devices is to give students the tools needed to act as a real scientist in collecting, analyzing, graphing and modeling real data. These devices will be used weekly throughout the year as the students' progress through the curriculum. In most cases, the students will be given activities in which they will be required to design their own experiments and determine how to use the device most effectively. For example, one of the activities has the students design an investigation to determine the relationship between the acceleration and the force of a cart of fixed mass. The students would set up probes and connect these probes to the device in order to collect and analyze data.

The conservation of energy is a huge part of the Arizona Science Standards and thermal energy is one of the hardest to visually see of the energies. Kinetic, gravitational, elastic are mostly visible things for our high school classes, or they can at least have a good visual representation. These FLIR one cameras will be used to investigate thermal energy, heating transfer of energy, and radiating transfer of energy that increases temperatures or produces heat in some way. The first unit in our physics classes is the Energy Unit. This takes about a month to explore topics in Energy. This begins our thermal energy, heating transfer, and radiating transfer of energy discussions. FLIR Cameras will allow for deeper exploration by students, leading to a better understanding of energy.

This project will use spectrophotometers to study the science of light and color, specifically the electromagnetic spectrum, in fireworks, metals, liquids and other types of media to investigate each object's unique color signature. The sensors will be compatible with the student chromebooks that each student carries daily. While the spectrophotometers will be used in many different labs, this project would allow them to study the chemistry of fireworks with the ability to graph and visualize the data in real time. Studying exciting real-world topics like fireworks helps students to see how science connects to their lives. Being able to use technology like spectrophotometers to graph and understand the topic deeper increases the rigor of classes and better prepares students for college and career readiness.

SHARP School is a K-12 alternative school for students with autism, mild to moderate disabilities, and behavioral challenges. Many of the students have limited verbal communication skills. The school's technology coach works with the teachers and students at SHARP. This year, they decided to try computer programming with some of the Jr. High and High School classes. They have been surprised by the progress the students have made. This grant will enable Sharp to purchase a classroom kit of 18 Ozbolt robots. The students will be excited to apply their programming knowledge to the real world of robotics. Making connections like this helps students think outside the box in terms of their abilities and opportunities. The Ozbolt kit will be shared with several classrooms at SHARP for many years to come.

St. Johns, an agricultural community in the poorest county in Arizona, has never had an FFA program and the CTE programs have long neglected the agricultural heritage of our local kids' families. This project is the first expansion of several over the next few years to allow more hands-on livestock and tech-based agricultural experiences for our students. Eventually, the goal is to have a large outdoor enclosure for quail, a small livestock breeding program, a working arena and barn for underserved students to keep their 4H and FFA small stock projects, a large, fully-automated learning greenhouse with an aquaculture program including tilapia and catfish (or trout in the coldest months), hands-on in-class experiences, a subscription to an online learning platform for Agriculture lessons that are aligned with National FFA standards as well as Arizona CTE Agriculture standards, and much more. The proposed land lab is over 7 acres, owned by the school district, and will need to be fenced, paths need to be built, electricity and water need to be run to the various outbuildings. This is a large project spanning many months, and this request is to help fund just the first phase, which is hands-on in-class supplies, online subscription, additional housing for the quail and chicken program, supplies for our ongoing escape room fundraiser, building supplies to assist in the future construction plans, and general supplies for student use while waiting for governing bodies to approve and allocate labor for the first phase of building at the land lab.

Project: Mirror Mirror, What's the History of Us All? Funds will be used to purchase 157 current and updated historical fiction titles to directly support social and historical studies and state standards for grades K-6.

Project: Building a Community Funding will be used to support the “Building a Community” project, a multifaceted project in which second-grade students will choose and research a community helper or occupation within the community.

Project: Rigorous Resources for new Arizona Social Studies Standards Funding will be used to purchase materials to develop critical thinking and essential college and career skills for sixth- to eighth-grade students.

Project: Historic Connections - Immersive Learning Project
Funding will be used to support the “Historic Connections” project, an immersion learning experience that connects the social studies curriculum to course work in science, music and art.

Project: Westward Expansion
Funding will be used to purchase Ozobots for the Westward Expansion Unit for fifth-grade ELP students at multiple schools.

Project: Classroom Curriculum Materials
Funding will be used to purchase a class set of world history textbooks and laminated desk maps to be used by the sixth-grade class.

Project: Learning about the Past through Archaeology
Funding will be used to provide sixth-grade students with real and virtual reality tools to immerse themselves in the lives of archaeologists.