The walls of Bay Meadows Elementary School’s reception area have creative artwork made with bottle caps, showcasing students’ artistic talents.
In one classroom, students visited various stations to work on math, problem-solving and collaborative skills.
Down the hall, other students were learning to fly drones.
Whether it’s science, technology, engineering, art or math, Bay Meadows Elementary students are able to learn collaboration, problem solving, communication and more through the school’s STEAM Career Academy.
“Those are the types of skills that we’ve learned that you really have to teach and help students overcome in elementary school, so they’re more successful in the future,” said Miranda Fillenwarth, the STEAM magnet coordinator.
The school has served as a STEAM magnet school for six years and offers a variety of extracurricular activities related to STEAM, as well as day-to-day lessons.
Families interested in the STEAM Career Academy can see what the program has to offer when Bay Meadows Elementary hosts tours at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29 as well as Wednesday, Nov. 5, Wednesday, Nov. 12 and Friday, Dec. 5.
The STEAM program is designed to introduce elementary school children to different career paths with hands-on, collaborative and real-world situations to serve an early foundation to 21st century jobs.
“The fact that we have students leaving elementary school having been exposed to so many different careers at such a young age, I really feel like that is instrumental in their future,” Fillenwarth said.
She said elementary school-aged children are at their most formative years by learning how to interact with others.
“If we don’t instill those lessons very, very young — just like with adults — it’s harder to break habits when you’re older,” she said. “If we instill those really solid skills at a young age, it helps the entire world because we create better workers in the future.”
Children learn dance, how to fly drones, how to create a business and more.
The school offers a variety of extracurricular activities that allow students to compete against other schools, like at the Orange County Super STEM Saturday and drone-flying competitions.
Fillenwarth said she is “super proud” of Bay Meadow Elementary students placing first, second and third at competitions.
She hears from former students now in high school and beyond how the STEAM program has inspired them to continue their education in those fields.
“I got a letter last spring from a graduating senior that said she had no interest in science before, but she really got turned on at Bay Meadows to science, and now she’s in college, studying chemistry,” Fillenwarth said. “When you see the light shine in the students’ eyes, when they’re engaged and when they are loving what they’re learning and they’re so excited about, they can’t wait to tell their family and all their friends.”
With around 58% of magnet students on campus, the school is determined to continue provideing the best education surrounding STEAM topics.
Each grade level focuses on a certain theme based on their ages and capabilities.
Fifth-graders focus on engineering and technology and fourth grade focuses on entrepreneurship. Third-graders focus on hospitality from theme parks, restaurants and hotels, to cruise ships and airlines. Second-grade students learn about careers in the medical field, while first-graders focus on the arts and entertainment, and kindergartners learn about community helpers such as firefighters, police officers, teachers and more.
It is free to enter the lottery to any Orange County Public Schools magnet program, and you don’t have to live in the school’s area as long as transportation can be provided to the child.
Parents can go to OCPS’ website and fill out an online application, closing Dec. 19.