Stripling Elementary School, part of Gwinnett County Public Schools located in Norcross, GA, is in year one of our STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) initiative as a school. Our vision is that Stripling students will become Responsible, Empathetic, and Driven World-Class leaders by achieving academic and behavioral excellence. The Stripling mission is to collaborate with our community to develop literate student citizens who are effective communicators, critical thinkers, innovative problem solvers, and productive members of society. We believe in whole child development, creativity and critical thinking, empathy and respect, meaningful and equitable learning experiences, and partnership with the community. Integrating STEM PBL (project/problem-based learning) into our instructional framework will help our students make academic gains in pursuit of our vision and mission. Additionally, STEM PBL aligns to each of our school beliefs. Therefore, we have submitted our intention to seek GA Department of Education STEM certification as of August 2023. The journey to certification will take three to five years and we are excited to begin year one.

Stripling’s driving question for our STEM initiative is: How does Stripling develop “Neighborhood” cohesiveness through STEM initiatives emphasizing community partnerships that develop whole child creativity and critical thinking? One of the ways we believe we can address our question is by creating a community garden at Stripling. Our students will be able to participate in grade-level specific STEM PBL units utilizing the engineering design process to contribute to the design, build, and functionality of our community garden. For example, Kindergartners might focus on how to create a colorful garden with native Georgia plants, while 5th grade students might determine how to build electrical circuits to light the garden. Long term dreams for the community garden include addressing problems related to sustainability, urban food deserts, and food insecurity.

On our journey to achieving STEM certification in pursuit of providing equitable and meaningful learning experience for our Stripling students, we are seeking partnerships with the community. The Rotary Club of Peachtree Corners is one of the partners who has joined us early in this process. We are also working alongside the Norcross Garden Club and Gardens for Growing Community, among others. Ideally, we will begin building the garden in spring 2024 with the goal of “opening” to the community next fall.