Teachers in three local schools will sharpen their skills when it comes to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. The Gary Community School Corporation's Bailly STEM Academy and Gary Middle School for the Visual & Performing Arts and School City of East Chicago's Joseph Block Middle School are among the 15 Indiana schools taking part in a STEM coaching program.
The Indiana Department of Education says fourth-through-eighth grade teachers will get coaching "in inquiry- and problem-based learning, as well as engineering design and modeling in mathematics and science." This comes after last year's COVID-19 Academic Impact Study, showed the pandemic had a significant impact on Indiana students' math learning.
Another 13 Northwest Indiana elementary schools will get reading coaching.
Some schools opted into the initiative, while others were "invited to participate" based on previous test scores. The Indiana Department of Education says the cost will be covered with $20 million in federal ESSER funds, and the program will be administered by the University of Indianapolis’ Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning.