During the 2018 institute, held June 18-21, we expanded our reach to teams of teachers from Kentucky and West Virginia in addition to regional educators and administrators. The result of this addition was an overwhelming success based on the post institute survey results and conversations with attendees during the week.
From the beginning, the South Fayette STEAM Innovation Summer Institute was designed to be not just a one-stop session but something participants are expected to implement in the coming school year. Its responsibility for hosting the institute is to help participants be successful with the implementation. However, that responsibility does not end when the institute week is finished. Owens and her team of STEAM Innovation Leaders including South Fayette teachers and students continues throughout the year through outreach, partnerships, and presentations. The institute also encourages educators to find ways to build collaborations so that participants may connect with one another throughout the coming year.
The 2018 institute offered 16 sessions to the more than 100 educators who attended. All sessions were held on the District’ s campus with the exception of one held at Chatham University’ s Eden Hall campus on“ Project Based Experiences through the Lens of Sustainability.” South Fayette teachers, combined with regional and national educators in STEAM education, developed and led the sessions. The South Fayette staff included: Dr. Ken Lockette, Tori Bishop, Stephanie DeLuca, Lynette Lortz, AJ Mannarino, Dawn McCullough, Scott Sundgren, Tara Surloff, Melissa Unger, and Shad Wachter.
As of 2017, over 11,000 students and teachers have been impacted by these sessions, and with the attendance this year and the expansion to teams of teachers, that number will continue to exceed the original goals of the institute.
The annual Summer Institute would not be successful without the incredible support received from the following South Fayette staff: District administration led by Dr. Ken Lockette, Kathy Kenawell, Jeaneen Thomson, Cindy Geisler, Tiffany Vetter, Tracey Fox, Maria Aguilar, Brian Tony; intermediate school staff including Tom Kaminski, Amy Jessloski, and Kendra Martinson, additional building principals and their administrative staffs, Steve Timmins support staff in all buildings and a special recognition goes to South Fayette’ s Intermediate School’ s super hero Mark Godfrey for his untiring efforts to go above and beyond to make this event run as smooth as possible every year.
outh Fayette SOUTH FAYETTE TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
SOUTH FAYETTE ❘ FALL 2018 49