Kindergartners are writing code to add their face to a picture of a farmer, surrounded by cows. They code themselves to bump into their partner and say, “look at all them cows!”
Kindergarten coding activities are pretty common here at the STEAM Academy at Haskell Elementary School in Rockford. Haskell students get 45 minutes of special STEAM instruction every day. That could be a Lego robotics lab or creating stop-motion animations in their MakerSpace, like the animal movie these students are working on.
“You can explore your own imagination. You do stuff that you didn't know you could," they said. "Pretty much, you can make anything possible!"
The STEAM-powered approach seems to be working too. Haskell was just awarded an “exemplary” designation by the Illinois State Board of Education. That means Haskell performs among the top 10% of schools statewide, with zero underperforming groups.
But it wasn’t always like this. Just seven years ago, Haskell was in the bottom 5% of schools across the state. It was the year after they became a STEAM Academy. Loree Leathers is the principal at Haskell.
“I think, at the time, we were like the lowest Rockford public school in math. I think we had the lowest score," she said. "We just put math in the name of our school. Like, how are we gonna do that?”
They originally made the change from a year-round academy to STEAM because they felt like they couldn’t sustain student success.
“Our children did not have a growth mindset," she said. "If they did something and it didn’t work, they were like, 'I’m done. I'm not doing it again. I failed.'"
Leathers said they needed a new focus. After visiting other schools, they landed on STEAM. But it was a rough start. They lost a lot of teachers when they switched their specialty. That’s when they found themselves among the “lowest performing” schools.
“I think, one year, we hired eight or nine certified new teachers," said Leathers. "I mean, when I say dire, I'm not even being dramatic."
It was really difficult to tell parents, “Just trust us, we’re figuring this out,” when it wasn’t working. Especially since Haskell is a special program, which means parents chose to send their kids to Haskell. Students don’t test in, but there’s a lottery system. But they could just as easily send their kids to their neighborhood school.
In fact, she says, in the early years, calling it a “lottery” felt silly, because they didn’t have many applicants. Pretty much everyone got in.
Leathers says their performance now is built off years of hard work and flexibility. They invested in STEAM training for their teachers, like Ryan Miller, who taught 5th grade and is now the assistant principal.
“I was like, I don't really like science," said Miller. "Well, you're at a STEAM school, you need to like science. So, I spent a whole summer working on science — and loved it."
They released students early every Wednesday for a year so they could do more professional development. For six years, they extended their school day. They hired a full-time STEAM specialist. Miller says they’re also quick to switch up curricula if it isn’t clicking. But he says it’s not just academics.
“We really honed in on making kids feel safe in school and addressing social emotional needs," he said, "and that was huge when we were underperforming."
Miller says that’s the foundation now -- and it goes back to the growth mindset that Leathers mentioned. Kids feel comfortable enough to fail and get back up to try again.
“Growing your brain," said Leathers, "is supposed to be hard."
That’s not just anecdotal either. In a student and staff survey, two of the school’s top marks were for “supportive environment” and “ambitious instruction.” Leathers says that's the key.
And one of the things she’s most proud of with their “exemplary” designation is that they have zero underperforming groups. It’s not just a small group of kids with top test scores who buoy the whole school up. Low-income students are growing in math at the same level as everyone else. Students with disabilities are performing high above district and state averages. That’s not common.
That lottery that felt silly a few years ago, feels like a real lottery now. People want to send their kids to Haskell. Leathers says they have a massive waitlist, and it’s rare to see students choose to leave once they’re in.
And now other Rockford schools want to bring in STEAM. Next year, West Middle school will start offering STEAM for 6th graders.
