Southside aims to have first STEAM SmartLab in Idaho

COCOLALLA — Southside Elementary is a small, rural school, yet “such a mighty force in STEAM education,” said the school’s principal Jacque Johnson.

The school’s STEAM program has proven successful in giving the kids options in science, technology, engineering, art and math for more than four years. Now, however, they are ready to take it to the next level. Southside Elementary aims to be the first school in Idaho to have a STEAM SmartLab, and to make that dream come true, installation needs to start by Nov. 1, said Lynette Leonard, Southside librarian and STEAM coordinator. After raising more than $70,000, they just need $34,000 more to get started, she said.

“I am so excited to have the opportunity to bring an engaging, hands-on, minds-on, project-based STEAM SmartLab to Southside Elementary and the Northern Idaho community,” Leonard said. “This SmartLab will help us take our STEAM program to the next level — it will help our community soar above the rest of the state in STEAM education.”

A fully functioning SmartLab is an engaging program where students explore STEAM through applied technology and project-based learning, Johnson said.

“Integrating STEAM through real-world and integrated perspectives, the SmartLab provides a foundation in the essential systems of science and technology including circuitry, computer graphics, digital communications and broadcasting, mechanics and structures, robotics and control technology, scientific data and analysis, software engineering and sustainability.”

The SmartLab is a classroom where everything, including the furniture, is designed for collaboration. The SmartLab will feature four collaboration islands, 12 large-screen computers, a progressive curriculum that goes beyond Next Gen standards, supplemental kits for circuitry, computer graphics, robotics, scientific data and analysis, math and more.

The SmartLab offers accountability as well, Johnson said. Students choose a topic, and then there is a required academic piece that “lays the foundation” before they move on to hands-on interaction and invention, she said. The entire process is documented with a PowerPoint presentation, which the students create as they go along. The PowerPoint is then sent out to all of the parents and others in the community, Johnson said.

Leonard said the SmartLab will empower students to explore and excel in their education. It reaches every student, she said, and creates and environment where students want to be involved.

“My desire to have a SmartLab at Southside is to help ensure the students in this area are getting the resources they need to be competitive with the rest of the nation,” Leonard said. “It is critical that we bring this opportunity to this area, for it is proven in other areas that through having a STEAM Smartlab, other opportunities are opened up. All of the children in this area deserve to be leaders in education. This STEAM Smartlab may be at Southside, but everyone in this community will benefit from it. We will hold camps during the summer for others in the community to have this great experience, too.”

The SmartLab will be funded entirely through grants and donations and, to date, the school has raised $70,400. To raise the $34,000 needed to start installation of the SmartLab, Leonard said they are looking for 34 businesses or individuals to donate $1,000, though donations of any amount toward the project are welcome. Both Johnson and Leonard said they are grateful for the many organizations and individuals who have already donated to help them achieve their dream.

“I am awestruck with the generous community support and the support of PAFE and the STEM Action Center,” Johnson said.

“I appreciate all the community foundation and grants that have helped us get to where we are,” Leonard added. “The STEAM Smartlab is another way LPOSD (the Lake Pend Oreille School District) can become a great leader in education across the state. How amazing would it be if we could say that we were the first school and district in Idaho to have STEAM Smartlab.”

Anyone interested in helping the school reach its goal should contact Johnson or Leonard at Southside Elementary. Call 208-263-3020, or email at jacquelyn.johnson@lposd.org and lynette.leonard@lposd.org.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.