{"id":13058,"date":"2018-08-09T11:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T19:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2018\/08\/09\/news-6825\/"},"modified":"2018-08-09T11:00:20","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T19:00:20","slug":"news-6825","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2018\/08\/09\/news-6825\/","title":{"rendered":"STEM Activities for Kids Plants Career Seeds for Georgia K-12 Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Marcus Craig| Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2018 14:10:42 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

At first, the class was like any other at Georgia\u2019s Quitman County Schools. Kids sat in desks while an adult lectured. But despite appearances, this was no ordinary lecture. Schneider Electric organized STEM activities for kids in this Quitman County high school class.<\/p>\n

These activities are part of Quitman County\u2019s energy performance contract with Schneider Electric and designed to engage students in a STEM-inspired engineering shadowing program focused on energy conservation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI am always amazed at the level of engagement we get from students when we get out of the classroom,\u201d says Quent Mather, Schneider Electric project development manager. \u201cThat\u2019s why I think it\u2019s very important to host these hands-on and real-life learning experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quitman Superintendent, Victoria L. Harris, Ed.S., couldn\u2019t agree more. \u201cWe\u2019re always looking for ways to expand our STEM curriculum so when we found out Schneider Electric offered this opportunity we couldn\u2019t have been happier,\u201d she says. \u201cThe fact that it was part of our energy efficiency savings program was just icing on the cake.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Need for STEM<\/strong>
Quitman County Schools is just one example of how Schneider Electric is using its programs to not only help K-12 schools tackle maintenance backlogs and bring schools into the 21st Century<\/a> \u2014 but also fund expanded STEM education and curriculum opportunities.<\/p>\n

Educators like Harris know the need for better STEM education is more crucial than ever. In fact, more than 8 million STEM-related jobs will be available in 2018, according to STEMconnector.org<\/a>. But as many as 600,000 of those jobs will remain unfilled due to a huge shortage in skilled candidates, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n

At the same time, student interest in STEM education is waning. In fact, only 16% of high school students are interested in a STEM career and are skilled in mathematics. Just 28% of high school freshman state interest in a STEM subject to pursue in higher education. And 57% of these students are predicted to lose interest by the time they graduate from high school, according to the U.S. Department of Education<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Schneider Electric\u2019s STEM Support<\/strong>
After listening to educators at hundreds of partner schools nationwide, Schneider Electric recognized an opportunity to offer new STEM education experiences. Starting with a number of STEM-related activities that complement our energy saving and facility revitalization projects. Here are three examples:<\/p>\n

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