“Elementary Engineers” Take Center Stage at Pasadena Unified’s Washington Accelerated School

Students at Washington Accelerated Elementary School (WAES) in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) showed off  engineering skills at two recent events. Both events were a collaboration between WAES staff and Trash for Teaching, a nonprofit organization that recycles discarded materials to promote hands-on discovery in science, art, math, literacy and more.

On November 1st, third-grade students brought the book Charlotte’s Web to life. After reading the classic tale, students designed and built simple machines that could be used to move Wilbur (the pig of the story) from the ground into the truck for transport to the County Fair.

It was the student’s turn to be the teacher about projects these students have been working on since the start of the school year at the November 6th WAES fourth and fifth-grade Family Engineering Night. At the event, fourth-grade engineers guided the parents through a process of design and construction of towers while fifth-grade engineers demonstrated to the parents the process of designing and constructing a vehicle.

“The student projects at WAES are emblematic of what 21st Century Learning looks like,” said PUSD Superintendent Jon R. Gundry. “These project based learning activities link multiple academic subjects while students collaborate and bring their engineering designs to life.”

The current emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) instruction at WAES will expand next school year when WAES become a STEM focused magnet school. WAES, along with Jackson Elementary School (STEM and Spanish dual language immersion), Washington STEAM Magnet Academy and Eliot Middle School (arts) are recent recipients of a three year $7.9 million Magnet School Assistance Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education to establish or expand magnet programs in PUSD. Families from across the district may apply to attend these schools for the 2013-2014 school year by participating it the district’s open enrollment process which begins on January 9, 2014.

For more information, visit www.PUSD.com.