The town of Reading is following the trend of other suburban communities where there is a steady decline in the numbers of students choosing to enter STEM careers. The College Bound Senior Trends Report reflected the decline in Reading high school seniors selecting college majors in the STEM fields.

In an effort to reverse this trend, Reading Fellows and district administrators met to develop a Capstone Project with the broad goal to increase the number of seniors selecting STEM majors. 

Our strategies included reaching out to the community and offering more STEM related courses to our students as well as professional development opportunities for our teachers.

Community outreach included:

• Reaching out to parents through PTO groups
• Planning a Career Night with guest speakers to raise community awareness
• Developing a website registry with contact information about community members currently employed in STEM related fields
• Planning career workshops at individual schools highlighting STEM careers and the skills needed to pursue these careers

To kick off the Reading Capstone Project, the STEM fellows coordinated a Community Career Night, in May, 2005, at Parker Middle School in Reading. We chose our guest speakers from contacts we met through our involvement in STEM workshops. Krishna Vedula, UMass Lowell Engineering Department Professor, and Chris Shannon, Youth Workforce Specialist from the Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board addressed a jam-packed auditorium of parents and students from the Reading community. The attendance far exceeded our expectations and supported our commitment to our Capstone Project goal.  Our evening program inspired State Senator, Richard Tisei, to spontaneously address the audience on the importance of pursuing STEM careers.

As a result of our 2006 Community Career Night, Coolidge Middle School, held their first annual career day in June, 2007.  Over thirty professionals volunteered their time and expertise to share their career experiences with our entire student body. Community presenters included Astronomers, Electrical Engineers, Nurses, Pharmacists, Software Specialists, Technology Consultants, Heating and Plumbing Technicians, and so many more. Each student attended three sessions of their choice. The response from the middle school students was overwhelmingly positive. Students shared their experiences with their peers and teachers for days following the event. Future plans are to make this an annual event and to look for other opportunities to encourage students to pursue STEM careers.

In addition to our community outreach efforts, the district pursued opportunities to provide new programs with an emphasis on STEM subjects to students and staff. Reading received a DOE Gifted and Talented Grant to provide:

• VHS Algebra II for eligible grade 8 students
• Algebra I in grade 7
• VHS professional development for teachers

This past year the district increased STEM offerings for students at all levels which include:

• Two sections of CAD at Reading High School
• Three new AP Courses: AP Biology, AP Stats, BC Calculus
• Future City Engineers at the middle schools

• Several summer courses offered through the Reading Enrichment Academy: Robotics, Club Invention, Engineering, Rockets, and Math Skills by Games

Reading also added several Professional Development opportunities for staff which include:

• Differentiated Instruction,
• Intel Teach to the Future
• Vertical Teaming for Science and Math teachers
• District Wide committees that meet monthly to review the STEM opportunities

Andrea Bruno, Coolidge Middle School 6th Math/Science
Marcia Grant, Coolidge Middle School 6th-8th Technology