North Tama Elementary students in Shannon Degener’s first grade classroom are pictured working on various projects during the afternoon of Thursday, Feb.10 using new, flexible furniture received the day before as part of a $25,000 STEM BEST grant award from the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council. Photo by Ruby F. Bodeker

Some of North Tama Elementary School’s youngest learners received a very special delivery this past week – a more nurturing learning environment.

As part of a $25,000 STEM BEST (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) grant award the elementary school received in June of last year from the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, five early childhood classrooms (one kindergarten, two first grade, two second grade) were upgraded last week with new flexible furnishings including tables, chairs, and storage compartments specifically designed to create a more flexible, inviting environment for STEM and literacy learning.

While the hall of the school’s early childhood wing on the afternoon of Thursday, February 10 was lined with the old, mismatched metal and plastic furniture destined for donation elsewhere, the inside of the five classrooms was bustling with quiet, purposeful activity as students worked on various projects from their new blonde wood chairs and adjustable tables.

Inside Shannon Degener’s first grade classroom, a cluster of students worked at two square tables pushed together to make more space for LEGOs while other students worked individually on literacy tasks at smaller tables nearby.

When asked how the new furnishings might impact a student’s STEM learning, Degener said it can be difficult for students to immerse themselves in what’s in front of them if their attention is otherwise focused on what’s under them like a squeaky, old chair not designed for their size nor for the learning surface it’s been paired with.

Photo by Ruby F. Bodeker

In addition to the new flexible furniture, the STEM BEST grant funds are also being used by the district for integrative STEM and literacy professional learning for both new and returning faculty, Principal Susan Johnson said in an email.

The grant is meant to further the work the school has been doing over the past seven years – since receiving a STEM Redesigned Learning Environment award back in 2015 – to integrate early STEM learning into the classroom.

“By starting STEM early,” Johnson said, “students will not be intimated by the thought of STEM when they get older because it will be something that will have been part of their daily experiences.”

The grant also involves inviting community partners into the early childhood classrooms to share how STEM is part of their various professions and part of the students’ wider community.

Local community partners include Mayor Pete Holden with the city of Traer, Stephan Mayne with Tama County Conservation, and Diane Panfil with the Traer Public Library.

Photo by Ruby F. Bodeker

“In addition to daily whole class science instruction, high quality and meaningful independent STEM experiences will be offered to students within the block of time set aside for literacy learning,” Johnson said.

Learning that will be much easier to focus on now thanks to the new classroom furnishings.

Old mismatched classroom furniture lines the hallway in the early childhood wing at North Tama Elementary School on Thursday, Feb. 10. Photo by Ruby F. Bodeker

New early childhood classroom furniture received as part of a $25,000 STEM BEST grant is pictured in Leigh Sell’s first grade classroom at North Tama Elementary School on Thursday, Feb. 10. Photo by Ruby F. Bodeker

Photo by Ruby F. Bodeker

Photo by Ruby F. Bodeker