Keeping the Road Hot . . .

by Jason Johnson

Summer is usually a time for educators to relax and recharge their batteries but a group from Van Independent School District in East Texas had other plans this past June. Van ISD had the opportunity to do something truly remarkable and historical.

They shared STEM opportunities with nearly one thousand students from other rural communities across the state.

This was done as part of their Western STEAM Tour, a trip on which representatives from Van ISD took their STEAM Bus on an eighteen-hundred-mile trek, literally across the state. STEAM is an acronym for a learning approach that encompasses science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

Their journey began in far East Texas and reached its pinnacle in the Big Bend Region of West Texas. Along the way, they made stops at schools with populations that have traditionally been underserved when it comes to STEAM opportunities. While at the schools, the STEAM Bus staff led STEM camps and participated in summer schools to give struggling learners an opportunity to engage in hands-on activities that amplified the content they were learning at the time.

Brittany Rose, an instructional technology specialist with Van ISD, had this to say, “It was important to us to schedule events in communities that we felt were similar to ours: small, rural, and having a high percentage of low socio-economic students.”

Because the trip was paid for entirely through sponsorship dollars, there was no cost to any of the school districts featured on the tour. As part of the tour, the Van group also stopped at various regional educational service centers to talk to fellow educators about how they, too, can include STEM activities in their everyday lessons. These discussions were productive and they were also inspirational. Teachers enjoyed touring the bus and experiencing the product showcasing that was featured in the presentations.

Berny Duke, a campus administrator who participated in the tour said, “We wanted to show teachers and educational leaders, especially those in small and rural districts, that they can do something like we did. We took a retired school bus and turned it into a one-of-a-kind classroom on wheels; and we did it, by and large, on our own! Rural school districts usually don’t have a lot of money but they are resourceful and they get things done because they believe in collaboration.”

The trip featured eleven stops over a thirteen-day period. The group traversed thirty-four different counties. This required a lot of planning as there were hotel reservations to be made and restaurants to be scouted out. The preparation was very intricate. In fact, the crew had to plan in advance on what gas stations they would be stopping at in each town to make sure the 43-foot-long STEAM Bus could fit into the parking lots.

An extra layer of complexity to the trip was the fact that Van ISD high school students were part of the tour. According to Mrs. Rose, “Students were an integral addition to the tour because we use them in the lesson delivery aspect of our events.” She went on to say, “These are mature high school students who have decided that they want to pursue a career in education upon graduation from high school.”

The students gained real-world experience by teaching TEKS-aligned lessons under the guidance of experienced educators. Mrs. Rose added, “We feel like this gives them a meaningful opportunity that they can use on college applications and resumes.”

Mrs. Duke stated, “Our students did a phenomenal job. The only challenge they posed was keeping them entertained when the workday was complete. The adults were older and tired and wanted to rest and recover at the end of the day but they, being young and full of energy, wanted to explore the different towns we went into so that's what we did!”

When asked when the next STEAM Tour might happen, Mrs. Rose said, “To do this right, it takes a lot of planning and funding. This two-week trip was the culmination of a solid year of advanced strategizing, so it may be a while before we get to do it again.”

She then said, “It’s also possible that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. It was just so successful, that I’d be afraid we might not be able to duplicate the initial experience. This was an event that featured public school people helping other public school people. I don’t think that’s ever been done in the way that we did it on this trip.” But she went on to say, “We like to answer the door when opportunity knocks, so we’ll keep an open mind!”

So stay tuned . . . the Van ISD STEAM Bus may be heading to a town near you sometime in the future!

The Western STEAM Tour would not have been possible without sponsorship. Thanks to these companies, the group from Van ISD was able to plant seeds of knowledge and curiosity in the minds of students and teachers all across the great state of Texas!

To learn more about the Van ISD STEAM Bus and how you can get engaging STEM activities to your school, click here: https://www.vansteambus.org/

If you have an idea regarding how your group or company can partner with the STEAM Bus, drop us a line at: steambus@vanisd.org