Foster Elementary STEM Lab to Open in Early Spring

TEXAS YES grant to help girls, bilingual students see themselves in science fields

Stephen C. Foster Elementary was one of six Dallas ISD schools to receive a TEXAS YES grant, and the campus plans on putting the $4,500 toward a new STEM lab on campus.

The new lab, slated to open in early spring, will consist of a camera to project experiments, two digital microscopes, and 20 cordless student microscopes.

“Our STEM lab is really … about exposing our kids early to science in the real world of science,” Foster Elementary Principal Jacob Johnson said. “Our kids will be conducting hands-on experiments through seeing real-world application experiments with technology and seeing things related to rocks, formations, landforms, all those different elements that relate to the sciences.”

The STEM lab will be used by all students on campus to create a “gradual exposure” to the sciences, but the fifth and sixth graders will use it the most to foster age-appropriate experiments.

Johnson said especially at Foster, a school with 82% emerging bilingual scholars, it’s important to give students a platform to learn in STEM where bilingual students can often be underrepresented. He also said it’s key to give experience to young women who are also not seen as frequently in the field.

“We know STEM and lab work really service collaboration and exploration, inquiry, all those things that are really important to learning, but it also sets on our goal as educators in any realm should always be to spark and light the fire in scholars to create lifelong learners,” Johnson said.

Down the road, Johnson hopes to see Foster Elementary alumni flourishing in STEM-related careers and serving their communities. “That’s really what the root of the work is for.”