Moultrie elementary school to be first Medical STEM school in Georgia

Published 1:20 pm Tuesday, April 18, 2017

MOULTRIE, Ga. — Beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, Sunset Elementary will become a Medical STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) school and its kindergarten through fifth-grade students will visit a lab each week as part of their activity rotation.

Sunset will be the only Medical STEM elementary in the state.

“This is such a unique opportunity to be able to engage our students in science, math and technology instruction through a medical lens,” Sunset Principal Josh Purvis said.

“The medical field will always be needed and we want to do our part to grow our own medical professionals. It will be interesting to see how many of our students become doctors, nurses, pharmacists or therapists.”

Allen Edwards, the 6-12 Gifted Director for the Colquitt County schools said that the program will have positive impact on student achievement at the elementary level.

“Research shows that elementary STEM programs have lasting effects throughout students’ scholastic careers,” he said.

“They develop students’ problem-solving skills and spark a curiosity about learning that can snowball in high school and beyond.”

Trish Dubose, STEM Director for Colquitt County schools, said there are national estimates that 4 million STEM related position will go unfilled, adding that that is another reason for students to participate with professionals as they learn science content.

“Often students see no relationship between what they are learning in science and how it is applied to career settings,” Dubose said.

“An important piece of the STEM framework is for students to work side-by-side with professionals in STEM careers. “When our students work with the professionals from all areas of the medical community though the Medical STEM initiative, a relationship between what students learn and where the content is actually relevant is developed.”

By participating in the Medical STEM lab, students will be exposed to hands-on, interactive lessons intended to increase their interest in science math and technology.

The motto for the program is “Today’s Student, Tomorrow’s Heathcare Professional.