The kids in Tomeka Pope’s STEM class Monday in Gary created their own tic tac toe boards with a drill, a clamp and their own imagination.
Nearly 700 Lake County kids in grades 1-9 are finding out that a summer school focusing on reading and math isn’t boring when it’s hands-on.
“This is a design process,” Pope told the class. “Plan out how you’ll make the board.”
During the regular school year, Pope teaches Project Lead the Way STEM classes at Gary’s Williams Elementary.
The kids giggled and excitement grew when they saw a hand-powered drill.
“It’s pretty cool and I get to learn new things,” said Caisyn Bond, 8, of Gary, a student at the Charter School of the Dunes. “I like building.”
She’s attending the Summer Learning Labs program at the HOME Mentoring and Tutoring site, 3637 Grant St. Latrice Williams owns HOME Mentoring and offers after-school tutoring year-long.
The Summer Learning Labs enrichment five-week program is funded by the Indiana Department of Education funding in collaboration with The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis education nonprofit.
The Urban League of Northwest Indiana and DHB & Associates, a local education consulting company, received a $1.1 million state grant to bring the program to 21 sites in Lake County with about 140 teachers.
It’s one of four areas in the state that received funding. Lawmakers could expand the program if they decide to add funding in the coming budget session next year.
On Monday, Deborah Black, of DHB & Associates, and Vanessa Allen-McCloud, president and CEO of the Urban League, toured a few of the sites with state lawmakers, including Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, and Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, and officials with The Mind Trust.
“We know they’re feeling engaged,” said Black. “We had a grandmother bring her grandson in today and she said he cried because he had to leave early last week.”
At another site, she said ninth graders were thrilled to learn to write their names in cursive, a skill often overlooked in some classrooms. It hasn’t been required in the Indiana curriculum since 2010, although one lawmaker files a bill regularly, without success so far, to require it.
“We know they are getting things above and beyond,” said Black. “They are reading phonetically and reading better. There’s been a great response from parents.”
Black said organizers have learned that transportation should be included in the funding because attendance has been disrupted by a lack of transportation for some kids.
Black said she hopes state leaders will continue the program next year.
“We sure hope it’s refunded. We see the need. We know we’ve only reached the tip of the iceberg.”
She estimated about 13,000 students could benefit from the program in Lake County.
Simeir Carpenter, 9, who attends the 21st Century Charter School in Gary, said doing the STEM activities is her favorite activity.
“It gives me something to do in the summer,” she said.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
