McAuliffe named National STEM Certified School
McAuliffe STEM Academy K-8 School has been named a National STEM Certified School by the National Institute for STEM Education, becoming only the third school in Colorado and the 40th in the nation to reach this milestone.
McAuliffe celebrated achieving this honor with a virtual assembly Friday morning. Principal Jeff Petersen thanked the staff who worked so hard to reach this level of recognition.
“Campus certification brought clarity to our mission and our vision,” Peterson said during the assembly. “We are so excited to see what our students can achieve.”
Phil Johnston, STEM Certification Coach for the National Institute for STEM Education, also attended the virtual assembly to congratulate McAuliffe and its staff on this accomplishment. He said to become a National STEM Certified School, McAuliffe had to meet 25 indicators.
“This is a very impressive milestone,” Johnston said.
Ten McAuliffe teachers have also become Nationally STEM Certified, completing approximately 80 hours of work to meet 38 indicators. Those teachers are Wendy Niccoli, Madi Alison, Denise Brink, Chrissy Menard, Sarah Omoto, Michele McNair, Kelly Wimler, Dana Clark, Julia Rivera and Jared Omoto. Sixteen additional teachers and administrators are now working on their certification.
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math. It is the focus of McAuliffe at all grade levels. The school was presented with a banner and plaque to indicate its status as a National STEM Certified Scool.