By Jeff Harrison

Communications Director

Noble Local School District

TEAM.

  It’s an acronym generally associated with sports – Together Everyone Accomplishes More – but thanks to three educational service centers in southeast Ohio, that term has taken on new meaning.

  The Eastern Ohio Educational Service Center, Ohio Valley Educational Service Center and Muskingum Valley Educational Service Centers combined their resources to form the Appalachian STEM Collaborative, and the first gathering was a huge success.

  More than 160 individuals representing 45 school districts statewide (superintendents, principals, counselors and teacher leaders), five Institutions of Higher Learning, a host of other strategic partners and several members of business and industry converged on Pritchard Laughlin Civic Center in Cambridge. The event was powered by TIESTeach and STEMsail Ohio.

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  The goal of the Appalachian STEM Collaborative is to develop an “ecosystem” to support the creation of STEM culture in schools in order to better prepare students for the in-demand jobs of the 21st century and beyond.

  STEM education gives people skills that make them more employable and ready to meet the current demand. It emcompasses the whole range of experiences and skills. Each STEM component brings a valuable contribution to a well-rounded education. Science gives learners an in-depth understanding of the world around us.

  For STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) fields, this type of collaborative work is crucial because complex problems require creative solutions. Rarely does one person have all the answers. Instead, it is more often the case that innovation is the product of many minds working in unison to achieve a shared goal.

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  “It’s so important for schools in our region to really commit to doing things differently,” offered Dan Leffingwell, Director of Innovation, Legislative Services and operations at the East Central Ohio ESC. “To prepare our kids for a future that’s going to be much different than what we’ve known in the past. 

  “STEM careers represent 90 percent of future jobs in our region and those jobs will pay 68 percent higher wages,” he continued. “Knowing that, if we want the best hope for the best future for all kids, we have to embrace and align our schools to support STEM learning. 

  “We have to increase awareness, but also the level of support,” Leffingwell related. “Everybody wants to improve life choices for kids, but some don’t know what that looks like. We were very fortunate at Noble Local (where he was superintendent for nine years and was named the Ohio Superintendent of the Year for 2022) to be early adopters because our board of education and staff weren’t afraid to do things differently – to take risks and learn from failures along the way. We hope through this collaborative that we can provide a network of support to take that initiative. There are a lot of schools doing great things with STEM and we hope this will allow everyone to learn from one-another.”

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  “What we’re trying to do for a region that frankly doesn’t have a lot of STEM designated schools is to bring hope, access and opportunity to all kids within the Appalachian Region,” said Justin Denius, Director of Workforce Development at the Muskingum Valley ESC. “With the many great things happening in Ohio – with Honda expanding and Intel coming here – now’s the time to do it.

  “The BACs (Business Advisory Councils in many school districts across the state) have been very important because they need a prepared workforce with essential skills to meet their needs and demands,” Denius continued. “Every MVESC school is represented here and they know the need for engaging our kids differently now and going forward.”

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  “I think the opportunity to create this STEM ecosystem in our region and the impact we can have on all of our kids – not just a handful in a few districts – is tremendous,” said Chad Miller, Director of Personalized Learning at the Ohio Valley ESC. “If we can stick together, we’ll change the trajectory of this region where kids can stay in their communities and have life-changing careers in things they’re interested in.

  “Noble Local graduating 80 kids a year isn’t going to change things,,” he related, “but if we can keep all of these districts doing this and continue to add more, it will make a difference.”

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  “When they discussed comparing the U.S. to China and the philosophy of preparing our students, it shows something like this is so needed in our area,” offered Dalton Summers, Superintendent of the Ohio Valley ESC. “Our mindsets have to shift and the fact that all three ESCs came together and so many districts being here just shows that we’re not followers, we’re leaders in this region and we want to continue to build off of this.

  Summers credited Noble Local for being the leader in the region, but he expects countless other districts to step up their game.

  “There always has to be a ‘first one’ and for me, coming from Noble Local, I love the fact that they’re the ones who truly led the way in this region,” he said. “I’m an ex-science teacher myself, so obviously I buy into this completely and now we want everyone to jump on board. 

“Dan, Justin and Chad are the perfect guys to be leading this because they’re innovative thinkers,” added Summers.

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  “State-wide, I think we have felt that this region of Ohio has been left out of some of the things that are happening elsewhere like in the big cities,” said Christa Krohn, Director of Learning Systems for TIES Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM. “As an Ohio-based company (Cleveland Heights), it almost brings me to tears to think about this many people coming together here today with the same goal.

  “We know educators come to work every day trying to do their best,” she continued, “but when you don’t have the resources or connections to support you, it’s really hard. To be able to help support them and make them feel better about what they’re doing is such a positive.

  “We’re not of the mindset of competition, we’re of the mindset of additive value,” stated Krohn. “We believe that a rising tide lifts all boats and the boats we’re concerned about are the kids and doing what’s best for them. We want to help organize areas that may already have some collaboration going on to move them to empowerment through  the experts who know the area.

  “I hope everyone who came walked away encouraged knowing they’re not in this alone,” said Krohn. “We just need to build access points to support, guide and help organize …whatever the need is. When the change comes from within, that’s what’s sustainable and powerful.”

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  A few memorable quotes that came out of the event::

  “Kids in southeast Ohio have so much to offer…they just need to be given the opportunity.”-Jeremy Shorr, Director of Digital Innovation and Learning at TIES Teach. 

  “STEM culture starts in preschool.” – Leffingwell

  “We need to unleash our 10 to 12-year olds to solve problems. At that age, they haven’t been told yet that they can’t do something.” – Miller

  “Don’t let perfect get in the way of progress. You should always start with ‘yes.” – Denius

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  Leffingwell and the others hope the momentum built from the first collaborative continues to build.

  “We’re really pleased with the turnout, but the real key is will people return for future meetings and stay the course,” he said. “We hear all the time that ‘it’s a marathon, not a sprint’ and that applies here. It’s about making a series of gradual adjustments over time that lead to a significant change.

  “We want to personalize the approach for every district and design future sessions to meet their needs,” Leffingwell related. “Every district in our area has expertise to share and when we bring people together, we all grow. Twenty-three strategic partners were here as well and their sole mission is to support this kind of work. Hopefully, they made new connections that will create a better future for our kids.”